I would love to see photos of people's chicken coops. I am going to have one built either this spring or next and have not decided on what I want yet. I am thinking of a flock of maybe 5 or 6 chickens - just for egg laying, not meat.
Plus, I just *love* looking at other people's farm set-ups. So fun to live vicariously!
Thanks,
Gwendalou
Chicken Coops
I will take picture of my PVC chicken coop! I built it myself. I have no problem. My chicken (Rhode Island Red) love it. Now I need to build another coop that other (Barred Rock chicken) need more room. Later, we will build a big chicken coop with fence around so I can have more chickens and egg laying only.. NO meat..
Great pics here that we used in deciding on our coop (which we're still building): http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultrySites.html#coops
Another site with wonderful pics and plans:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html
Finally, this is a tread at "The Coop" (an online forum) called "Your Dream Coop," and it has some really good ideas and important info:
http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=000353
And below is my chicken tractor: holds up to 7 or 8 standard hens (those are very young and small in the pic); you move it daily to fresh grass. Nesting boxes in the house part.
Did you build that tractor? Very cool! When we were house hunting, a couple of the places we looked at had these and I was hoping we'd end up with a place with some sort of chicken coop or tractor. Of course, we ended up with one that didn't! (But we did get a greenhouse, so I felt compensated somewhat. )
I will check out all those links. I have done quite a bit of online looking, but was curious to see what all everyone here has!
Gwendalou
It's a doghouse I bought used for my German Shepherd, but he spurned it, so we raised it, put in nesting boxes and roosts, and made a run for it. I'd do the design differently if I were doing it again, but it was a good first effort. We'll keep the new batch of spring chicks in it once they're feathered out, and the adult birds in the big coop. I'd like to make the mini-coop (tractor) at Mother Earth News.
Seriously, check out that "dream coop" thread... it really made me rethink some aspects of the new coop. And Shoe recommended (in a previous thread) keeping the floor dirt. I wish we'd done that, but it's too late now...
Hello Gwendalou, we've had our coop about 2 years now, and we built it out of recycled stuff that we had laying around. Here's a link to the page we made http://www.geocities.com/whovilleeggcompany that shows how we made it. We had fun making it, and it turned out to be very functional.
Here's my homemade PVC pipe chicken pen or tractor you called.. It's my first try. The next one will be better and have wheels to move it around easier. I used those pvc which it was sitting around the yard.. decided to use it to save $.. It came out great.. Chickens love it.
This message was edited Jan 6, 2006 8:51 PM
Thanks for asking this question, I am learning a lot.
Special thanks to Zeppy for the links and pic of her cool tractor run.
No chickens yet, but they are on my wish list one day (as soon as hubby agrees) so I like to do my research thoroughly between now and then!
Hmstyl, This is the style I will probably be wanting. I want it to 'blend in' with our house, garage, and shed, which are all the same style. Unless I find something just completely funky and chickeny-looking that I can't resist. I love those chicken 'eggs' they sell in England. I wish they'd import those.
MiniSchnuz, love the pvc one! Boy, what a good use of salvage materials and economical too. I'm a big fan of pvc. I use it to build halloween props. Your picture does not enlarge when I click on it, so I can't see how you attached the chicken wire. I'm thinking that it would have been fun to spray-paint the pvc in a variety of bright country colors - red, blue, green, yellow - but don't know if it would peel and chip off quickly being exposed to elements.
Gwendalou
Oh how fun getting to see everyone's coops. I love it.
Mine is very primative, made out of old wood pallets
standing on their sides and stuffed the spaces with straw
for warmth. Looks awful, but is only temporary until spring
when we will build permanent one. The one I have now is
very sturdy and warm, just Ugly. Can't wait til we can
build new. I like getting ideas from all of yours. Thanks
for posting pics.
PeggyK, you need to post a pic! I love the primitive ones - they are sometimes the most interesting.
No way can you just tell us about it and not post a pic!
Gwendalou
I wish I could post pics. My daughter has a digital camera
and her computer will scan them and post. Maybe I can get her
to do it for me. My computer is almost as primative as my
coop. LOL.
I will take pic of the chicken tractor ( pen) tomorrow and show you better ( large pix). Last Friday, I lost 9 chickens to two dogs.. They pushed the door in and killed 4 inside. The door was tight and hard to open with one hand but the dogs can push and got in. I need to think of other way to lock up the door.
This message was edited Jan 10, 2006 6:42 PM
I read about that in the other post. I am concerned about your baby! Have the owners of the dogs done anything to make sure they won't get out again or have you talked to any authorities on that issue?
Gwen
Hi Gwen.. I havent see the dogs lately.. The owner of the dogs didn't come back and feed their dogs for two days.. The last time I know the dogs was in the pen and locked up. After that, I haven't see the owners around.. but their relatives yes. Maybe they come at nights to feed their dogs while we sleep.. I have no idea. DH and the owner of dogs already solved the problem but DH told him.. warned him one more if dogs's here again. He's going to shoot them or call animal control to pick them up. DH took care of this problem and I don't have to worry about it. He's worrying about our children due cause of that dogs. I am so glad we have Teddy our dog with us when it happened. He's very protection.
