post your chicken coop pictures here!

[NanaNeen]

I'm still learning! So I appreciate your help and patience!

Thank you. I'll try again to post the pick. The run will extend from the run that is built in to the prefab kit. We plan to add the 4'x8' with exterior nesting box coop above the extended run.

 

[NanaNeen]

What BP said. 8" in the WINTER can work because they pack in. 12" minimum in warmer weather. And if someone lives where 80F IS winter weather (like the temperature variation in Aruba is about 10F night to day and 75F to 95F "winter" to summer") it is 12" year round. 

The run you plan to add is big enough for < 5 grown large fowl chickens. I don't know how big the run (if there is one, you said "add") you already have is. Your space will likely be outgrown by the 6 Leghorns before they are 5 months old. I'd start on the new coop now, or maybe I'd start on the BIG run now and when that is finished start on the bigger coop.

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade but SO many people believe (having no reason not to) what the manufacturers' claim for # of chickens. I swear those manufacturers have never raised chickens or they think that battery cage hens live good lives at the huge egg factories.


If you feel the need to have a "plug and play" solution, yes. You can bring water in at night since the birds will be up on the roosts but what are you going to do during the day? Doesn't take long for a small amount of water like the "reservoir" holds to freeze. It will start on the outside and slowly freeze to the center.

Please see my reply above for a picture.

 

[bruceha2000]

Thank you. I'll try again to post the pick. The run will extend from the run that is built in to the prefab kit. We plan to add the 4'x8' with exterior nesting box coop above the extended run.

That should be fine!

Your yard is WAY too organized and neat. I would say "get some kids" but it looks like you already have some. Wanna come organize things around here?

 

[NanaNeen]

That should be fine! 

Your yard is WAY too organized and neat. I would say "get some kids" but it looks like you already have some. Wanna come organize things around here? 

I have an "at home" state licenced child care. That's why they are in my front yard and not in the back. I'm incorporating them into the daycare for the kids. They are loving it. It is more of a trial doing it in a small way than when we did it before. They had a 12'x12' building and large yard behind. It's much more complicated doing it small.

 

[tjparker60]

We all started there @tjparker60
 and everyone who has had chickens for a year or 30 years will tell you there is ALWAYS something to learn. My winter water setup works to about -20F but I would design it differently were I to do it again.

Thank you! Just want the best set up for my girls! I do the same thing with the baby squirrels I rescue! I have to get everything right, but I know it won't be perfect! Love this site!

 

[NanaNeen]

I have an "at home" state licenced child care. That's why they are in my front yard and not in the back. I'm incorporating them into the daycare for the kids. They are loving it. It is more of a trial doing it in a small way than when we did it before. They had a 12'x12' building and large yard behind. It's much more complicated doing it small.

That should be fine! 

Your yard is WAY too organized and neat. I would say "get some kids" but it looks like you already have some. Wanna come organize things around here? 

My son and his son are getting started. Makes a Nana happy...

 

[gpeters3]

Supposed to put up siding today but got into re-doing the run housing/feeding issues. I moved the small brood pen over near the door and will be removing the screen to convert it into a covered feeding station with full access. I put it as far from the coop as possible hoping to give he chicks a chance to get into the coop and get used to it. Bullies cant be in two places at once. I chamfered the inside corners as well as outside to prevent any from getting trapped and injured by the hens. The turkeys are getting too big to get through the tunnels and they all pile into one pen at night so the tunnel gets blocked. The white turkey has slept outside for several days due to this.

The large pen is relocated near the coop and will remain a tunnel access refuge for a while. Im hoping to be able to remove all the pens and feed them inside the coop eventually but im leaving a couple of options for the chicks to ensure they get enough to eat and drink. Its a lot of messing around to maintain so many feeders but necessary for a while yet.

