post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

I think mine might be coop trained enough that I can throw up a circle of poultry netting and let them out for a bit of free ranging on the weekends or days when I get off from work early (otherwise I get home just in time to feed them dinner before the put themselves up for the night). Really looking forward to that!

If you have a large or rural property the circle of poultry netting will be nice to keep the chickens from wandering far but will have to be watched for predators. You'll have fun relaxing in a chair and watching them forage in the grass or giving them a chicken treat ball -- I saw one owner use a small plastic soda bottle to make a treat ball. U.K. backyarders use portable netting all the time for moving their "chooks" around to forage. Our chickens were good just being inside a roll of 2-foot-tall rabbit fence and to this day still respect that barrier around the garden beds. At first we were nervous about letting our hens completely free-range our suburban backyard but after seeing how savvy they were watching for predators we allow them to free-range all day now. We've had visiting Cooper Hawks (aka chicken hawks) watching our hens in the backyard as close as 5 feet but the hawks won't go after the hiding hens. I think the hawks prefer open yards/fields to swoop on chickens or look for baby chicks. Our chicken hawks try to catch the Mourning Doves in mid-flight only but don't bother them otherwise. Of course we have a lot of shelters, doghouses, and a pop-up canopy plus rose/evergreen bushes -- all for the hens to hide/snooze in. Every owner of chickens has to make up their own mind how safe their environment is and what predators are around before deciding on a completely free-range plan. Testing your flock for a while will give you a good idea of what you'll be comfortable with.

 

[Canamer]

Still working on it but....

Chris

Can I ask you about how much this coop cost you to build. I think we are looking to build something like this. How many chicken's do you have for that coop? Thanks

 

[birdman55]

well 13 hatched and some still hatching..yea..getting practice for the pheasant season soon to start

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Quote:
I'm in an extremely urban setting with a rather small yard. I just want to be able to control which parts of the yard they're in.

 

[Amberjem]

 

[Almost Broke]

This post is a reply to a question from page 179, but I am busy slogging through the whole thread

It will be a miracle if the person who asked to see a rabbit/chicken condo gets to see this. But here goes.
Not the best pics.

The chicken coop is 3'x4'. It has old wagon wheels just in case it needs to be moved away from the rabbit hutch. It is home to 4 Polish girls. The Frizzle roo moved out.

 

[bruceha2000]

I also have been advised not to have the roosts in the path of the next boxes, makes sense not to have the hens step through the poop to get to the next box. So I could make the roosts lengthwise, but then only 3 feet and only one set, if I make it 5 feet it will be drafty on the last 2 feet. Unless I change the roof to be a barn style with the vents on the whole length of it.

Can the nests be on the lower part of the tractor? So they get in on the lower side? I could then add an overhang over the nest as well.

I see no reason you can't put the nests in the lower part. They can actually be anywhere the girls can get to during daylight hours. I know there are some exceptions but generally speaking, they will go to the nests to lay regardless of where they are when the urge to lay strikes. Mine range as far as about 200' from the barn where their coop is but they go back to the coop to lay.

Forgot about the wheels. Here is the design I saw that I want to use:

I am planning on 4 wheels and to move it myself. Getting the awn mower tractor out everyday to move them will not work.

So the reason I am thinking on having pop doors on all 4 sides in the lower part is that then I can move the hoops without having to move the coop every day. Paddock style. That would be convenient for the days with really bad weather. They could have a fresh new run to forage on without having to move everything.

Note that he had to huff pretty hard to get the coop end up on the wheels so consider the weight of yours.

Having multiple doors does seem to make sense in your setup.

Also, in considering wheel design, I like the idea of what is on the Urban Coop II (in the tractor coop section). It looks like it would be easy to steer, but would require lifting one end while moving it, which would limit the size. I also like the idea Roswell is designing for his/her? coop with the wheels that swing out or under (thank you for linking the video). It looks easy to make, and can be used for a bigger coop, but looks like it might be hard to turn... Any thoughts? (I would like to keep it a simple design.)

I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it but you are right. That thing is NOT going to turn unless you lift one end and will still have to drag it sideways some to get it to turn. There is a reason the front wheels on cars pivot. I wonder if the wheels the guy in the video chose could be mounted like casters so they can swivel. That is going to take some thought.

OK, I just gotta ask. Why do you want a long wide piece of plywood covered in poop?? The coop is close to the ground, chicks would need help, adult birds probably not. Why not just put a step in the front??

I'm guessing you live where it never snows! You can put your location in your profile. Looks like a nice area for the chickens.

 

[Poison Ivy]

LOL, I told my hubby a couple times to cut it shorter. Did he listen to me? No, as you can see he left it as he made it. I live in Naples, Fl and its been in the middle 80's here this week. We don't even really get cold days here lowest night we have had has been a warm 45 degrees.

 

[bruceha2000]

LOL, I told my hubby a couple times to cut it shorter. Did he listen to me? No, as you can see he left it as he made it. I live in Naples, Fl and its been in the middle 80's here this week. We don't even really get cold days here lowest night we have had has been a warm 45 degrees.

He might change his mind if it is his job to clean the poop off it. He'd say "Yep, they sure do prefer that single step outside the door!"

I don't know how long you've had chickens but in the 2.5 years I've had mine, two things have been consistent:
- The only place they don't poop is in the nest
- They poop wherever they are when they need to poop, including stopping for a few seconds on their way somewhere.

I initially made the chicken door out of a spare replacement double pane glass unit so the month old chicks could see out. I hinged it on the bottom so they would have a ramp. Very clever, no?? Then I hinged it on the side because they pooped all over it and couldn't see out anyway until I washed it. Now it sits latched closed because I got a Pull-it-shut door spring of 2013.

We don't need to hear about your unbearably hot weather. It was a comfortable -14F here a couple of mornings ago

 

[Poison Ivy]

He might change his mind if it is his job to clean the poop off it. He'd say "Yep, they sure do prefer that single step outside the door!"

I don't know how long you've had chickens but in the 2.5 years I've had mine, two things have been consistent:
- The only place they don't poop is in the nest
- They poop wherever they are when they need to poop, including stopping for a few seconds on their way somewhere.

I initially made the chicken door out of a spare replacement double pane glass unit so the month old chicks could see out. I hinged it on the bottom so they would have a ramp. Very clever, no?? Then I hinged it on the side because they pooped all over it and couldn't see out anyway until I washed it. Now it sits latched closed because I got a Pull-it-shut door spring of 2013.

We don't need to hear about your unbearably hot weather. It was a comfortable -14F here a couple of mornings ago

I'm going to have him cut it shorter when we start on the new run. I've been doing test runs on my VSB auto chicken door. I bought it over 10 years ago, but haven't used it in a few years. I'm just now getting back into chickens I missed them when I didn't have any. I also have some Georgia Giant Quail in the incubator hopefully hatching in a week. I love cold weather but -14 is a little to chilly for this old Florida woman. I can't wait until the new area is done and the birds can move into their new coop. Do your birds go outside in that cold of temp or do they hang out inside the coop?