post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Pinders]

Here are some pictures of our coop as the project progressed.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Here are some pictures of our coop as the project progressed.

Oh, my, another beautiful coop. We are a very talented and tasteful bunch. Great job.

 

[Sylvester017]

Here is a couple of pics of our coop. Let me know what you think.

Other than a walkway leading to the egg box, paver stones around the outsdie base of the coop to discourage digging predators, and maybe an awning over the nestbox to keep rain from wetting the nestbox material when lid is open, your chicks have got a pretty nifty 2-tiered condominium!!!

 

[Sylvester017]

oops, should have posted my new coop here. got carried away with excitement to be finally finished


PTJeff

Good safety wire base for digging critter protection. Do you ever have a chance to let the girls out for some free range time?

 

[Sylvester017]

I agree! Especially when you live next to a state park and have to deal with foxes, hawks, weasels, raccoons, coyotes, and we've even seen mountain lions! Not to mention the neighbor's dog :/

Ugh to neighbor dogs! Pets in their own yard, but Predators in MY yard!

It's also amazing how once every few years a Mountain Lion or Bear makes their way down into populated communities. Always be prepared with 1/2 inch hardwire and paver stone or cinderblock base completely around the coop to deal with any surprise visitors!

 

[Sylvester017]

Ok I know it doesn't look like much now, but this is the coop the hubby and I started this past weekend out of scrap wood we had around the property and pieces from the old God awful coop. I just got the shingles on the roof yesterday and we're going to be putting the siding on it this weekend so it will look much better. It was pretty easy and only took 2 days to make it livable and my ladies love it. Now to pretty it up some

Chickens only use the coop to lay their eggs and go to roost at night. Their ranging/foraging area is what needs to be roomy. We keep the feed/waterer outside the coop and don't leave the feeder out overnight. The main thing is that the chickens are secure, secure, secure from predators whether roosting at night or foraging in the day.

 

[Sylvester017]

So many lovely coops here! I particularly like the paving slabs around the inside of the run. We haven't had any predators try to dig under, but my chickens look like they are making a determined effort to dig out! I may 'borrow' this idea.

Chickens are great at digging and undermining a coop foundation. We made certain to make a wide paver stone foundation base and periodically reinforce the dirt area with more packed dirt to keep the ground stable. We also added a raised 4x4 garden bed with dirt for them to dust bathe in so they don't keep digging the coop dirt floor for their bath.

 

[Sylvester017]

How wonderful - the chickens will LOVE the roost with a view from the inside! The tree stump stairs for the chickens was brilliant and darling! One small suggestion is to latch down the nestbox lids since Raccoons are very strong and manipulative to open things that easy. Love your build!

 

[Pinders]

Thanks, The stumps were my wife's idea and work well. The nest boxes have 2 latches hidden under the metal drip edge.

 

[junior62]

Other than a walkway leading to the egg box, paver stones around the outsdie base of the coop to discourage digging predators, and maybe an awning over the nestbox to keep rain from wetting the nestbox material when lid is open, your chicks have got a pretty nifty 2-tiered condominium!!!

Thank you for the feedback!! I had attached heavy galvanized construction cloth to the bottom of the runs 18" out in all directions and then covered it with new sod grass. Hopefully this will stop the predators. I'm only about 12 feet from my garage walkway and will pour an extension in spring. I was thinking about adding two small collection doors to the front and just use the top flip lid for cleaning.
Very much appreciated tips!!

Thanks
Junior.