My chicken coop - work in progress

[stocknup]

What say the INGO chicken owners?

We used to let our chicken roam free. We have 21 acres of wooded property with foxes, hawks, etc. Twice we’ve lost all of our flock at once during daylight hours, 25-30 birds each time. We don’t let them free range anymore. They have a 35x60 run behind the coup that they stay in during the day.

It’s easier to let them roam, but you’ll end up starting over a few times before realizing it’s not a good idea. And you’ll need to subsidize their food, they won’t find enough to eat rooting around in the leaves.

Just my two cents.

^^^^^^ Bobjones .......what he said ^^^^^
Once a predator finds a new food source , they will eat until it`s gone . I would count on a 100% chance of losing them all if they were to roam the woods freely .

 

[stocknup]

You must have kids or are REALLY short....how do you mow that?

LOL .........The chickens eat it all down . I actually have to re-sow with wheat ,barley and clover seed .

 

[stocknup]

One trick I learned was to put linoleum floor down in the coop. Makes it really easy to clean. We do the deep litter in the winter but not in the summer. We have 8 hens now and 5 more chicks under the heat lamp. I also painted the walls inside my coop with gloss white paint for easy cleaning.

I put vinyl sheet ( acrovyn was the trade name ) in my earlier coops as well . Definitely makes for easier cleaning .

 

[BigRed]

Dang....You folks have some awesome coops!

 

[Rookie]

Made some progress before the rain comes again. I dug out the coop area six inches down. I'll backfill with a layer of gravel and then sand. Then, I got hardware cloth on one side. That stuff messes with my OCD, I can't get it perfectly straight and tight. I don't think the chickens will mind though.



I sandwiched the hardware cloth between two boards and took it 12 inches below grade.



Now to wait for a clear day to continue...

 

[SAILORGOLF46]

Made some progress before the rain comes again. I dug out the coop area six inches down. I'll backfill with a layer of gravel and then sand. Then, I got hardware cloth on one side. That stuff messes with my OCD, I can't get it perfectly straight and tight. I don't think the chickens will mind though.

View attachment 264559

I sandwiched the hardware cloth between two boards and took it 12 inches below grade.

View attachment 264560

Now to wait for a clear day to continue...

I am impressed, that is a chicken pent house. I admire your detail.

 

[Rookie]

Since it was muddy, I decided to tackle the chicken feeder. I used 4 inch PVC pipe and made a three chicken feeder but with one fill spout. I could have saved a bit of money making three feeders, but I'm going for easier in the long run. I also added slots that will be covered with plexiglass so I can easily see if it needs filled. I made it so it can be hung on a bar that I made so I can adjust height if necessary.






I reduced the size inside to control the feed and keep it from overflowing.

 

[stocknup]

Made some progress before the rain comes again. I dug out the coop area six inches down. I'll backfill with a layer of gravel and then sand. Then, I got hardware cloth on one side. That stuff messes with my OCD, I can't get it perfectly straight and tight. I don't think the chickens will mind though.

View attachment 264559

I sandwiched the hardware cloth between two boards and took it 12 inches below grade.

View attachment 264560

Now to wait for a clear day to continue...

Looks Great ! Chickens will certainly be safe in there ...........
The County Assessor will probably love it too !

 

[Cozy439]

Made some progress before the rain comes again. I dug out the coop area six inches down. I'll backfill with a layer of gravel and then sand. Then, I got hardware cloth on one side. That stuff messes with my OCD, I can't get it perfectly straight and tight. I don't think the chickens will mind though.

View attachment 264559

I sandwiched the hardware cloth between two boards and took it 12 inches below grade.

View attachment 264560

Now to wait for a clear day to continue...

Any chance you have plans and/or a parts list for this?

 

[Rookie]

Not really, I'm just making it up as I go. 4x4 for the vertical posts, 5/4 decking for the horizontal, then hardware cloth, then 5/8 to sandwich the hardware cloth.

 

[buckwacker]

Made some progress before the rain comes again. I dug out the coop area six inches down. I'll backfill with a layer of gravel and then sand. Then, I got hardware cloth on one side. That stuff messes with my OCD, I can't get it perfectly straight and tight. I don't think the chickens will mind though.

View attachment 264559

I sandwiched the hardware cloth between two boards and took it 12 inches below grade.

View attachment 264560

Now to wait for a clear day to continue...

How long do you think the hardware cloth will last buried in the ground?

 

[Rookie]

Supposedly 20 years

 

[buckwacker]

Supposedly 20 years

Wow, wouldn't have guessed that. I would have thought 2 or 3 tops.

 

[indyblue]

Our chicken tractor is almost ready to go.



It’ll look like this when it’s done. The idea is to roll it to a new spot in the yard each day they can graze on a fresh spot every day.

 

[Rookie]

Got the roof done...


And the ramp...

And the steps which make it easier for me to get in.

 

[TheGrumpyGuy]

Since it was muddy, I decided to tackle the chicken feeder. I used 4 inch PVC pipe and made a three chicken feeder but with one fill spout. I could have saved a bit of money making three feeders, but I'm going for easier in the long run. I also added slots that will be covered with plexiglass so I can easily see if it needs filled. I made it so it can be hung on a bar that I made so I can adjust height if necessary.

View attachment 264789

View attachment 264793


I reduced the size inside to control the feed and keep it from overflowing. View attachment 264794

Will it easily remain moisture/clog free? (city boy asking a dumb question)

 

[Rookie]

It will be placed under the metal roof area, so it won't get rained on. It shouldn't be a problem.

 

[radar8756]

That Ramp doesn't appear to be ADA 1 to 12 angle

 

[Rookie]

Five tons of sand. Unfortunately, it was 40 yards away...

Got the electrical done. Two outlets under the roof and a security light. Of course, that meant a trench 65 feet long. Manual labor sucks.

 

[teddy12b]

My dad has been raising chickens for a few years, so I decided to join in. He's picking up 8-10 australorps for me, and I'll get them when they are at egg laying age which is in about 8-10 weeks. So, first step is to build a coop. I wanted something that would be low to zero maintenance, so I went with a plastic shed. I figure it will be easy to power wash when needed.

The shed is 7x7 which is plenty for 8-10 chickens and still allows me to expand if I want to. I raised the shed two feet off the ground so the chickens have more room and to keep mice from nesting under the shed. Surrounding the shed will be a 13x14 enclosure which will be covered by 1/2 inch hardware cloth. This area will be filled with river sand. The back half of the enclosure will have a steel roof which will provide protection from the elements for the chickens and their feed.

On each corner of the enclosure will be an access port which will allow me to move my 10x18 chicken tractor when needed. This will allow me to move them to "greener pastures" which will be a combination of grass and clover.

Right now, I'm waiting for the weather to cooperate, so things are kind of slow going, but here's a picture of my progress.
View attachment 263119

If anyone has suggestions, I'm open to them.

I really like what you did there and I agree 100% on making it as maintenance free as humanly possible. I think what you did there was great and I did something very similar almost 2 years ago when I bought a snaplock large chicken coop because it doesn't rot, rust, or wear with the weather. This year we added more chickens and I would have bought another of my original chicken coops, but the price on them is around $1,000 now compared to when I originally bought mine, so I made a giant box on legs for the new additional birds that would house all the chickens I have and then some.