post your chicken coop pictures here!

[toconnor318]

Beautiful coop, but that run is pretty small for 12.

I agree but they are only confined to that run during inclimate weather. Otherwise they have free run of two and a half acres.

 

[bruceha2000]

The area we had planned for our open air coop, happened to flood during our first 'El Nino' storm here in Southern California... My husband wants to raise the 'floor' by pouring a slab (of concrete). I wanted to fill with gravel, top with wire, then sand, then dirt and shavings... Is concrete bad for their feet? I assume I'd lay down cheap laminate or linoleum, but..... Thanks for your tips and advice! PS- te area is approximately 16x7x9.

How bad was the flood? Meaning how high was the water? Could you ditch around it instead of pouring a pad or would there be nowhere for the water to go since there was a "flood plain" not just a low spot?

You will have litter of some sort on the floor whatever it is made of so I wouldn't worry about that. A concrete pad does have the benefit of being 110% "digging predator" proof. I think my only concern with a concrete pad is it is pretty permanent. Expanding the coop would mean another concrete pour and what if you wanted to go both wider and deeper? PITA then for sure.

 

[gotro17]

How bad was the flood? Meaning how high was the water? Could you ditch around it instead of pouring a pad or would there be nowhere for the water to go since there was a "flood plain" not just a low spot?

You will have litter of some sort on the floor whatever it is made of so I wouldn't worry about that. A concrete pad does have the benefit of being 110% "digging predator" proof. I think my only concern with a concrete pad is it is pretty permanent. Expanding the coop would mean another concrete pour and what if you wanted to go both wider and deeper? PITA then for sure. 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response... Basically in a permanent area. We'd be building out a space between the back of our girls playhouse/storage shed and a cinderblock wall between us and our neighbors. In the event we never have chickens, we could at least use it as a gardening, or storage, patio.

We are going to make their run from the front closest to me taking the picture, 8ft wide, 25' long, to the turn of the wall (behind me in the photo),then if will go 6ft wide, another 60ft long...around citrus trees...

That will be for about 8-10 birds, with one rooster for protection.

 

[matt7sd]

Here is the one I built. Unfortunately it didn't come with plans. My wife found a blog with a handful of pictures. She really wanted this one so I made my own plans and built it. It still needs some finishing touches but it's worked well. The shutters on the windows open and close which is nice because it rains a lot here in Washington so we can close them when it's really rainy and open them when the weather is nice.


I blogged about it as well hoping to help others since I didn't get much help in terms of plans/materials when building mine.

 

[perchie.girl]

The area we had planned for our open air coop, happened to flood during our first 'El Nino' storm here in Southern California... My husband wants to raise the 'floor' by pouring a slab (of concrete). I wanted to fill with gravel, top with wire, then sand, then dirt and shavings... Is concrete bad for their feet? I assume I'd lay down cheap laminate or linoleum, but..... Thanks for your tips and advice! PS- te area is approximately 16x7x9.

Lots of people use concrete. You can still use linoleum and use shavings.

 

[perchie.girl]

That is so cool its like a big birdhouse. Love the stairs. Do any just fly up to the top perch then go in?

 

[noble]

Here is the one I built. Unfortunately it didn't come with plans. My wife found a blog with a handful of pictures. She really wanted this one so I made my own plans and built it. It still needs some finishing touches but it's worked well. The shutters on the windows open and close which is nice because it rains a lot here in Washington so we can close them when it's really rainy and open them when the weather is nice. I blogged about it as well hoping to help others since I didn't get much help in terms of plans/materials when building mine.

looks awesome. I wish mine was that nice my husband is no carpenter lol . I do all the plan's scetches and measurement and buy the matirial and then hand him every thing and help him. But he is the best captain I know.[/B]

 

[Stephanie R]

Here is the one I built. Unfortunately it didn't come with plans. My wife found a blog with a handful of pictures. She really wanted this one so I made my own plans and built it. It still needs some finishing touches but it's worked well. The shutters on the windows open and close which is nice because it rains a lot here in Washington so we can close them when it's really rainy and open them when the weather is nice.


I blogged about it as well hoping to help others since I didn't get much help in terms of plans/materials when building mine.

Cute.

 

[cabinchicky]

Cute.

Very nice! And the shutters work!! Ohh myyyy giddiness! So cute!

 

[bruceha2000]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response... Basically in a permanent area. We'd be building out a space between the back of our girls playhouse/storage shed and a cinderblock wall between us and our neighbors. In the event we never have chickens, we could at least use it as a gardening, or storage, patio.
We are going to make their run from the front closest to me taking the picture, 8ft wide, 25' long, to the turn of the wall (behind me in the photo),then if will go 6ft wide, another 60ft long...around citrus trees...

That will be for about 8-10 birds, with one rooster for protection.

Oh the poor birds, hardly any run space

That is a fabulous run for your birds. Way more than a lot of people have space for.

So the idea is to put a somewhat raised concrete pad in the area under the extended roof? I see no reason not to do that if it is what your husband is willing to do. It isn't a gardening space with the overhang (which will add a nice bit of shade for the coop in the hot summer months). Make sure the coop has a nice big window facing the window in the playhouse for chicken TV. With the wall and playhouse/shed defining the space, you won't be able to expand sideways anyway (until you kick the girls out of their playhouse, if they haven't outgrown it, and turn it into a coop

).

It won't hurt the birds if they scratch around in litter in the area with the pad, in fact I have to cut the nails of some of my birds, they have no hardscape to speak of. Yours might be self "trimming" on the concrete if the get down that far.

Here is the one I built. Unfortunately it didn't come with plans. My wife found a blog with a handful of pictures. She really wanted this one so I made my own plans and built it. It still needs some finishing touches but it's worked well. The shutters on the windows open and close which is nice because it rains a lot here in Washington so we can close them when it's really rainy and open them when the weather is nice.


I blogged about it as well hoping to help others since I didn't get much help in terms of plans/materials when building mine.

That is a very nice looking coop. Love the operable shutters. I'm am very basic, if it is something that SHOULD do something it SHOULD do it, no decorative shutters please. Nothing more stupid looking (well OK there probably are things) than shutters screwed to a wall, clearly not even the right dimension to cover the window.

Does the ramp go to their garage

? It looks almost horizontal, exactly the opposite of what is frequently commented on when there is a ramp that is really steep.