Show Off Your Coops!

[paparootzi]

Quote:
WOW, what a deal! I love the old barn wood!

Well, here's MY ordeal:
Since Oct08, I've gone through so many phases of keeping my chickens up that it's costed a fortune! I've built, tore down, rebuilt, added on, and now I just have a big mess! It's not even as pretty as most of these (but they are safe and have plenty of room I guess). I started out with 3 roosters and 1 hen and 5 pullets and kept them in this:

The grass, of course, started to fade away and I felt they needed more room so I took a 12x24 carport that I formerly used as a shelter for a horse and turned it into a chicken house! So, of course, I had room for more! I added 4 more hens that I bought that were already laying eggs and a month later, I had a dozen more hatch! So, now I'm up 25 (from 9)

I took the original structure and split it up to make chicken tractors out of them so I could move the roosters around the yard.

I used to let the chickens free-range through the woods (I rotated the roosters) but they started getting closer to the house and I live with my g/ma and she fussed about them getting under her azalea bushes and making a mess of the pinestraw so I had to figure a way to keep them contained now.
So, I already had posts in the ground next to the chicken house so I nailed land timbers around the bottom, threw some dog wire up and used some multi-purpose netting for the top (which I went underneath and "sewed" together with string) What a pain! (But I love my chickens, right?)

I added a seperate chicken door and that's about it for now!
But I like looking at all the ideas because I've got about 4 roosters out of the ones born on 6/1 and will need to build them a seperate area! (Time to get a second job)!

The END!

 

[paparootzi]

Quote:
Well, at least from that experience you know what NOT to do! At least they will still have that great shade!

 

[isabrownmom]

2txmedics,

It is just a bucket with lid that I got from our bakery at work and I ordered little red nipple waterers from Farm Tek, drilled a 3/8" hole in 3 spots (triangle) on the bottom, pushed a rubber grommet into the hole and then the nipple. I also drilled a smaller hole into the side up by the lid so air can get through. It works great and the hens caught on real quick.

 

[mayden]

Quote:
I bought some of those nipples and have a couple jugs I made into waterers. I question whether or not they are getting enough water. I have a 5 gallon waterer without nipples out in the run and when I let them out in the morning it seems as though many or most go for the water and drink for a while. What's you experience?

 

[isabrownmom]

When I first go tthe pullets they drank like crazy from the nipples and my DH theorized that since they were 6 of 400 pullets running loose, they might not have gotten enough water. It has leveled off and I have drawn lines on the bucket so that I can monitor their water intake. Being chickens, they will always take the easy route but I just don't give them the chance. It's the nipple or nothing and they are drinking!

 

[sianara]

Quote:
I bought some of those nipples and have a couple jugs I made into waterers. I question whether or not they are getting enough water. I have a 5 gallon waterer without nipples out in the run and when I let them out in the morning it seems as though many or most go for the water and drink for a while. What's you experience?

Mine do this too. If they see me fill the outside waterer they will rush to it and drink like they're parched or something. I usually go check to see if the coop waterer is empty and it's usually fine. Go figure!

 

[agchickchick]

My Chick a'Tractor

 

[Ms. Cluckingly]

WOW! SO many amazing chicken coops and runs! You've all given me some great, inspiring ideas! My coop will be here next week, and so will my hens.

 

[OutInTheStiks]

Our main coop.

There are more pics on my BYC page.

 

[muell112]

Here's my coop. We refurbished an old wood shed and built a run off it. This was taken earlier this spring and now we've got beans running all the way up over the top of the end and peas/sunflowers along the sides.