Chicken Coup Designs?

[Gazrok]

I've looked on the web, but does anyone have a link or design for a good chicken coup?
I'm in a pretty warm climate, so real cold isn't a concern, but we do get a lot of rain.
I want it to be high enough to walk in, and large enough to give them room.

Also, just looking for ideas on handy features anyone has incorporated, or found were needed in their own coups. I'm looking to have about 7 chickens.

Here's the one that looks about right so far:
http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog...op-Building-Plans-up-to-8-chickens-p535.aspx#


Thanks!

 

[Potter County Man]

When I was a kid, the local government here gave out peeps at Eastertime down in the park, they had a Easter parade every year and everyone dressed up for the affair.
NO one does anything like that anymore.

Anyhow - my dad built our chicken coop.
It incorporated a box in which the chickens slept in individual boxes.
We also had pipes or old broom sticks stuck between the wires that the chickens used to roost on at night.
The whole affair wasn't 4 feet high.

The key is to either bury the chicken wire a couple of feed down in the ground at an angle to keep the coons and the weasels and the foxes from digging down in the ground, getting into the chicken coop and killing all the chickens.

The question I have is - are you going to use the coop to raise eggs or are you going to just raise chickens to eat. It is easier to build an elevated coop and be able to shovel the chicken poop out from under the coop as it is to build a chicken house and have to put down fresh straw all the time.
The straw or hay will cost you money in the long run - unless you have a free supply.
It costs more to raise chickens for the eggs then it does to buy eggs in the store.

 

[Gazrok]

For the eggs. I have plenty of scrap hay from horses. The other part is for self sufficiency.

 

[Brent S]

I've looked on the web, but does anyone have a link or design for a good chicken coup?
I'm in a pretty warm climate, so real cold isn't a concern, but we do get a lot of rain.
I want it to be high enough to walk in, and large enough to give them room.

Also, just looking for ideas on handy features anyone has incorporated, or found were needed in their own coups. I'm looking to have about 7 chickens.

Here's the one that looks about right so far:
http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog...op-Building-Plans-up-to-8-chickens-p535.aspx#


Thanks!

I built this vertical coop with 20 bins for the birds along the back wall, and a ladder for easy access for them. With the door in the center it's easy to reach the eggs. I have a fenced area around it that's gated, and put the firewood stack to give some shade for them. I let them roam in the yard when I'm home, but keep them penned when away. It gets a little cold here so I have a heat lamp inside and it seems to do well enough. This design was pretty much dictated by the scrap lumber I had and an old storm door. I try to work with recycled stuff as much as I can.

 

[Brent S]

For the eggs. I have plenty of scrap hay from horses. The other part is for self sufficiency.

Not just for eggs and meat, but eggs and meat that I know is healthy and has the satisfaction of knowing that I provided it!

 

[Potter County Man]

You will have to find out for yourself what I found out a long time ago.
Chickens prospers when you let them free range.
They will eat bugs and worms and stuff.
You still have to spend money on chicken feed and scratch.
And then along comes a fox or weasel or mink or bobcat or dog or house cat and poof all your hard work disappears.

I wouldn't put anything near chickens except chicken wire.
Anything a critter can use as a ladder is just an open invitation for them to look for a free meal. And - chickens has legs and wings and they will do the darnedest things.
My neighbors would let their chickens go and if you gave them an hour they would disappear quicker then Houdini.
The one day they were on the other neighbors porch roof and it is 18' off the ground.
The guy had one heck of a time getting them down off the neighbors roof.

 

[Brent S]

You will have to find out for yourself what I found out a long time ago.
Chickens prospers when you let them free range.
They will eat bugs and worms and stuff.
You still have to spend money on chicken feed and scratch.
And then along comes a fox or weasel or mink or bobcat or dog or house cat and poof all your hard work disappears.

I wouldn't put anything near chickens except chicken wire.
Anything a critter can use as a ladder is just an open invitation for them to look for a free meal. And - chickens has legs and wings and they will do the darnedest things.
My neighbors would let their chickens go and if you gave them an hour they would disappear quicker then Houdini.
The one day they were on the other neighbors porch roof and it is 18' off the ground.
The guy had one heck of a time getting them down off the neighbors roof.

