post your chicken coop pictures here!

[jtbass2756]

Don't panic everyone. A Twinkie once in these chickens' life isn't going to kill them or hurt their eggs. Yes, sugar and processed foods are killers but I've given my girls a sponge cake once when we had a couple leftover donated items and guess what? The girls are still alive. I was paranoid about what I gave my girls the first year we had them but after seeing all the crap they pick out of the yard to eat including mounds of pure dirt I don't worry about a sugar rush once in their life

The main things to definitely avoid are chocolate or chocolate flavors, avocados, and onions - these foods are seriously injurious to their health to cause immediate illness. If you want to see chickens with creamy faces feed them some high protein Greek yogurt or kefir. The chickens lick the stuff off each other's faces and the extra protein is good for them and a good digestive aid.

Thank You...

....LOL>>>>> I love to give my ladies yougurt, or some oatmeal in cooler weather, etc. They love salads... This is the only twinkie they've seen and probably won't see another one. I don't buy snacks for the people who live here and I'm sure not going to waste $$ on sweets for the hens!!

 

[jtbass2756]

"Level"? What's that mean. Lol. I am challenged by "level". I try though. I like what's you're doing. Looking good and it will be done well in advance of the cold weather. I like to make goals for each day's build. In my mind, everything is easy. I think: ok, just need to cut those and screw them then cover with hardware cloth and hang. Hummmmm. 1/2 hour maybe. NOT! Hours!!

LOLOL...The guy who started my coop...volunteered to do it free with free lumber, etc which he got taking a shed down.. I loved the old wood, etc but he built the frame with absolutely no level/square, etc LOL

I heard that and handed him both, out of my toolbox. But he quit coming and I've been trying to finish it ever since! I've run into problems everywhere but since I had no experience...."it has been an experience"!

Then I got RMSP and my ability to work at the usual pace hit rock bottom.

Now I just plan for one thing a day..and I have learned how to use those tools that I have been giving my dh for years! LOL

 

[Sylvester017]

I appreciate all of the ideas and suggestions that are in this forum! This is my first year raising backyard chickens and I sometimes spend hours looking at this site.

There is a specific question I have. A friend of mine built my coop and run based on a description I gave him. I just did a slow video tour of it on YouTube and would like some input on anything I need to do to prepare it for winter. We are now approaching September and I'm in Virgina, so it won't get really cold for about 60 days or so. I want to be prepared. I've spent so much time and gotten so much enjoyment out of my flock that I want to make sure I'm doing everything right..

Will the chickens spend much time outside in the winter? If not, how do I control the amount of poop that is in the coop. Do I let them out in the morning like I have all spring and Summer?

Your input is appreciated!

YouTube video here:

Thanks!

Kevin

Beautiful build and video. I appreciate that you want to do everything right - kudos! You want input and will probably get many

For starters I would have about half or 2/3 of the number in your flock (less birds, less poop to answer that questions). Just because there's a lot of room in the coop doesn't mean that's a good number to have from the size/looks of the outdoor pen unless you plan to let the flock free-range the entire yard. Having had chickens on my folks' farm and backyard hens of my own for 3 years I've realized they will adapt to whatever accommodations we provide but in essence they love to roam and forage and if content most breeds will not escape the yard for "greener" neighbors' pastures. I've had flighty breeds but never lost one "over the fence." Your enclosed pen is nice but too confining for the number of fowl you have.

I couldn't tell from your video if the hardwire is buried in-ground to keep out digging critters - if not buried then a paver stone walkway against the outside perimeter of the pen will work to keep out digging predators or a digging stray dog as was in our experience. Also the larger spaced holes will allow weasels, rats, snakes, even young raccoon kits with their collapsing spines to get into that pen. The coop is well secured but the large-holed hardwire would be a concern to myself - run some 1/2 inch hardwire along the bottom half of the pen. Winter/snow with scarce food will bring out all the hungry wildlife looking for an easy chicken dinner. A covered pen will be necessary to keep out the raccoons and oppossums or aerial predators. You never knew you had crazy wildlife in your neighborhood until you get chickens! We don't clip our chickens' wings to allow them ability to fly up from ground predators - it's never happened in our backyard but you just never know. I never expected two stray mutts breaking down our fence gate to attack our coop 3 years ago. We've since built two gates in succession as a double barrier. Loose mutts are really murder around chickens.

Our chickens love romping in the rain so leave your chicken pop-door open in inclement weather and see if your fowl want to explore. Some breeds even love the snow but some may want a shoveled dirt path through it. We always open our coop door and let the chickens decide for themselves if they want out - usually rain is a treat because it brings up all the worms and bugs in their free-range yard. Our open yard is stocked with a lot of shelters to hide from aerial predators - stickery rose bushes, plywood planks on cinderblocks (even a recycled headboard on blocks), a couple large recycled doghouses, bench, wheelbarrow, pop-up canopy - that way no chicken has to run far to hide under something - the hawks don't go after hiding hens in our yard.

Love your coop and wish we had the room for such a large one - we're zoned for only 5 chickens!

