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Chicken coop ideas

Below is a pic of my current chicken coop. I attached a old dog cage to the back to give them a little more room when they are not in the yard. RIght now I am thinking I would like to lift it up on a 2ft stand, so they can go under the coop and take dirt baths in the dry area under the coop. Then I would like to add one new large run to the front. On the side I would like to add nesting boxes. My husband would like to add a window to the back of the coop so that when they are against the house we can see them roosting from the office window.

Does anyoneone have other ideas? What kind of coop do you use? coop pics and advice please!?!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin Kidd on February 21, 2010 at 12:34pm

Here is the coop that I built last year from plans I bought off the net, it's called the "playhouse chicken coop" The girls seem to love it.

Permalink Reply by Brenna z6 PA on February 22, 2010 at 5:26pm

Hey Kevin, your coop looks sweet! Does one section close up for nights or to keep them warm in the winter? I also saw your chick pictures, what breed are they? How many do you have?

Permalink Reply by Barbara zn8 VA on June 1, 2010 at 9:43pm

ANyone with ideas for lobbying local government to allow small numbers of egglayers? We have fairly restrictive laws here, but I would like to make efforts to change that. Avoiding known pitfalls that others have run across would be great if people have ideas to share.

Permalink Reply by Linda D on July 7, 2010 at 7:08pm

Brenna,your coop is really cute.I have a idea that you may like to try.We used a old window for a door.My husband put a latch on it and we can clean very easily.It also lets light in in the winter and sun in the morning.We love the idea, hope you can use it.We have found that people are willing to give away old windows,we like the ones with the little panes,the 6 paned ones are a great size.It also allows us to see them to! Have a great day. Linda

Permalink Reply by Cynthia L Arnold on July 20, 2010 at 6:18pm

Here is my chicken coop. This was designed for our yard. We live on a north facing slope with a 7% grade. The coop is a storage shed we purchased for 350. We then modified it with screened windows, a chicken door and nest boxes. The run is attached to the coop and is made of repurposed poles from a damaged tent. The entire coop and run are moved on a biweekly basis around our 3 acre lot. We have 1 leghorn hen, 4 hybrid RI Red hens, 2 NH Red hens, 2 Plymouth Rock hens, 2 Buff Orphington hens, 2 Bar Rock roosters, and 5 leghorn rooster. The roosters came with then hen when we bought the first batch of chicks. We then learned to buy only sexed chicks. The roosters will be butchered, we are only raising hens for cage free eggs and do not want fertilized ones.

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