Show me UGLY coops- where my peeps at?

[PirateGirl]

Ok a couple pages back I said I was going to plan my nesting boxes better than the coop. Spoiler alert, I didn't. The nesting suite still needs the roof and hinges on the doors used to collect.

And I need to make a real roof for the run! And I want the coop taller. Maybe I will use all that wood after all...

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You are getting so close! I too use that green garden fencing everywhere! I'm sure my neighbor hates that too, but it's cheap and easy to cut and the the bunnies and prairie dogs don't seem to get through it, it's all around my raised beds and randomly around my chicken run and covering holes in my coop.

 

[animalyodelers]

You are getting so close! I too use that green garden fencing everywhere! I'm sure my neighbor hates that too, but it's cheap and easy to cut and the the bunnies and prairie dogs don't seem to get through it, it's all around my raised beds and randomly around my chicken run and covering holes in my coop.

Thanks! Yeah I love that stuff! I use hardware cloth where I need 100% predator proofing but this for everything else. It is so easy to work with and relatively cheap!

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Our coop is made from a utility trailer, formerly housed 300 free-ranging broilers. We just bought it in a state of disrepair and are fixing it up for security (lots of predators around here). We have 12 birds so far but will get another 8 including a 2nd rooster soon.

They have their own natural branches to roost on, from Cedar trees on our property. It has its own 50 gallon water tank with twin fount feeders.

The sides are a laminate of aluminum over some kind of strong rubberized black plastic center. The bottom is all wire to allow droppings out. We enclosed the top sides fully today with 1" welded wire.

Yes, it's UGLY. But our birds are safe and uncrowded in there. There are 8 laying boxes now. It came with 30 boxes but we don't need that many.

Other than the hard work of downsizing it, making it secure, and fixing the roof, the hardest part so far has been roosting the chickens at night into the new coop. They keep trying to go into the old coop! And our rooster does not deserve that name...he's always the first in bed.

 

[animalyodelers]

Our coop is made from a utility trailer, formerly housed 300 free-ranging broilers. We just bought it in a state of disrepair and are fixing it up for security (lots of predators around here). We have 12 birds so far but will get another 8 including a 2nd rooster soon.

They have their own natural branches to roost on, from Cedar trees on our property. It has its own 50 gallon water tank with twin fount feeders.

The sides are a laminate of aluminum over some kind of strong rubberized black plastic center. The bottom is all wire to allow droppings out. We enclosed the top sides fully today with 1" welded wire.

Yes, it's UGLY. But our birds are safe and uncrowded in there. There are 8 laying boxes now. It came with 30 boxes but we don't need that many.

Other than the hard work of downsizing it, making it secure, and fixing the roof, the hardest part so far has been roosting the chickens at night into the new coop. They keep trying to go into the old coop! And our rooster does not deserve that name...he's always the first in bed.
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It looks like they love it!! How did you attach the branches? I have lots of branches and my birds prefer them to the 2x2 roost I have, but I can't find a good way to securely attach them! It's been driving me nuts.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Yes, it's UGLY. But our birds are safe and uncrowded in there.

I don't think it's ugly. I think it's INGENIUS. Score one for human ingenuity!!!

 

[happygoldenyears]

Oh man, our chicken and duck run is FUUUGLY. For starters, we couldn't afford fancy shmancy $500+ coops so I bought two large dog houses for $75 each. They are inside a 20x10 chain link dog kennel with a branch I found on a hike set in one of the corners as a roosting bar. We have chickens and ducks together, so my foot of "deep litter" bedding is covered in a thick layer of muddy duck poop. It STINKS and looks terrible.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

It looks like they love it!! How did you attach the branches? I have lots of branches and my birds prefer them to the 2x2 roost I have, but I can't find a good way to securely attach them! It's been driving me nuts.

It took a little trial and error. I cut a notch in the big end of the branches with a chainsaw. The angle matches the frame of 2x6s you see angling upwards. That flat notch keeps the branches from rolling or rocking around. Once I got that angle right, we wired the branches on tight with stainless wire. So far, so good.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Oh man, our chicken and duck run is FUUUGLY. For starters, we couldn't afford fancy shmancy $500+ coops so I bought two large dog houses for $75 each. They are inside a 20x10 chain link dog kennel with a branch I found on a hike set in one of the corners as a roosting bar. We have chickens and ducks together, so my foot of "deep litter" bedding is covered in a thick layer of muddy duck poop. It STINKS and looks terrible.

LOL, this is exactly how we started off too! But a cold northern rain blew in for three days and several of our chickens got sick and died. So I resolved to build or buy something that keeps them dry. Chickens sneer at cold but they have to be mostly dry to survive it.

 

[animalyodelers]

Oh man, our chicken and duck run is FUUUGLY. For starters, we couldn't afford fancy shmancy $500+ coops so I bought two large dog houses for $75 each. They are inside a 20x10 chain link dog kennel with a branch I found on a hike set in one of the corners as a roosting bar. We have chickens and ducks together, so my foot of "deep litter" bedding is covered in a thick layer of muddy duck poop. It STINKS and looks terrible.

As long as it works! Looks don't matter.

 

[animalyodelers]

It took a little trial and error. I cut a notch in the big end of the branches with a chainsaw. The angle matches the frame of 2x6s you see angling upwards. That flat notch keeps the branches from rolling or rocking around. Once I got that angle right, we wired the branches on tight with stainless wire. So far, so good.

Thanks!