post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Banjoplayer]

Here's my front, I plan on siding it come the spring next year with some shake to look like a ginger bread house.

Here's my side entery,

We also have a 4x4 kennel next to it for new or sick birds.  The day I took these it was cleaning day.

Nice!

 

[jtbass2756]

Nice!

It will be so cute as a gingerbread house....hang tough...it takes time.

 

[TJordan]

I need some advice please... We have already built a 4.5'x4.5 square coop but it's to small so my husband and I are faced with building another... Now here's my question... Will all the birds try to squish into one coop I even if they have a second to use as well... We were thinking of building a 8 or 10 square footer but it will be a massive cash cow... So now he's thinking of building a 4'x8' base A-frame to go with our current one... It's more cost efferent and earlier to move if needed... Please any help would be great...

 

[iwiw60]

Quote:

I like your coop..adorable... I have noticed a few things that you might want to address as you progress in your build (it never ends, does it?). First I see that you do have netting over your run area which is great, but the cyclone fence you've got there is an open invitation for predators. Raccoon, weasel, and fox are prolific diggers and can gain access very easy the way it is set up right now. You might take some 1/2" hardware cloth (3' wide) and "apron" around the perimeter something like this:



This would be a tremendous help to keep your flock safe. The other thing I noticed is no hard wire for your screen on your window...it looks like it's just regular window screening. Take a hank of that 1/2" hardware cloth and screw it down as a replacement. A raccoon can climb your fence as it is right now and straight into the coop.

Just a few suggestions, I wish you well.

 

[Chipper Chicken]

Got my coop in useable shape. This is a conversion. The original building is a 100+ year old, old growth chestnut, smokehouse moved to this location from the old family homestead. The windows are from the old farmhouse as well. Took a lot of cleaning to get it ready. Lots of old curing salts. Pressure washed the interior. Still had the brass meat hooks inside. It's roughly 8'x8'. The run is 12'x9' with 1/2" hardware cloth. I also have a 10 slot nesting box we salvaged out of the old family chicken coop. Coop still needs another coat of paint and the wife wants to put some colored trim around the windows. Guillotine uses two pulleys and I used 550 paracord with 1/2" pvc for a handle. It's to the right of the door. You pull it down and hook it on screw to leave it open. Wire in-ground around the outside of the run covered with gravel. I think I'm going to put wire on the ground in back of the coop as well. Already have things sniffing and digging back there but there's a raised concrete curb on the inside so they'd have to pull the boards away. Also has LED solar light inside for after dark inspection. Solar panel and egg access door are around back.

May we see the solar panel setup? I got one from Harbor Freight a couple years ago that I hadn't used yet, and I'm very interested in how you are doing yours. I'll be using a 5$ walmart LED too. I love your footbridge! Did you make that too? Your coop is very nice! Did you keep the old meat hooks? how cool to have so much history in your coop.

 

[darajosami]

My chicken house


Outside from the back (small door)



Inside from the back (small door)

Outside from the front (big door)

Inside from the front (big door)

My 10 brown leghorn bantam hens (9 months old) and rooster (he said it was 'old'

)

I have 5 names so far:
Henny, Penny, Bertie, Gertie (hens) and George (rooster) any other names would be helpful (need 6 more LOL)

 

[Latestarter]

I need some advice please... We have already built a 4.5'x4.5 square coop but it's to small so my husband and I are faced with building another... Now here's my question... Will all the birds try to squish into one coop I even if they have a second to use as well... We were thinking of building a 8 or 10 square footer but it will be a massive cash cow... So now he's thinking of building a 4'x8' base A-frame to go with our current one... It's more cost efferent and earlier to move if needed... Please any help would be great...

There is a lot of background info and details that are lacking, but IMHO for ease of development & cash savings, what you might consider is getting the first 4.5 x 4.5 coop in place on legs where you want it to be, at the height you want, then take out one wall (can be re-used as a wall in the extended portion) and attach a second 4.5 x 4.5 (floor) structure to it, so you have an over-all structure ~4.5 x 9 feet. This will give you the square footage you need for 10 LF birds. If the birds will only really be in there at night for roosting, you could probably fit 15 birds in there as long as they all are a flock and get along.

