What's the one thing you wish you had included in your coop?

[Folly's place]

Seasonal outfits?!? Who knew?

 

[HopeSprings]

Hilarious I wish I had a chicken tame enough for seasonal outfits

Maybe a closet for the chicken outfits?!!

 

[Uff Da]

Well, we did have a little gravity to help, but every evening we disconnected the hose from the faucet and blew it out with our mouths!

Oh dear, I'm afraid that won't work in sub-zero temps, lol. If you spit and it freezes before it hits the ground, imagine how the hose would freeze solid long before the water was drained. It also wouldn't be safe to put your mouth on the metal hose end at those temps. Thanks for troubleshooting with me, though!

 

[IamRainey]

Electricity.

It was never my intention to light the coop in the Winter but I found there was no way to avoid running fans in the Summer in my climate so I had to add it eventually. It's also useful if you need to run an incubator and a brooder out there.

When I added some irrigation to raised veggie beds nearby the person doing the work noticed the coop and asked if I wanted a spigot on their side of the fence. It's been enormously helpful too.

 

[HopeSprings]

Oh dear, I'm afraid that won't work in sub-zero temps, lol. If you spit and it freezes before it hits the ground, imagine how the hose would freeze solid long before the water was drained. It also wouldn't be safe to put your mouth on the metal hose end at those temps. Thanks for troubleshooting with me, though!

How do humans live up there?!!

 

[Uff Da]

How do humans live up there?!!

Well luckily in Montana we usually only get below zero during cold snaps. So after a week or so of sub-zero temps we get a reprieve of regular winter cold (10 to 30 degrees). We usually only have a few cold snaps per winter. And we only get really cold (-30 or below) for a few days each year. It isn't the deep cold that is frustrating, but how long winter lasts.

 

[Folly's place]

It's easier to add clothing than to cope with excess heat, IMO. Not that -30F is good!
Mary

 

[HopeSprings]

Well luckily in Montana we usually only get below zero during cold snaps. So after a week or so of sub-zero temps we get a reprieve of regular winter cold (10 to 30 degrees). We usually only have a few cold snaps per winter. And we only get really cold (-30 or below) for a few days each year. It isn't the deep cold that is frustrating, but how long winter lasts.

Yeah, when I was much younger, I lived at 9,600' in central Colorado -- looong winter, quik summer! Great for skiing, but I haven't skiied in ages!
I've got a frostfree spigot across the driveway from the coop, which is no problem now. Fortunately, winter here isn't too bad. But I may buy a reel on wheels to be able to bring the hose in if necessary.

 

[cowboy bob]

Hi Peeps!
I'm planning a coop build and I'm hoping to take a few lessons from the BYC community before I start. So, please share one thing you wish you had included in your coop.
Thanking you!

More room. Make a coop three times bigger than you think you need.

 

[jkh2023]

Hi Peeps!
I'm planning a coop build and I'm hoping to take a few lessons from the BYC community before I start. So, please share one thing you wish you had included in your coop.
Thanking you!

I wish that I did a bigger run. I have a rather large coop and run but it just doesn’t seem to cut it. The girls could use some more space to roam around. I do not free range because of too many predators. We have hawks, coyotes, and foxes. I also wish we ran electric out to the coop. This is definitely not a necessity they do just fine with out it but it would of made my life a lot easier! We have a hardy flock so a heat lamp is not necessary but it would be helpful to keep the water from freezing. We set our coop on a border of concrete pads and left the run on grass. I wish we prepped the grass area with a base as well. The chickens just dug up so much of the ground it made the coop unlevel. I should of done the entire run and coop on a concrete slab and put sand on top.