post your chicken coop pictures here!

[MeepBeep]

gpeters3, care to share a couple of tips on designing for chick protection from bullies?  I'm trying to figure out my coop construction and this would help!

I'm not gpeters3 but I can give some advice...

If at all possible avoid 90° corners, put something in the corner or miter them... Also put in the coop to create an obstacle course in the coop/run this provides cover for smaller birds, things like chairs, tables, benches, even a cinder block or two, rocks etc... A platform about 8-10" off the ground is great to provide shelter for young birds... Things chicks can duck under or into, or move around quickly and avoid the bigger birds... Some people even make 'safe rooms' basically a small section of the coop that has a small door that only smaller birds can get through...

 

[Tika75]

I'm not gpeters3 but I can give some advice...

If at all possible avoid 90° corners, put something in the corner or miter them... Also put in the coop to create an obstacle course in the coop/run this provides cover for smaller birds, things like chairs, tables, benches, even a cinder block or two, rocks etc... A platform about 8-10" off the ground is great to provide shelter for young birds... Things chicks can duck under or into, or move around quickly and avoid the bigger birds... Some people even make 'safe rooms' basically a small section of the coop that has a small door that only smaller birds can get through...

How do you keep from having 90* corners? I need to get my run ready for my eight babies and three hens.

 

[Intheswamp]

Thanks MB. I was planning on rounding the corners out and a short table type of structure out in the run. Since it will be a while before I have to worry about chicks being picked on I'll concentrate what will have to be built into the structure such as the rounded corners. The thought of a safe room is interesting, too...

Ed

 

[Intheswamp]

How do you keep from having 90* corners? I need to get my run ready for my eight babies and three hens.

I would think a piece of sheet good (plywood, stiff plastic, etc.) placed in the corner would remove the 90-degree angle. The plastic could even be bent into a curve and secured to the fence and post. Hardware cloth could be used to...curved into the corned and secured to the fence.

 

[Tika75]

I would think a piece of sheet good (plywood, stiff plastic, etc.) placed in the corner would remove the 90-degree angle. The plastic could even be bent into a curve and secured to the fence and post. Hardware cloth could be used to...curved into the corned and secured to the fence.

Okay. I usually have the water buckets in the corners, but thinking ahead.

 

[toofarout]

As long as your coop is draft free there is really no need to heat. Chickens put off enough BTUs to keep them selves warm. I have a friend that lives in Homer Alaska.... None of his coops have heat. they have good ventilation but no drafts. AND they are all built out of salvaged materials.

My take on heating is once you start they become dependent and don't build up the feathering and fat layer they need for when the power Does go out.

deb

No need to heat if you are in Homer AK perhaps, but Alaska is a big state. Here in the Interior, particularly where I live, if I didn't provide an not only an insulated barn AND heat, I would have dead or frozen chickens. So, it just depends where you live and the microclimate of your specific location, as well as the type of birds you have.

 

[Rozzychick]

We call it the chicken fortress. All hardware cloth, coated clothe 1 foot down, back filled with gravel since its on a slope. Then dirt, topped with sand and a little area with pea gravel. I love the easy maintenance of the sand floor. In Massachusetts .

 

[Rozzychick]

gpeters3, care to share a couple of tips on designing for chick protection from bullies?  I'm trying to figure out my coop construction and this would help!  

Thanks,
Ed

I'm still a newbie , but I've spent the last few months integrating 3 different age groups. I put a big cardboard box, a brooder essentially, in the run . Chicken wire side window and chicken wire top. I would spend a few minutes each day holding a baby and showing it to the bigger birds. About 2 weeks and then all together in the afternoon right before bed. Provide extra food and water spots and maybe a new roost or structure to make the space different with the addition of new friends.

 

[MeepBeep]

No need to heat if you are in Homer AK perhaps, but Alaska is a big state.  Here in the Interior, particularly where I live, if I didn't provide an not only an insulated barn AND heat, I would have dead or frozen chickens.  So, it just depends where you live and the microclimate of your specific location, as well as the type of birds you have.

One has to also consider the duration of the extreme colds in the region and the type of breeds, some tollerate heat or cold much better than others...

In my area and many sure we can get to -10°F or colder on occasion but it's not sustained for long, while in some areas that could be the norm for several months on end... And although chickens might be able to survive they are still going to have cold stress during those periods just like they can have heat stress in areas with sustained high temps...

To heat or not, really has to be evaluated on your unique situation, in general heat is not necessary but there are times when it will be necessary, and there are time when the benefits of heat outweigh the negatives if done properly...

Fact is even humans like us can live in extreme cold without heat as long as we bundle up (as evidenced by the homeless in many cities) doesn't mean it's healthy or advisable to do so in many instances even if we are bundled up in chicken feathers...

 

[MeepBeep]

 


How do you keep from having 90* corners? I need to get my run ready for my eight babies and three hens.

I would think a piece of sheet good (plywood, stiff plastic, etc.) placed in the corner would remove the 90-degree angle.  The plastic could even be bent into a curve and secured to the fence and post.  Hardware cloth could be used to...curved into the corned and secured to the fence.

Yep, about a 12" wide piece of plywood secured into the inside corner of the coop will miter the corners enough to help keep chickens from getting stuck... You could also even do it more efficiently by taking a 12" wide at the bottom isosceles triangle that tapers to a central point about 4' or higher up and lay that in the corners, 12" being the bottom...