Poor my baby,, he's sick with high fever.. started last nite. I am trying to find out what's wrong with him. He won't tell me where's hurting. I think it's earaches. I am going to take him to doctor either tomorrow or sunday if he still have that fever.
Oh Mini - you've had such bad luck lately. Hope the little one improves asap!!!
City chick here with the stupid question du jour! Why do you want to be able to move it?
I'm totally not a chicken expert, but if you rotate where the chickens scratch, you cut down on the chicken poop build up in the soil and also provide fresh bugs and greens for them to eat. We did not have a mobile yard for them years ago in GA and it took 4 chickens less than a week to completely defoliate their yard, even when they were partly free-ranged outside of the yard during the day. Nothing ever grew again in that spot again until well after the chickens had left. Also, even after trying to keep it washed down and such, with the red GA clay, it was pretty impossible. Eventually it acquired a "chicken smell" to it. Rotating the chicken tractor about a pasture would help prevent this.
We're planning to build a coop this spring. Since we have dogs and such, even though they will have some time for free ranging, we are going to have 3 or 4 "pen" areas around the coop so that they can stay in one for a week and then rotate to another one. That way, each area would get at least two weeks "rest" before before being asaulted by chickens again. Our land doesn't have "pasture", per se (all sand, some sage, with more sand), but I am hoping to seed the chicken areas to some really tough grass or something that will be able to take some of their scratching abuse well before the girls move in. We're also going to make the pens big enough for 25-30 chickens, although we will only keep 6-12. I'm hoping that will also cut down on how hard the chickens are on the land. I would like more than 4 "pens" to rotate to, but I don't know if we'll get that far this year.
Can't wait to hear the happy sounds of chickens again... anyone in the Reno/Carson City area want to split an order of silver lace wayandots this spring?
So they do get out of this contraption and get to run around? How do you get them back in when YOU want them back in? LOL
The people who have "tractors" move the tractor around a pasture - the tractor has a coop and attached fenced yard area. Chickens like to "go home" at night, so I've never had a problem getting them into the coop. I used to let mine out of the pen when I was home (and the dogs were in the house) for 4 or 5 hours before sunset, and then around sunset I'd toss a bit of scratch feed in the coop and they'd all come running "home" and be locked up for the night. I haven't had chickens for 20 years - I'm so excited about the prospect!
Thank you! I have a coop that is sturdy and functional but the outside looks like ummm manure? I'm excited about having birds in there but not brave enough to do it. LOL
B'seed...if you're quizzing about the chicken tractor (too lazy to go all the way back and read the whole thread) then "yes". "Chicken tractors" are set up so X number of chickens reside in it...they have feeders/waterer/nest boxes and "hard shelter" (solid coop to sleep in at nite). The chicken tractors are mainly used in garden areas...they stay on a particular spot for X number of days (one, two, whatever) and are then moved down the "row" the distance of however long the tractor is. After doing this several times, or however long, you slide the chicken tractor over to start the next row.
This means the row that they just left they have manured it, cultivated it (by scratching) and have eaten many bugs, etc. That row is now ready to plant in! (Some folks will till it before planting.)
"Moveable coops" are another thing. Those are usually place in fields/pastures and the chickens are allowed full free-range ability but tend to come back to the coops each evening. After so many days/weeks/whatever, the handler will move the coop to another area of a pasture/field (while the chickens are locked inside) and let them have an another area to free-range in. Some moveable coops have pens similar to chicken tractors but it's not necessary if the pasture/field is large enough.
I can now just envision chicken tractors on Gemini Garden. Go for it! Eggs to eat/sell, fresh meat, free manure/cultivation, hearing the cackle of hens and the crowing of roosters! Ain't nuttin' better for ya!
Edited to say I posted at the same time Kmom was posting. But she said it all in less sentences!
This message was edited Jan 14, 2006 8:53 PM
Question on the chicken tractor. If the manure is fresh, wouldn't you have to wait before you could plant in an area you had recently moved the tractor from?
Gwen
My old chicken coop was falling apart, and I wanted more room in a new one, both inside and out. We also have geese that I wanted to keep separate. I hated walking bent over, which I had to do in the old pen and run, so wanted it taller too. and no more dirt floor!
But then I asked myself, "what if I decide to quit keeping chickens?"
What resulted was dubbed at another forum, "the Chicken Palace"! The cost just kept going up as I kept changing the plans.
I figure I might someday raise exotic birds like parrots or cockatoos, board animals, use it as a small shop (even though I have a big one??) or live in it if worse came to worse, and a tornado sucked my house away! it's 8' plus tall, for the roof slant, 10x 20, and built so that insulation and drywall could be added easily, has electric, plumbing, 2 windows in back for air flow, 2 long ones in the side for daylight, sockets, a place overhead for a fan, cement floor, 50 yr guar. metal roof, and is bolted to the concrete pad. Not that the chickens care....and has two 'double dutch' doors with closable (?) chicen/goose doors in the bottom of each.
