post your chicken coop pictures here!

[tntchix]

I had one Silkie bantam that would scratch the wood nestbox bottom so hard before laying her egg that she would pull out toenails or injure toes to bleeding so we had to use plexiglass bottoms on the nestbox bottoms to keep that one Silkie from digging splinters into her toes. We tried other material but her toenails even snagged plastic so we resorted to plexiglass hard bottoms. She hasn't injured any more toes since. It makes the bottom of the nests slippery so extra straw or shavings will be necessary to keep the other chickens from slipping and sliding on the slippery bottoms. They've pretty much all gotten used to maneuvering around on the slippery bottoms. One thing I've noticed is that it was easier to clean up a broken soft shell egg on the plexiglass where it might've soaked too much into a woooden bottom.

Thanks for sharing that, Syl. I will watch for that. Certainly don't want any preventable injuries.

 

[Sylvester017]

I had one Silkie bantam that would scratch the wood nestbox bottom so hard before laying her egg that she would pull out toenails or injure toes to bleeding so we had to use plexiglass bottoms on the nestbox bottoms to keep that one Silkie from digging splinters into her toes. We tried other material but her toenails even snagged plastic so we resorted to plexiglass hard bottoms. She hasn't injured any more toes since. It makes the bottom of the nests slippery so extra straw or shavings will be necessary to keep the other chickens from slipping and sliding on the slippery bottoms. They've pretty much all gotten used to maneuvering around on the slippery bottoms. One thing I've noticed is that it was easier to clean up a broken soft shell egg on the plexiglass where it might've soaked too much into a woooden bottom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tntchix

Thanks for sharing that, Syl. I will watch for that. Certainly don't want any preventable injuries.

In our case it was just one OCD bantam Silkie that we had to figure out what to do but it affected all the other hens - strangely enough all the hens got used to the slippery bottoms. Chickens are so adaptable!

 

[kristipwith3]

The greenhouse part is 12x5 and the coop is 12x11. n @tntchix

 

[kristipwith3]

I like this lots.... Thanks for sharing


BTW, what are gonna do with that big barn?

We hope to restore it. We moved here in the fall and have been consumed with our garden and chicken house (oh and our flock of children too). The barn is 100 years old or more but the foundation is broken in places. I hope it is still up when we can afford to fix it Until then it will hold some beef cattle in the spring. Parts of it are still solid enough for that.

 

[jtbass2756]

Won't your DH notice the mysterious posts going up one by one?

Today he was talking my dad on the phone phone so phone so he didn't notice. Whew!!!!

 

[TJordan]

Today he was talking my dad on the phone phone so phone so he didn't notice. Whew!!!!

 

[AnnieSantiago]

We finished the coop today!
My chooks are VERY happy to have a permanent home.

This is the free coop I began with.
See those banana trees in the back?
I traded the coop and 3 hens for some trees.
The coop was just as tall as those white legs.
We put it up on stilts to begin with.



Once it was up, my friend Joe framed the run.
We used wood from a couple of pallets we scavenged.



I bought the plywood for the roof and the treated baseboards.



Joe made a door from the pallet wood.

I put hardward cloth all around, leaving a 6-8" skirt at the bottom.
Bertha is checking out her new digs.



Finished inside, with two barrel nesting boxes.



Finished outside.
I'm happy.
The girls are happy.





THIS is the only problem.
Bertha is the first bird to bed each night.
She gets in there and hops up on the roost.
Then Penny, seen here, goes up the ladder and turns AROUND, facing the doorway and daring the other girls to step on her ladder!
She pecks the heck out of them when they approach.
It's like a game.
They go up, she chases them down.
They go up, she chases them down.

Finally, I have to step in and push her into the coop,
then the others can go to bed.
What a pill!
Is this normal?
Sheesh!

I love her dearly - she's a sweet girl to humans, but she's mean as a snake to the smaller two hens.
She may have to become Sunday dinner if she doesn't ease up.



Anyway, I'm tired, and happy the coop's finished.
Tomorrow we'll fence off an outdoor run, and will be done.
Hooray!

 

[Sylvester017]

I put hardward cloth all around, leaving a 6-8" skirt at the bottom.
Bertha is checking out her new digs.



Finished inside, with two barrel nesting boxes.



Finished outside.
I'm happy.
The girls are happy.



THIS is the only problem.
Bertha is the first bird to bed each night.
She gets in there and hops up on the roost.
Then Penny, seen here, goes up the ladder and turns AROUND, facing the doorway and daring the other girls to step on her ladder!
She pecks the heck out of them when they approach.
It's like a game.
They go up, she chases them down.
They go up, she chases them down.

Finally, I have to step in and push her into the coop,
then the others can go to bed.
What a pill!
Is this normal?
Sheesh!

I love her dearly - she's a sweet girl to humans, but she's mean as a snake to the smaller two hens.
She may have to become Sunday dinner if she doesn't ease up.



Anyway, I'm tired, and happy the coop's finished.
Tomorrow we'll fence off an outdoor run, and will be done.
Hooray!

We had a hen that was good with humans that held treats in their hand but she viciously attacked/clawed a smaller gentler bird so we re-homed her into a friend's layer flock. We had a couple more hens that got aggressive with the gentler hens chasing them out of all the nestboxes and keeping them out of the coop - we re-homed them also since they were good layers. Some hens are really sweet breeds and sometimes you get a pill or two and they really aren't worth the effort to keep - they don't usually change behavior and make it miserable for the flock. It's worth getting rid of the one for the benefit of the many as Spock on Star Trek would agree.

 

[Sylvester017]

Finished inside, with two barrel nesting boxes.

If those two barrels are the only nestboxes may I suggest a little more privacy by putting up either fastening a tarp or a plywood wall along the outside hardwire wall. Chickens like lowlight and privacy when laying and you may eventually find eggs showing up in places other than the barrels.

 

[AnnieSantiago]

If those two barrels are the only nestboxes may I suggest a little more privacy by putting up either fastening a tarp or a plywood wall along the outside hardwire wall. Chickens like lowlight and privacy when laying and you may eventually find eggs showing up in places other than the barrels.

Dang. I didn't even think about that.
Well, I'll have to figure that out.
There is space inside the henhouse.
But I was hoping they'd use these boxes.