Yeah, I had neighborhood dogs eat most of my hens, which is why I got 14 baby chicks in the middle of winter. I am down to two laying hens right now. I don't want to clip their wings completely as that is a defense they have, being able to fly, but I trim them some so they don't fly too far. It seems to keep them closer to home. I reinforced their enclosure to help keep predators away at night, and I got rid of the offending animals as their owners would not. (Not fun in any sense). I use a welded five foot wire fence with 5/4 deck boards for reinforcing to slow down the dogs. I'm almost done fencing the 2.5 acres so I can get two outside dogs for security and protection, and think that's probably the best way to protect your animals. I've had chickens three times in my lifetime, and yes you will have setbacks occasionally, from predators or disease. Once they started looking weak, and within 24 hrs half of the birds were gone. I don't recommend giving antiobiotics all the time, but having some on hand for a quick response is wise. Even with all this effort, I get a great sense of satisfaction from getting fresh eggs and the occasional roaster.

 

[Gazrok]

You will have to find out for yourself what I found out a long time ago.
Chickens prospers when you let them free range.

Too many animals in and around my place for that.

Where we're putting the coop, it's already in a fenced in area, so that will keep out most large predators. The coop is then an extra layer of protection (mostly from cats and coons which will circumvent the fence, unlike dogs).

 

[Brent S]

Just FYI, I get my seeds from seeds.now, if you go to their site and say you want emails they will send discount codes for free shipping, then you can buy if you like their stuff. I don't think it matters which company you buy from but you do want non gmo! (And a discount is always nice). I just ordered the last of this years garden from them.

 

[Dani]

I have a walk in chicken coop for easy access to eggs which leads into the chick run. There is a small slide opening for them on the side of the coop that can be raised up or down goes into their yard which is protected on 2 sides by a 6ft wooden fence a metal shed on another and hurricane fencing on the human side

 

[Brent S]

I have a walk in chicken coop for easy access to eggs which leads into the chick run. There is a small slide opening for them on the side of the coop that can be raised up or down goes into their yard which is protected on 2 sides by a 6ft wooden fence a metal shed on another and hurricane fencing on the human side

I've decided to put a wire top on the yard to help protect them a little more, and think I will incorporate the electric wire around it when I put it up on the main yard fence. I'm starting to realize that these free eggs aren't quite so free! Post a pict. I would love to see your ideas.

 

[Dani]

I've decided to put a wire top on the yard to help protect them a little more, and think I will incorporate the electric wire around it when I put it up on the main yard fence. I'm starting to realize that these free eggs aren't quite so free! Post a pict. I would love to see your ideas.

Will do tomorrow, charging battery to the camera now and will have to get hunny to upload pics. We have chicken wire for the roof of our chicken run area too. . . trust me that is a plus! When we first started with the chicken, it was son #3 and I who collaborated together and was our first life sustaining critters. I think the electric fence would be a good idea. We do not have one and have had a whole batch wiped out years ago. . . maybe a possum? not sure. That's when we added the chicken wire to the top. We have trapped 2 raccoons and 2 possums these last couple month. We did have a dry spell and they were looking for something to eat, but recently it has been raining like crazy. . . of coarse when I want to start planting. They were just after the feed though. If you have trouble with snakes, glue a treble fish hook to a real egg ( they some how know the difference between real and ceramic) and tie a fishing line to it and to a place in your coop. . . works like a charm. Just be warned you may have to deal with an snake!

 

[Brent S]

Will do tomorrow, charging battery to the camera now and will have to get hunny to upload pics. We have chicken wire for the roof of our chicken run area too. . . trust me that is a plus! When we first started with the chicken, it was son #3 and I who collaborated together and was our first life sustaining critters. I think the electric fence would be a good idea. We do not have one and have had a whole batch wiped out years ago. . . maybe a possum? not sure. That's when we added the chicken wire to the top. We have trapped 2 raccoons and 2 possums these last couple month. We did have a dry spell and they were looking for something to eat, but recently it has been raining like crazy. . . of coarse when I want to start planting. They were just after the feed though. If you have trouble with snakes, glue a treble fish hook to a real egg ( they some how know the difference between real and ceramic) and tie a fishing line to it and to a place in your coop. . . works like a charm. Just be warned you may have to deal with an snake!

