Tell me the top 3 things your coop/run couldn't do without!

my top three features are: 1.) easy to clean, 2.) external eggbox and 3.) storage built in. Oh, and it had to be nice looking. So far I've got what I wanted, though easy to clean remains to be seen.

 

Vents, Roof, Door.

 

Egg boxes external, easy to clean(mesh floor so droppings fall through), and movable.

 

I'm really lucky that I have 2 HUGE sheds which where already built when I bought my house. The one I use for the chickens is about 360 square feet, so for me the space is fantastic.

I recently gave them a kitchen table with some roosts attached to the top. I have some plastic poop boards that sit on the table top. Since the poop boards it's cut my cleaning time, and the amount of bedding I use drastically. I used to clean them out every two weeks or so, it took me an hour or so. I also used about three bales of straw each time. Now I clean the boards every other day, and sprinkle a little shavings on them. I've not had to clean the coop out since the boards where put in, about 5 weeks or so.

And lastly it's secure. I've not had any problems with night time predators for the two years that they've been in there.

SO:
1 space
2 poop boards
3 secure

 

1. Power.

2. Auto coop door.

3. Covered run.

 

Auto feeders
Auto waterers
External egg box

 

The first three things that I could not do without is security, security and security. Unless you build the coop and run as predator proof as you can all of the other conveniences will be for nothing. Having said that I think that it is very important to have a large access point for cleaning.





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1) LARGE size in relation to number of chickens in it

2) good ventilation

3) popdoor located 12" or so above the level of the bedding, so no bedding gets kicked out into runs. (Except for the runs that use preexisting dog-run doors, which are flush with floor, which lose bedding like crazy)

But actually I like Capvin's answer best -- reasonable predatorproofness is pretty much the biggest thing, cuz otherwise there are no chickens TO house

Pat

 

My favorite features and the features I couldn't do without are different, so I included both.

Top 3 favorites -

1. Covered run, so I don't have to shovel snow, just so they can get out of the coop in the morning.
2. Automatic pop door.
3. Electricity, for brooding in the coop, lights and keeping the water thawed in the winter.

Top 3 features I couldn't live without -

1. Secure construction methods and materials.
2. Spacing that's generous.
3. Ventilation that's generous and seasonally adjustable.