Here is the one attacking the chicks. Anyone know what breed it is. Id put her in the freezer but she is the youngest hen and lays good eggs but she is on my naughty list.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Other than sheer convenience, I don't know why one would pay $70 for the BriteTap combo (2 gallon insulated cooler and the 2 nipple water insert "gizmo") when you can buy the "gizmo" for $30 and a 5 gallon Igloo drink cooler at Walmart for $20. Pull the spout off the cooler, shove in the "gizmo" (which you have to do if you buy the combo anyway!!). 3 more gallons of water, for $20 less. If you want only 2 gallons, you can get a 2 gallon Rubbermaid insulated cooler for $10 at Home Depot. Seems like BT is selling a $10 cooler for $40. BTW that Britetap will freeze solid in the winter and there is no way you will get even very hot water in the cooler to go out and keep the water in the external "reservoir" from doing so. Also, nice as it is to see the water in the "gizmo", it WILL turn green there because the sun can get to it. They actually sell a $13 sun cover for it so now you are up to $83 (plus shipping I presume) to solve a problem you can do yourself for < $15. Not meaning to dump on the BT but if one is willing to tap some nipples into the side or bottom of a drink cooler:

• it is WAY cheaper
• the nipples can be kept from freezing at very cold temps with the seasonal addition of a stock tank or submersible aquarium heater
• and no algae issues

Kelsey was so excited she had egg cartons before she had chicks! Yeah, learn from the experiences of others. Fortunately the cartons are now being used. If they are "protecting" the ladies from the PEOPLE, they need to be retrained or rehomed. NO rooster should be "protecting" the flock from the people that feed them.

So buy the nipple set up from Brite tap and get the coolers elsewhere? If I bring the coolers inside for the winter can I keep it from freezing?

You can purchase the nipples separately as well, easy to find on ebay or amazon. Get a plastic 5 gallon bucket with lid from walmart drill holes and put in the nipples. With the addition of a [COLOR=333333]stock tank, submersible aquarium heater or birdbath deicer you shouldn't have an issue with freezing. All while saving a few dollars..[/COLOR]

What BP said. 8" in the WINTER can work because they pack in. 12" minimum in warmer weather. And if someone lives where 80F IS winter weather (like the temperature variation in Aruba is about 10F night to day and 75F to 95F "winter" to summer") it is 12" year round. The run you plan to add is big enough for < 5 grown large fowl chickens. I don't know how big the run (if there is one, you said "add") you already have is. Your space will likely be outgrown by the 6 Leghorns before they are 5 months old. I'd start on the new coop now, or maybe I'd start on the BIG run now and when that is finished start on the bigger coop. Not trying to rain on anyone's parade but SO many people believe (having no reason not to) what the manufacturers' claim for # of chickens. I swear those manufacturers have never raised chickens or they think that battery cage hens live good lives at the huge egg factories. If you feel the need to have a "plug and play" solution, yes. You can bring water in at night since the birds will be up on the roosts but what are you going to do during the day? Doesn't take long for a small amount of water like the "reservoir" holds to freeze. It will start on the outside and slowly freeze to the center.

Thank you all! I'm new to chickens so I have tons to learn! I appreciate your patience!

I'm still learning! So I appreciate your help and patience!

We all started there @tjparker60 and everyone who has had chickens for a year or 30 years will tell you there is ALWAYS something to learn. My winter water setup works to about -20F but I would design it differently were I to do it again.

Thank you! Just want the best set up for my girls! I do the same thing with the baby squirrels I rescue! I have to get everything right, but I know it won't be perfect! Love this site!