The run is a heavy gage welded wire, top and sides, with hardware cloth at the bottom to keep chicks inside, and it extends outward and is buried to prevent anything digging in.
Here it's not quite finished, and some of the chickens are wandering around to inspect. it.
Inside, It's divided in half, chooks on one side, geese in the other. The the nest boxes are alum, easy to clean, and the roost is one piece, bolted to the studs in three places so it can be raised up to clean underneath. I painted as I went; I did NOT want it dingy and dark in there.
lagata... that look good one, I like this one and I am gonna to show my DH this photo so thank for sharing the photos.
I can't find the pic where the divider ends up floor to ceiling, with a gate centered, and shows the goose side. Instead of roosts, it has a x2 built in nexting box with a hinged slanted lid for easy access.
I just got some fantailed pigeons, so I'm going to take a few feet of the goose side, fence it in for them, put a window in that they can fly out of, and steal a 4x8 section of the run for them. Till then they are in an old avairy that isn't nearly big enough for me to be happy with it. The geese wander all day, so they won't care. Now that we got rid of our chicken killing dog, I want to clip wings of all the chooks, and let them out during the day too, into the fenced acre. I'm sure they will be happier that way.
I hope he'll go for it Redrose; it's a dandy. It took awhile to build (alone, DH runs for supplies and takes pics, but isn't into construction) but it should last a really long time!
Lagata, that is very nice! I imagine mine is 6x10 or so. I can't really say because I have not much looked at it. If it was closer to my greenhouse I would have taken it over already. LOL I think it's about time I get myself a book or something and consider raising some birds. Everyone tells me that is a great place to start if you are thinking of raising any type of animals.
Yeah I hope so but I am sure he will do that for me if I want it.
They are a pleasure badseed, but aside from expensive specialty vets for cagebirds, most vets don't /won't fool with them much, and don't seem to know a lot about thier ills. They would usually say 'put it down' rather than try to fix a sick chicken, so the poultry groups are the main people we have to turn to. That can be very disheartening when a favorite fuzzy thing is failing before your eyes. On the plus side, there are lots of willing knowledgeable people out there willing to share experience and ideas, and as a whole, most birds are pretty healthy creatures if housed and fed well.
To all, a saying I once heard actually makes me feel easier when a critter needs buried here: " If you have livestock, you'll have deadstock."
Death is a part of the liveing process for all things, and thats just the way it is. But baby fuzzy things are also a part of that process, and that is the part to love and look forward to. Take a chance; the rewards outweigh the downsides.
Good points. I'm in a huge poultry area, but as it's all the gigantic commercial chicken houses, there are no vets who can help me with individual chicken questions. Thank god for www.the-coop.org The "classroom" there (just forums) is really, really helpful, even in emergencies.
this is SUCH a good thread!
Okay, some pics of our coop in progress. Here's the front, northeast facing. All windows are on the three other walls. The little mailbox looking thing to the left of the door is the egg collection box.
Another. It's not a beauty, but we'll dress it up with a barn star and some hollyhocks...
That looks like a nice and comfortable place for your feathered friends.
Looks nice and big too, ......... room for everybody. :-)
Also looks like you all have been working hard on getting it ready for them to move into.
Hollyhocks..................now there's an idea. Lucky chickens ! I don't even have hollyhocks. lol
But I did find some ugly color cannas on sale for .44 cents each that I planted at the back side of my coop, for shade. I'm sure they (chickens) won't care if they're ugly color. If I get some hollyhocks, I think I'll just plant them up by "my" coop. hehe I love hollyhocks. Show us pics when you get yours growing.
Zeppy, I love it! I'm still no closer to getting one. I want chickens so bad!
Gwen
My coop is almost finished. needs latches and some cosmetic work [tieing the gates with baling twine LOL].... i will get a photo when i can...
i provided really nice roosts, and they either huddle together on the ground or sleep in the nesting boxes, what shoudl i do???
TamaraFaye, my chickens huddled together on the ground also until they got a little older. Now they jump up on the roosts, but it took them a while.
Seems like the younger ones do that, but eventually get the hang of it from the older ones.
seems to me like the leghorns are hogging the space LOL. talk about birds of a feather, they hang together at one end, while the Buckeyes are at the other end. And guess which ones hog the feed, the Buckeyes! So i guess good for the leghorns, huh! They picked the nicest spots to roost. Only thing is, i don't want poop on the eggs, i would like them to STOP using the nesting boxes...
Funny, the leghorn roosters are always jumping up on the roosts in the monring to pracitce crowing. i joined in this morning. Foghorn goes firts, then Matt jumps up three ladder/roosts and crows, then hops back down, then Foghorn moves up one notch, crows, etc, on and on, back and forth. Those two are fun to watch!