Things you've learned while building your coop...

[pipemum]

What type of paint is safe to use inside a coop...water based? Thanks, Newbie.

Regular latex paint is safe.

 

[jennychick45]

i learned that my dad didnt want to spend monry to make a huge nice coop

 

[Sara9]

Put a board that can be removed in front of the door so you keep shavings in when wanted and can get them out when cleaning.
keep roosting bars low enough so they don't kill themselves getting up or down.
Putting fabric in front of roosting boxes worked nicely for me, keeps the hens happy and undisturbed.
No pointy wires or nails sticking out.....having birds with cuts and infections is not fun
Vynal floors are great so the wood doesn't rot and I even hose it down after cleaning the coop, works nicely

Also, can someone describe the 'hot wire' method to me. What are the pros and cons of it if I were to have it on a moveable coop?

 

[SassysMom]

13. Make the latch on the pen such that it cannot POSSIBLY close and latch itself and lock you inside

Pat

This made me laugh hysterically

ONLY because...been there, done that, bought the t-shirt! After the new chicken condo was finished enough for occupancy, there were a few detail to be finished. One was making latches for the interior doors. DH put in some short pieces of wood that, when turned horizontally, kept the doors into the individual coops inside the condo closed. So...it's getting a little dusky outside and I'm trying to get the eggs and getting to poop pans cleaned b/f it was dark. Little did I (or my DH) know that the bar to keep the door shut on this particular coop wood lock the door on the outside if you closed it. I'm sure I screamed loud enough for the neighbors to hear (and they're 5 acres away), Used anything that looked like it would push the wood bar up or down, and taught chickens words that made cock-a-doodle-doo into a lullabye. Dinner must have been burning, or something, b/c my DH finally came looking for me. Talk about finding me madder than a wet hen! Needless to say, his task was to replace everyone of those dang wooden bars...ASAP. Today, I can find a little bit of humor in that lesson

Connie

 

[hosspak]

A request from the Crazy H-Bar Ranch;
I have a request for my quail raising friends. I want to see your quail coop designs and ideas. After Googling for 30 minutes and now have blurred vision... I would like to see your set ups. Thanks.

 

[Wilson74]

One thing I had to add after my coop and run were complete was drainage. On a crummy rainy day the chickens need a dry place to scratch. Covering the run is a great start but with a roof there's water runoff. I hadn't realized how much water there would be and have since added a gutter to a drainage pipe I buried that runs to a gully about 40 feet away. Now the run stays mostly dry when it rains. My coop is raised up on 4x4 posts so they can hang out underneath with a dust bath setup if the weather is really bad. Hope this is helpful

 

[Kaylish]

Such a great thread! I'm planning out my 4th coop and still found good ideas that I hadn't even thought of!

 

[stanleymeetgloria]

is it feasible to create separated runs that connect to each other, so I can re-grow grass in the different runs for the hens? I cannot really let them free range as my neighbors all have dogs as well, and I don't want to frighten the poor girls to death.

 

[ZooAtHome]

is it feasible to create separated runs that connect to each other, so I can re-grow grass in the different runs for the hens? I cannot really let them free range as my neighbors all have dogs as well, and I don't want to frighten the poor girls to death.

That is exactly what I am doing. I've completed phase 1, which is a small grow-out run with a pop-door and clean-out access. It is fully enclosed in 1/2" hardware cloth, including an apron all the way around.

A dozen 11-wk-old chickens are actually living in the coop and using this first run as I work on phase 2.

I'm hoping to finish up this second section this coming weekend. It has a separate pop-door leading into it, in case I want to restrict their access to the grow-out run for some reason. This section will also be entirely enclosed with 1/2" hardware cloth and an apron.

Phase 3 will be an even larger run on the side opposite of where this picture was taken and will likely go back quite a ways. There will be no direct access to this section from the coop. Instead, a door will lead from run 2 to run 3. This third run will likely be less secure, because it will be a lot bigger and more difficult (not to mention expensive) to fully enclose. Chickens will probably only get access to it while I am outside and definitely only during daylight hours. Phase 3 is still in early planning stages though, so things may yet change ... especially as I hope to add a second coop next year.

 

[drinkoj]

When framing, remember a 2x4 is actually 1.5" thick. Math is your friend.