Thats horrible, those poor snakes! I like snakes, at least i like em alot more than mice. My son and I both will catch them and play with em for a little while and then let em go again. Now if were talking about spiders, espechially big furry ones, im the first to run. I guess everyone has something for a phobia. I got a 5 acre elec. fence kit for 59.00 at lowes today, and will add it to the perimeter soon. I still had to buy more wire and stands for it but still worth it. I also got the chicken wire for the top of their area and an egg incubator, as well as enough field fencing to finish the property. I doubt if ill ever have it totally predator proof, but im going to make em have to work at it at least. I want the top netting to keep them contained when I want also, not just for predators. right now i have two hens that go too far during the day. I'll probably let them out for just a few hrs before dusk so they will come back to roost without exploring off too far.

 

[Dani]

This is the inside of the chicken coop with the trap door that can be raised and lowered.

 

[Dani]

Bear with me on this posting pic thing. . . The other shows the outside of the coop that is butted up against the chicken run. The trap door inside the coop lets the chicken into their little run area and I do not have to go into that muddy area to collect eggs anymore. Pay attention guys with wives. . . they will love you for this! We had a smaller coop that we took out of the run area to give them more room.

 

[Dani]

Thats horrible, those poor snakes! I like snakes, at least i like em alot more than mice. My son and I both will catch them and play with em for a little while and then let em go again. Now if were talking about spiders, espechially big furry ones, im the first to run. I guess everyone has something for a phobia. I got a 5 acre elec. fence kit for 59.00 at lowes today, and will add it to the perimeter soon. I still had to buy more wire and stands for it but still worth it. I also got the chicken wire for the top of their area and an egg incubator, as well as enough field fencing to finish the property. I doubt if ill ever have it totally predator proof, but im going to make em have to work at it at least. I want the top netting to keep them contained when I want also, not just for predators. right now i have two hens that go too far during the day. I'll probably let them out for just a few hrs before dusk so they will come back to roost without exploring off too far.

Sorry Brent but I hate snakes and spiders both. . . I had 5 chicken snakes at one time eating my eggs. We had two that were about 7 1/2 long and apparently had a big appetite (the others between 4 - 6 ft). When I was used to getting over a dozen eggs a day and went down to none or maybe 2 at most, Something had to be done.

 

[Gazrok]

Had a black snake (about 5') slither right over my foot yesterday... I made a very unmanly sound (surprise, not fear). See them all the time, but feeling them unexpectedly is a different story.

 

[Brent S]

Sorry Brent but I hate snakes and spiders both. . . I had 5 chicken snakes at one time eating my eggs. We had two that were about 7 1/2 long and apparently had a big appetite (the others between 4 - 6 ft). When I was used to getting over a dozen eggs a day and went down to none or maybe 2 at most, Something had to be done.

I do understand, I'm not trying to raise reptile food either. I actually like the voles in my greenhouse as there kind of cute, but are all gonna die when I get the chance! I wish I could tell them to come to a truce and stay in certain areas, but they listen as well as your snakes.

 

[Brent S]

Had a black snake (about 5') slither right over my foot yesterday... I made a very unmanly sound (surprise, not fear). See them all the time, but feeling them unexpectedly is a different story.

Yeah, I can pu a diamond back when I know he's there, but that unexpected surprise can send some adrenaline thru you!

 

[Brent S]

View attachment 2207
This is the inside of the chicken coop with the trap door that can be raised and lowered.

Great coop! And what a great use for old milk crates.

 

[Brent S]

I picked my first fresh greens salad from the greenhouse tonight for dinner. Was really satisfying as I watched a story on NBC news about how bad the rising grocery prices are and how there going to get worse. By the way, fresh spinach is so much better than the stuff at Walmart!