post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

There's not many dogs out there that are chicken sized. what kind of dogs are they??

I've got a mini Aussie Shepherd who is about 8 pounds and loves to herd my girls around when I have them out free ranging. I kinda wish she was about another 5 pounds more to her just so she could boss the girls around a little better just by being a bigger presence than them.

I thought Australian Shepherds weighed in at 50-60 lbs. How did you get a pint-sized version at only 8 lbs?

 

[Sylvester017]

I have mini dachshunds. I have a light brahma rooster that is huge. One of my doxies likes to bite his tail feathers through the fence. The rooster will just lay there and let him. Lol. I am getting my hens this weekend so they may not be smaller anymore. I would just rather be safe than sorry. Don't want anyone dog or bird hurt.

Doxies mellow with age but it is WAY better to be safe than sorry where dogs are concerned around chickens and vice versa!

 

[Sylvester017]

Here's my coop! I could use some advice; I live in northern VT, it gets cold here. For sure negative teens, occasionally as low as -35ish. Should I insulate this thing? 6 hens in there, deep litter. The coop is tight but single walled. I could run an extension cord for a lamp but I don't want to. My coop is about 7'x8' and 8' tall. If I did insulate, any reccomendations for cheap insulation?

Thanks!

Quote:
Hi Bruce - your circumstance about not having an insulated coop that is located inside another building may not pose problems for your breeds. However, willr has his coop immediately placed outdoors without being located within a larger barn like your setup so he might have to think about more insulation for his coop outdoors. Hope you all have a milder winter this season because it sounds like last winter was a doozy on the East Coast!

 

[Sylvester017]

ty for the kind words perchie girl I thought about converting a dog house but my craigslist hunt for such didnt turn up any good prospects my next build project is a dog house though lol

Funny you mention doghouse. I have two large snap-together plastic doghouses (straw inside) in the backyard and my girls like to take their afternoon snoozes in them and to hide from any predators. If you are building a house for your dog, don't forget to build a 2nd one for your chickens if you free-range them. My girls love the biggest doghouse we have. They all gather inside it to snooze - especially now that the weather is getting cooler.

 

[MeepBeep]

 
ty for the kind words perchie girl  I thought about converting a dog house but my craigslist hunt for such didnt turn up any good prospects my next build project is a dog house though lol

Funny you mention doghouse.  I have two large snap-together plastic doghouses (straw inside) in the backyard and my girls like to take their afternoon snoozes in them and to hide from any predators.  If you are building a house for your dog, don't forget to build a 2nd one for your chickens if you free-range them.  My girls love the biggest doghouse we have.  They all gather inside it to snooze - especially now that the weather is getting cooler.

Google up straw bale dog houses, a cheap and highly isolated winter shelter... You can cheat when you build it as well and make it a little wider by tossing a sheet of plywood over the wall then stacking the roof bales on top, that way are not limited to what a bale will span... And if you want cover the entire thing with a blue tarp...

 

[Sylvester017]

Not the best photo, as I was trying to capture the run we just built. My dad helped me turn an old structure on our property into an 8x10 coop. My mom used pickets from the fence we tore down, but hasn't finished painting them yet.
Simple, easy to construct. Opposite side has water collection system for nipple waterers and laying boxes are accessible from that side, however the chickens never lay there!

Cute picket fence - however if that is your coop it is way too open to predators. The coop will need walls and your fence run is not secure against raccoons, oppossums, foxes, weasels, hawks, etc, and especially not against stray dogs that might enter your yard (like they did into our yard by breaking down our gate!).
You say your chickens aren't using nestboxes you had set up. Chickens love privacy when laying their eggs. Somewhat enclosed nestboxes, or smaller round-holed entrance nestboxes, and in a quite darker area is where you'll find most of the chickens prefer to lay. Beef up your security with an enclosed coop with roosting bars and 2 or 3 private nestboxes - have a walled/roofed coop that can be closed up every night from night critters. Your setup is okay for keeping your chickens contained but not for protecting them from ground or aerial predators. In your current setup the chickens are sitting bait but I'm sure you'll beef up their security. After you paint the pickets, nail up painted plywood planks to the coop studs behind the pickets and make a people door to enter the coop for cleanup and to close up the chickens at night. You've got the potential for a cute AND secure coop with just a bit more modifications. The run however needs a lot more secure enclosure with 1/2-inch hardwire (not cheap flimsy poultry wire) attached to thicker secure posts. Don't be discouraged. It all takes time and $$$. We've had our girls for 3 years and are still making adjustments and adding secure features as we go along. The closest call we had to losing our flock was when stray dogs broke down our gate and then tried to tear away the cheap poultry wire on our coop. If not for a good neighbor who chased off the dogs we might've lost our hens.

