The coop ! Finally. Pics. Input please :)

[Hunny]

This was our second coop to make, and we did it in a week ! (there are still somethings I have to do before I put the girls in...but for the most part its done)

We had to hurry cause DH was leaving.

My one and only concern is the ramp, its too steep and I havent created a cover for that pop door.
I also need to finish painting the nesting boxes.
Be nice, but be honest please.

Run is 8x4x36in tall,
Coop is 4x4 (tallest point) + nesting boxes

Here are the photos:

Access Door, locked up, and 5 year old proof.

View, its up next to the house, figured I wont want to move it on my own next winter, and thats probably least draftist spot.

View of the front of the coop, with ventilation.

View of the too steep of a ramp.

Nesting boxes, not complete. I tried spray paint...its not going to cut it.

Ventilation above nesting boxes.

 

[MissJenny]

Oh, This is handsome -- and I like how you did the vent, so it can be closed. I don't know if you are looking for design advice on the eamp, but that never stops me from spilling my twe cents worth -- one solution would be to do a 90* turn at a gentler slope (gosh, I hope that description was clear.)

It's especially nice that you've made it "five-year-old proof".

Jenny

 

[SuziQ991]

It looks very nice. I agree, you could turn the ramp the long way. Probably wont matter anyway. Mine take a couple steps down the ramp and jump the rest of the way.

 

[Luvducks]

Wow, I Love it! I have several color silkies that I want to keep seperate and a couple of these would work very well. Thanks for showing us.
I also have 4 roosters so one big coop won't cut it.

 

[Zahboo]

It's WONDERFUL. My only suggestion is unless there is a fenced in yard, use something besides chicken wire. Chicken wire only keeps chickens in, not raccoons, opossums, and dogs out.

 

[Hunny]

Thanks for all the replies already.

I will consider all the above options on the ramp. I think I'll watch the girls when I get them out there, and see what they do.

My backyard is fully fenced, 6ft privacy.
As soon as I figure out how to cover the popdoor at night, they will be secure from all creatures that dont have a masterlock key

Any more opinions? I would love to hear everything.

**Hunny

 

[Sam The Yam]

Try doing your ramp in two different sections, come down part way with one section that is not as steep to a small platform, then have another section going down from that. That way you could minimize the steepness. Make sense?

 

[gallina man]

you will need to put wire at the bottom in the first picture it looks like there is a gap at the bottom where u have it on the small blocks something will get under there . great coop

 

[perched]

Looks great! Who says you have to paint the inside anyway? We left ours natural wood inside and never looked back. ;-)

I agree with previous posters on the steepness of the ramp and the chicken wire.

The ramp is fine for heading down because they just jump and fly, but I like the idea of a platform or running it the long way to make it easier for them to get up to the coop. I would also add hardware cloth to the outside over the chicken wire, and bury some of it a foot down or something to prevent the digging predators from gaining access. We ran hardware cloth all across the bottom of our run-from one side to the other.

Oh, and those spring-loaded hook locks are great if you haven't already used them for doors or vents or whatever. There isn't a raccoon on the planet who could pull the spring back enough to unhook the latch at the same time. We have all sorts of predators around here...and night vision cameras. They look for ways to get in our coop and just walk away. It is actually kind of funny to see a racoon nose to beak with our rooster in the early morning hours. Thanks to our cameras, I have seen that a couple times now, but it has been a while since we've seen any of those naughty guys on camera. Maybe they've given up and spread the word to their buddies and offspring.