Nice coop!

 

[gilcamp4]

Beautiful build and video. I appreciate that you want to do everything right - kudos! You want input and will probably get many

For starters I would have about half or 2/3 of the number in your flock (less birds, less poop to answer that questions). Just because there's a lot of room in the coop doesn't mean that's a good number to have from the size/looks of the outdoor pen unless you plan to let the flock free-range the entire yard. Having had chickens on my folks' farm and backyard hens of my own for 3 years I've realized they will adapt to whatever accommodations we provide but in essence they love to roam and forage and if content most breeds will not escape the yard for "greener" neighbors' pastures. I've had flighty breeds but never lost one "over the fence." Your enclosed pen is nice but too confining for the number of fowl you have.

I couldn't tell from your video if the hardwire is buried in-ground to keep out digging critters - if not buried then a paver stone walkway against the outside perimeter of the pen will work to keep out digging predators or a digging stray dog as was in our experience. Also the larger spaced holes will allow weasels, rats, snakes, even young raccoon kits with their collapsing spines to get into that pen. The coop is well secured but the large-holed hardwire would be a concern to myself - run some 1/2 inch hardwire along the bottom half of the pen. Winter/snow with scarce food will bring out all the hungry wildlife looking for an easy chicken dinner. A covered pen will be necessary to keep out the raccoons and oppossums or aerial predators. You never knew you had crazy wildlife in your neighborhood until you get chickens! We don't clip our chickens' wings to allow them ability to fly up from ground predators - it's never happened in our backyard but you just never know. I never expected two stray mutts breaking down our fence gate to attack our coop 3 years ago. We've since built two gates in succession as a double barrier. Loose mutts are really murder around chickens.

Our chickens love romping in the rain so leave your chicken pop-door open in inclement weather and see if your fowl want to explore. Some breeds even love the snow but some may want a shoveled dirt path through it. We always open our coop door and let the chickens decide for themselves if they want out - usually rain is a treat because it brings up all the worms and bugs in their free-range yard. Our open yard is stocked with a lot of shelters to hide from aerial predators - stickery rose bushes, plywood planks on cinderblocks (even a recycled headboard on blocks), a couple large recycled doghouses, bench, wheelbarrow, pop-up canopy - that way no chicken has to run far to hide under something - the hawks don't go after hiding hens in our yard.

Love your coop and wish we had the room for such a large one - we're zoned for only 5 chickens!

Nice coop!

we are in south Delaware, last year we had a lot of snow and rain, they did not like the rain, my dh went out and shoveled a path in the snow so they could walk around but a lot of times we could not leave them out just to deep for them, this year we are ready have new coop and a run attached to camper coop and a bigger yard to run in, we just put roof on it this morning and put in doorways so they could get into it the door you see opened is for me to clean in there one on the other side also, tomorrow I will get a good picture of our setup. we have 3 acres and no limit as we live in chicken co. a lot of your knew companys that sell chicken in stores raise them here,

 

[PrimroseMom1]

LOLOL..... ........this just struck me funny as I have been cutting and attaching 1/4"  for the past three days!! Just came in..sweating up a storm..gnats are aweful. I want to make this...Thanks  ​

Haha. I searched all over the internet for something to hold my dangle earrings. Just couldn't find anything. I was in the process of building my coop which was panels with hardware cloth. Thus, the earring holder was born.

 

[TJordan]

First egg. Whop Whop.

Great feeling... I found my first two weeks ago... Now I'm getting between 2-5 a day and they are not all producing yet...

 

[Sylvester017]

So I just found this thread a couple of weeks ago and I have made it to page 75.

I think all these coops are awesome, and they give me so many ideas to improve on mine and help me with future ones. Right now we have several small coops ( good for about 6-8 each) that I am using to keep the different breeds separate for breeding, but the DH, DS, and I are going to start converting our big shed into a "winter" coop that will be attached to our 55'x70' fenced in garden for all of the girls and a few of the boys to go into for the colder months (until breeding season). We are going to use the biggest breeding pen for the rooster pen and they will have access to our fenced in back yard. Here are some pics of our coops. All built out of repurposed materials and by my wonderful husband, who is enabling my chicken addiction.

without the run

with the run


This is just a roosting house that can be closed up at night, it's for the free rangers.

This is our big breeding pens. It is sectioned off into 4 different pens. ( Almost done)


I figured out how to use hubby's screw gun and made this brooder box all by myself. It has 2 sections for different ages, until they go into the grow-out cottage.


This is the grow-out cottage ( a repurposed playhouse). I actually found another one that we are going to use for a bantam coop.


This one is in the big yard where all the bigger birds can see them, just not get to them, that way it will be easier to introduce them once they get the right size.

As you can see I love coops. Hope everyone has a great day.