 

[Sylvester017]

So, I said I'd post a picture of my feeder not cleaned up - when they've been eating out it for a week, and it's as messy as it gets. Here it is close and closer.





As you can see, it doesn't fill up to the 'roof' of the horizontal piece. It was lower on the sides before I tapped the upright pipe pieces. There's a little bit of dusting on the top of the pipe, and a little bit of feed on the floor just under the feeder. That's a week's worth of mess, and it's less than a 1/4 cup, maybe only a teaspoon. I don't have a picture showing the girls eating, but standing on the floor, they can't reach inside without stretching a bit, and the level of feed inside is too low for them to get a lot of it and send it flying. Also, it holds about 25 lbs. of crumb (we're still on starter due to the No Eggs status here), and this past week has lowered the level in the uprights less than 1/3 of the way down, so possible 2 more weeks before I need to refill.

Chickens have got to be the sloppiest pickiest eaters in the animal kingdom! Ours have got to scatter feed or treats all over the place! I have yet to see a feeding system that totally contains feed 100% when chickens are picking and scattering feed everywhere to get that one special piece they want! I have Silkies that pick their favourite bite-size piece, then put in on the ground to crumble into dust while they eat it. Makes for a messy area. We don't keep their feed inside the coop anymore so we can deter insects and rodents. We have their feeder area away from the coop and bring in the feed dish every night to wash out fresh for the next days rations. We only have 3 hens at the moment so it's do-able for us at the moment. Since following this practice we've been rodent and ant-free around the coop area and there's no feed left out overnight to attract critters.

 

[MeepBeep]

I have yet to see a feeding system that totally contains feed 100% when chickens are picking and scattering feed everywhere to get that one special piece they want!

I get darn near 100% containment with my DIY feeder I really can't say enough about how well it works... My guineas and a few chickens were horrible at tossing food everywhere with every other feeder type, built this and overnight no more food on the floor... The only drawback is my peafowl won't use it, or at least I have never seen them attempt to use it, they get a different feeder design but that isn't a problem with them as they actually have manners when they eat...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...te-5-gallon-25-feed-bucket-feeder-for-about-3

 

[Sylvester017]

I got to work on the coop again today. I built the trusses and got them set in place ready for plywood. I need to check it for plumb then start with the sheathing. I've never used OSB (chip board) plywood for exterior walls before. Hope I don't have to replace it someday. I'm going to paint it with exterior paint. I'm afraid to paint the inside cause the chickens will eat it.

OSB is the pits IMHO. We had to tarp our little custom-built coop we bought at the feed store ready-made and the slightest moisture causes it to disintegrate. Paint several coats of protection/sealer on OSB because it is not good stuff for weather or chicken poop.

 

[Sylvester017]

I get darn near 100% containment with my DIY feeder I really can't say enough about how well it works... My guineas and a few chickens were horrible at tossing food everywhere with every other feeder type, built this and overnight no more food on the floor... The only drawback is my peafowl won't use it, or at least I have never seen them attempt to use it, they get a different feeder design but that isn't a problem with them as they actually have manners when they eat...




https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...te-5-gallon-25-feed-bucket-feeder-for-about-3

This looks so cute - especially with that chicken with her head way inside! However, my Silkies pick up a piece in their beak, take it away from the feeder, drop it on the ground, then proceed to chew it up. They do this with feed as well as hand-offered treats. We tried every form of layer feed - pellets, crumbles, even mash - but the girls just have to be dainty and pick their piece and walk off with it to eat it crumbling on the ground! With only 3 hens we serve smaller feed portions in a smaller divided dog dish away from the coop and bring the dish in every night to wash fresh for the next day's rations. Chickens are messy so we do our darned-est to keep the yard/coop as neat and clean as possible to deter insects/rodents. Our method is not feasible for a large flock but works for us with only 3 hens in a very small cottage yard.