Agree, brite tap seems expensive for what it is. And personally I went for a food grade bucket, I just figure they should have food grade. Less than $5 from Lowe's. I got horizontal nipples on eBay and though I never had Brite Tap, I feel they would work better ~$17 on Amazon here for 5, kinda expensive but it worked for me http://www.amazon.com/Horizontal-Side-Mount-Poultry-Nipples/dp/B00JXUAD0K Or you can get them on eBay from the same seller for about $20 for 10 instead of 5. About $3 more for twice as many. Better deal but I didn't discover the eBay posting until the other day and I like Amazon. http://m.ebay.com/itm/10-Horizontal-Side-Mount-Poultry-Chicken-Watering-Nipples-/161294582526 So about $5 for a 5 gallon food grade bucket and let's say $20 for the nipples so about $25 for the whole set up. WAY WAY WAY cheaper than the Brite Tap, just a bit cheaper (and easier to drill into) than a cooler, and you can put as many nipples into it as you want to i have 4 in mine. And yupppp, bought the egg cartons WAY too early. Lol they're getting used now though. Well, some. Probably bought too many and used a few old ones from store eggs but if we sell them it will be good to have so many or give to friends. We were gettinf between 5-7 a day, most recently has been 6-7 (better than the 2 a day when they started ) but the last few days has been 8 a day. Sometimes they lay 8. day and then will drop to 6 or 7. But anyway, my dad and brother have been eating a ton so it's sometimes hard to fill a carton LOL my brother just took a dozen. We had an 18 pack we used for a while but it was falling apart so are using the dozen ones we bought. My dad eats 3-4 a day and my brother used to too but just takes some now when he runs out. His girlfriend eats them too. I haven't touched them until today but used them in brownies once. But yeah, we have about 2 dozen now but my dad had a lot today and I had 3 today in scrambled eggs and 2 for French toast. Sorry. Got to rambling. And I agree about the vicious rooster. And someone mentioned even the sweeties still being good protectors. Well, that confuses me because if they're sweeties surely they're not vicious?? True vicious roosters imo should never be tolerated. Especially when there's so many other nice roosters out there. You feed him and there is no reason to protect them from you. Unless maybe you are doing something traumatizing like dusting for mites but even then they should have respect while being concerned and stay back and not flog you. We don't have a rooster and likely never will as we have close neighbors in the back and I don't wanna be woken up. Though we do have a few LOUD hens lol the neighbor right behind us has a dog who has gotten loose twice recently, once yesterday who drove Gator CRAZY as he was outside (though after the initial anger I think we wanted to play) and once the other day and Gator was inside and didn't notice. We don't mind since he's so good, my mom walked straight up to him and carried him in the house and they were immediately looking for him. Plus he has never gotten loose before this and Gator used to go in their yard all the time. I'm rambling but my point is yesterday they said "your chickens are beautiful" And sorry, wait, I think my original point was we don't have a rooster now but if and when we do (I want to move to Idaho) I will NEVER tolerate a mean rooster. My hen was mean but has calmed down a lot now so I never had to go there. And I would probably rehab a roo who did minor pecking or climbing on me/height dominance or curious pecking I misread as being mean but if one flat out flogged me they would find themselves in a new home or in freezer camp. I am kind of a chicken though (no pun intended) so would probably be scared of the roo or any animal who attacked me or did anythng remotely bad. I got anxiety trail riding when the horse didn't even do anythng bad. I wasn't allowed to go after a couple times (i took lessons and started going with the group, she offered to take me alone but we never did). I fell off him when he went up a small bank and thought he spooked and wasn't sitting right, falling forward on rocks, but she said if he was being fresh he would have been up the trail and gone. Instead he was standing over me, obviously concerned and confused as to why his rider was suddenly off him and crying, lmfao. Poor guy. But after that I got more and more anxious. Sooo.. i keep going on stupid tangents but point being I wouldn't stand up to a flogging roo to rehab him likely so rehome or freezer camp. Though I'd probably cry culling him and couldn't do it. In case you couldn't tell I am a huge baby LOL

 

[NanaNeen]

The vicious Rooster in question would fly at all of us feet first to draw blood. He did that one too many times to hubby. Did I mention the hens REALLY liked hubby? The next accidental roo (both of them were suppose to be pullets) was a sweetie.

 

[FarmerPhronc]

Agree, brite tap seems expensive for what it is.

And personally I went for a food grade bucket, I just figure they should have food grade. Less than $5 from Lowe's.

I got horizontal nipples on eBay and though I never had Brite Tap, I feel they would work better

~$17 on Amazon here for 5, kinda expensive but it worked for me

http://www.amazon.com/Horizontal-Side-Mount-Poultry-Nipples/dp/B00JXUAD0K

Or you can get them on eBay from the same seller for about $20 for 10 instead of 5. About $3 more for twice as many. Better deal but I didn't discover the eBay posting until the other day and I like Amazon.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/10-Horizontal-Side-Mount-Poultry-Chicken-Watering-Nipples-/161294582526

So about $5 for a 5 gallon food grade bucket and let's say $20 for the nipples so about $25 for the whole set up. WAY WAY WAY cheaper than the Brite Tap, just a bit cheaper (and easier to drill into) than a cooler, and you can put as many nipples into it as you want to i have 4 in mine.


I just checked on ebay and they have 5 nipples for $12.94 http://www.ebay.com/itm/161294591700 or one can go directly to their website www.allaboutchickens.com They have buckets as well though I didn't check the prices for those as I believe one can get them else where cheaper and just drill the holes. If you have friends that work in the restaurant/fast food industry ask them if they have any 5 gallon pickle buckets. Just make sure to wash it well and use a little bleach to disinfect it.