That's a lot of build but when you need to keep breeds from mingling and breeding mutt chickens it's what you gotta do. I usually have a barrier rabbit fence dividing my youngsters from the main flock so they can see each other while foraging. Then at about 5-6 months old we'll put the youngsters in the big hen coop at night after roost and generally it works with minimum pecking in the morning - we open the pop door earlier so there's no concentration of chickens in the morning in a confined area. Some breeds like Ameraucana, Araucana, or EE are less intimidating to new additions then say larger dual-purpose breeds. Mature hens are nasty to youngsters. Only our Ameraucana has ever been nice to our additions. Our little Silkies are not so nice to new fowl but then they aren't big enough to inflict any damage on newby LF youngsters.

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi all,

Yesterday a great friend call and said he had some decks he had to get rid of. So I immediately dropped everything and went to see them, being the scrounger that I am. My friend then offered to build me a new chicken coop and a new goat shed and deliver them with his crane truck. This truly has been an awesome week, first I found some free spools to make a goat playground and now this. Life is good! So my friends it is time to get some helpful hints for interior design for the coop. The coop will have a floor area of 10 ft by 18 ft. Sloped roof at 8 ft high to 6 ft high. I plan on putting a person door at one end, off set to the high side. This will access an area that I would like to keep my feed and put a broody area separate from the main coop with an access door to the main area for egg collection and cleaning. My laying boxes will be buckets raised about a foot off the floor. I would like to put a poop board under my roosts and put my feed/water under the poop board. I plan on window openings at either end, larger one on the opposite end from the door, and two window openings on the 6 ft side of the coop. These I will cover with wire mesh and have removable plexi glass covers for the winter. I will be installing an automatic door opener (hoping the goats don't eat the sensor off this one). I have vinyl flooring to put down on the floor and will use PDZ on the poop board and sawdust (I use wood pellets soaked with water to break them down into sawdust) on the floor. I plan on having 50 hens and will also keep my existing coop which has room for 5-6 birds and will work well for islolation/raising chicks etc.

So....any suggestions? Have I covered it all? I do free range my chickens so will see what my losses are next spring when the eagles are nesting in the area and hunting everyone's flocks. If it is really bad I will have to make a covered run but the last two years I have only lost one hen, two have been injured and 4 roosters have died defending their ladies. The roo I have now seems to be very savvy and keeps his hens close and under cover when the hawk/eagles are around. I think it also helps that the gal across the road free ranges as well and apparently the eagles like turkey better than chicken and took 23 turkey poults this spring. Note to self: Don't get turkeys.

Cheers, Sheila

3 things - (1) My folks never kept turkeys around chickens - someone said because it can give turkeys blackhead whatever that is. (2) We had goats - honery critters and wooden or wired pens/fences don't keep them out, most destructive livestock we ever had chewing through wood gates, tools, toys, leather, tires, laundry on a clothesline, car bumpers, garden fences, etc, so good luck with them - one BYC owner said two goats stampeded their chicken fence killing all their breeding stock! (3) We free range our hens (no roos allowed) and in 3 years haven't lost any - we have a LOT of shelters for the hens to hide under - Cooper's Hawk can be 5 feet from a hiding hen and not go after her - darnedest thing - guess hawks prefer swooping down in the open yard rather than clawing under a shelter for a hiding hen. We placed a lot of shelters around the yard and against buildings and fences like a pop-up canopy, a couple doghouses, several plywood planks on cinderblocks, bench, wheelbarrow, even a recycled headboard on blocks, and planted stickery rose bushes - this way the hens don't have far to go to hide from an aerial predator - once saw all our hens dive into a doghouse when the hawk perched on the telephone pole and they wouldn't come out til the Crows chased him off.

 

[Sylvester017]

we are in south Delaware, last year we had a lot of snow and rain, they did not like the rain, my dh went out and shoveled a path in the snow so they could walk around but a lot of times we could not leave them out just to deep for them, this year we are ready have new coop and a run attached to camper coop and a bigger yard to run in, we just put roof on it this morning and put in doorways so they could get into it the door you see opened is for me to clean in there one on the other side also, tomorrow I will get a good picture of our setup. we have 3 acres and no limit as we live in chicken co. a lot of your knew companys that sell chicken in stores raise them here,

Regarding rain we leave it up to the girls to decide if they want to venture or not. I have two that can't wait to run into the mud puddles and one that stays in the coop until the last sprinkle stops and then comes out to forage. They're all different. I've seen videos and photos of chickens in the snow and some that only wanted to walk on the shoveled paths - they're all so different! You have done such a nice job and so FAST too!

 

[gilcamp4]

Regarding rain we leave it up to the girls to decide if they want to venture or not. I have two that can't wait to run into the mud puddles and one that stays in the coop until the last sprinkle stops and then comes out to forage. They're all different. I've seen videos and photos of chickens in the snow and some that only wanted to walk on the shoveled paths - they're all so different! You have done such a nice job and so FAST too!

ok here is our setup, my dh is 81 and after this he said he needs to slow down that it is getting to much, sure so this morning he is talking about moving the screen house to back of house so we can see back yard and stay away from bugs, the screen house is next to the house. so tomorrow he will start thinking about that move, but don't forget he is going to slow down. he did make a path in the snow last year, but that is one thing I don't like him doing.