Obviously, these dimensions are non standard as far as lumber is concerned, but since you already have a structure built, and want to incorporate it, this would be the easiest way to maintain uniformity. There are some other considerations obviously like nest box placement (to conserve floor area, I would make them external with outside access to collect eggs), roost placement (needs to be higher than the nest boxes, yet low enough so they have head room when roosting), where will you place feeders and waterers, and probably the most important, but least thought out; ventilation! You also need to consider human access to be able to comfortably access the interior for cleaning and such. You can keep floor space available by hanging the feeder and waterer (use a lidded bucket with nipples).

I was going to go in depth on A frames, but there are just too many variables

And of course if you just start fresh, you could always use the existing 4.5 x4.5 coop as a quarantine unit or as a broody coop for when you are raising broody chicks. Whatever you do, I hope it works out for you.

 

[Cluckadoodledo]

Thanks so much... And yeah, my husband said make it at least 5.5 so I could stand... I noticed he said 'me' not 'we' lol... For him it would be 6' lol... And now suddenly he starts talking about making it 10'x 10' , building two and adding more for meat birds... Incubating another 40 next year AND even adding a miniature cow!!! HAS HE LOST HIS MIND?! Help!!!! The farming bug has nipped my husband in the butt but we only own about an acre of land... With a house on it... I keep noticing he says I will be the one carding for and slaughtering these animals when the time comes... I guess he wants me to be a stay at home mom and farmer lol... I can work with that but he needs to start adding a WE not just a ME into these plans lol... The only good thing about this plan is that before I got injured last year I worked as a meat cutter at our local store... I know how to cut them up, the killing them part will be new... Any ideas on how to SLOW MY HUSBAND DOWN TO EARTH, at least until we get our court case settled and get some cash lol...

Warning! The farming bug is contagious! It starts out innocently enough with a cute little kitten. Somewhere along the way you acquire a couple of dogs that needed to be re-homed. Then, while at the feed store buying kibble for your dogs, you spy these cute, adorable chicks for sale. You can't resist! Now you've had to build a coop and a chicken run to protect your little darlings. Your new friend you met at the feed store suggests that you should get a couple of milk goats because nothing is better then fresh goats milk. While at the farmers market, that nice lady selling local produce recommends you plant a vegetable garden because chickens love fresh greens. Your feed store friend then suggests you should get a couple of wiener pigs to raise, pointing out that in three months they'll be ready for the freezer! You can supplement their feed with greens from your garden. I warn you, this is just the beginning! Soon, you'll need a tractor to manage all that pig manure. You'll need a barn too for all your livestock. Meanwhile, you're trying to figure out how you're going to manage all this on one acre of land!

 

[Sylvester017]

I have the eggdoor across the back of the coop lined with hardware...I used screws/washers to put it in place. Do you think it would be safe to just leave that open at night? I open it first thing in the morning right now. Also, I only got the roosts in yesterday.(a story all in itself) When I went in last night, they were all perched up on the high one so I think I might be safe to open the nest boxes. Thought about making curtains and put them across all but one. I really need to start work on the run but I pushed it yesterday and I'm give out. The really need to get out of the coop.!! Also, I couldn't get the sand right away so I put shavings down...hate them. Love my sand!!

I think I trust you have the hardwire secured over the nestboxes if you decide to keep the egg collection door open for ventilation. Eventually you may want to think about a drop down lid up higher on the wall because heat rises with odors so higher ventilation is better - but your plate is full just planning the pen for now. Curtains aren't a priority at the moment either. I would concentrate on the run and to make a secure one. I'm 70 so I know what you mean about giving out! Just do first things first. I've been building my 2nd raised garden bed for the last 4 months using 100 paver stones - I still have 69 more stones to set. What's funny is that the garden produce is more for the chickens than for us!!

 

[iwiw60]

Nice size! Question: Where's the window(s) for ventilation?