Show me inside and outside of your homemade coops

[TropicalBabies]

5 Black Australorps. No one here now but the wife and me. So I probably would be the one taking up residence in it. Still a work in progress but getting there.

5 lucky Australorps... so much easier than teenagers
Mahalo for sharing the inside. Very nice, very clean and roomy. Wouldn't be that bad if you ever got banished to it. Like the feeder and roost a lot!

 

[eggnest]

thats a lot of nice work

 

[BReeder!]

....and it could be true that can happen.
But writing it out with caveats will convey the concern without making it sound like it's guaranteed to happen.

Instead of writing this:

Try something like this:
It's possible that quail and chickens can spread disease to one another.
Might want to research that.

 

[Merrymouse]

Here is my coop when I first built it.. so nice and clean before I added, you know...the actual, living, eating and pooping chickens I have since added an almost identical coop and run to the back of this one, doubling the size....build as big as you can then double it!!

 

[ERRJRDN]

Here is my coop when I first built it.. so nice and clean before I added, you know...the actual, living, eating and pooping chickens I have since added an almost identical coop and run to the back of this one, doubling the size....build as big as you can then double it!!View attachment 1677853 View attachment 1677854 View attachment 1677856 View attachment 1677857 View attachment 1677858

What a great coop!! You went to a lot more detail than mine, all the painting and cute dressings! I just went industrial, LOL! And I agree with you on how nice they look before the poop hits!. Well Done!!

 

[Merrymouse]

What a great coop!! You went to a lot more detail than mine, all the painting and cute dressings! I just went industrial, LOL! And I agree with you on how nice they look before the poop hits!. Well Done!!

Thanks, it was a challenge but lots of folks on here literally walked me through it. The addition I put on this past year is way, way, way more plain and you know what it works just fine....chickens really dont care about paint jobs

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Here is my coop when I first built it.. so nice and clean before I added, you know...the actual, living, eating and pooping chickens I have since added an almost identical coop and run to the back of this one, doubling the size....build as big as you can then double it!!View attachment 1677853 View attachment 1677854 View attachment 1677856 View attachment 1677857 View attachment 1677858

love it!

 

[twendt]

I built this without plans...I viewed a lot of posts before I started. I started with 3 RIR and a "dollhouse" pre-fab coop and quickly realized I needed a bigger insulated coop.

 

[mbailey78]

Have been meaning to post pics since I joined BYC. Not the best time to take pics. Obviously looks better in warmer weather. I currently have 45 birds. I free range them when I am home and there is decent weather. We built the coop 4 years ago this coming summer and have been making upgrades ever since. Not pictured is when you walk in the coop it’s about 2 feet to get into where the birds use (chicken wire wall). In the 2 ft space-to the right are 2 metal cans, 1 for feed and the other for their daily treat of black oil sunflower seeds. Also to the right is a cupboard hanging on the wall for storage and all the tools I use to clean the coop/run-shovel, hoe, scraper etc. To the left is what we call the “closet”. It has a chicken wire door and the chicken wire wall on the side to the living space of the flock. We use that for broody hens/rooster time out/ and to graduate chicks from brooder to coop.
Initially we had tiered roosts but it was like WWE every night for birds to fight for the top rung. So we changed it to the roost pictured and it’s awesome, no fighting. The poop deck is fantastic for quick cleanup (linoleum on poop deck and floor of the coop). I don’t have litter down in the summer-I even mop it once in a while-crazy sounding I know.
The electric has been convenient, lights, heated waterers, vent fan and automatic chicken door. Eventually, I want to have back up solar power. There are 4 windows in the coop. I have a couple feeders and a waterer in the coop. One feeder and one waterer in the run in the winter and another waterer is added in warm weather.

The nest boxes- I used to have plastic bins with shavings but eggs broke bc the hens liked to kick the shavings out. So I came up with the idea to use fake grass rug material, not the thin stuff, and it has worked out great. Easy to clean too.
Part of the run has a roof and we enclose that section in the cold weather with clear roofing material. There is a dust bath on each side of the run under the section with a roof. There are perches around the run, plan to add more eventually. The automatic chicken door was added this past fall, maybe the best upgrade. I still go up every evening to give them their sunflowers, nice to have them trained to come when called in case I have to get them in the run before dusk. I also go up after dark to “tuck them in” to make sure they are all on the roost. Sometimes they are in the nest boxes or on the poop deck (a couple on the bottom of the pecking order). The auto door is the most helpful to give us more flexibility if we have to come after dark and not have to get up at dawn on the weekends.
I have been meaning to decorate the coop....maybe this year.

Hmm I’m sure I have more to add but I think I covered most of the features of my coop . To the dismay of my partner.... I’m always thinking of upgrades. I’m glad he is so handy!
Thank you for reading my post.
Melissa

 

[ERRJRDN]

View attachment 1683530 View attachment 1683532 View attachment 1683533 View attachment 1683535 View attachment 1683536 View attachment 1683537 View attachment 1683538 View attachment 1683539 View attachment 1683541 View attachment 1683542 Have been meaning to post pics since I joined BYC. Not the best time to take pics. Obviously looks better in warmer weather. I currently have 45 birds. I free range them when I am home and there is decent weather. We built the coop 4 years ago this coming summer and have been making upgrades ever since. Not pictured is when you walk in the coop it’s about 2 feet to get into where the birds use (chicken wire wall). In the 2 ft space-to the right are 2 metal cans, 1 for feed and the other for their daily treat of black oil sunflower seeds. Also to the right is a cupboard hanging on the wall for storage and all the tools I use to clean the coop/run-shovel, hoe, scraper etc. To the left is what we call the “closet”. It has a chicken wire door and the chicken wire wall on the side to the living space of the flock. We use that for broody hens/rooster time out/ and to graduate chicks from brooder to coop.
Initially we had tiered roosts but it was like WWE every night for birds to fight for the top rung. So we changed it to the roost pictured and it’s awesome, no fighting. The poop deck is fantastic for quick cleanup (linoleum on poop deck and floor of the coop). I don’t have litter down in the summer-I even mop it once in a while-crazy sounding I know.
The electric has been convenient, lights, heated waterers, vent fan and automatic chicken door. Eventually, I want to have back up solar power. There are 4 windows in the coop. I have a couple feeders and a waterer in the coop. One feeder and one waterer in the run in the winter and another waterer is added in warm weather.

The nest boxes- I used to have plastic bins with shavings but eggs broke bc the hens liked to kick the shavings out. So I came up with the idea to use fake grass rug material, not the thin stuff, and it has worked out great. Easy to clean too.
Part of the run has a roof and we enclose that section in the cold weather with clear roofing material. There is a dust bath on each side of the run under the section with a roof. There are perches around the run, plan to add more eventually. The automatic chicken door was added this past fall, maybe the best upgrade. I still go up every evening to give them their sunflowers, nice to have them trained to come when called in case I have to get them in the run before dusk. I also go up after dark to “tuck them in” to make sure they are all on the roost. Sometimes they are in the nest boxes or on the poop deck (a couple on the bottom of the pecking order). The auto door is the most helpful to give us more flexibility if we have to come after dark and not have to get up at dawn on the weekends.
I have been meaning to decorate the coop....maybe this year.

Hmm I’m sure I have more to add but I think I covered most of the features of my coop . To the dismay of my partner.... I’m always thinking of upgrades. I’m glad he is so handy!
Thank you for reading my post.
Melissa

I like your setup!! Has a vintage look to it, and your automatic door caught my eye! I want to install one on my coop as well, who manufactures your automatic door? I have one in mind, opens using solar power and has a screw drive system. How much land do your chickens have to roam on? And upgrading is always on my mind too!!