Chicken Coop Arrived Today...

[Swamp_Yankee]

Some assembly required 

Hopefully in a few weeks it should look like this:

[NotJust22s]

Post the link where you bought it

[gonefishing]

Definitely want to see pictures when you're done

[Swamp_Yankee]

Just now, NotJust22s said:

Post the link where you bought it

  I was just kidding-it's not a kit.  Just ordered all of the material (plywood, studs, metal roofing, trim, etc...) in one big order from Lowes-they brought it in on a flatbed today.

[Kype]

nice. im gonna build one this summer for next year. or less theres a place i can buy hens and not start from chicks. this is all new to me. good luck and have fun building it. 

[Farmshine]

nice. im gonna build one this summer for next year. or less theres a place i can buy hens and not start from chicks. this is all new to me. good luck and have fun building it. 

Moyers in quakertown the best. As of March they had ready to lay pullets available for August. Call now and reserve. Otherwise the woman in Pittstown sells laying hens which are quality.


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[Tuck]

I would recommend skipping the chick faze unless you have kids that are going to do it!!!  Makes the birds more friendly BUT it is a mess having chicks in the house and feeding them until they start giving back with eggs.  We did chicks last year and they are super friendly and they were super messy.  Ours are really pets that give us eggs.  We have 9 (silkie, wyandotte, sussex, braebanter, buff orpington, faverolle) and we get between 6 and 8 eggs a day.  This was from Treasure Hunt when it was still being printed.  Worth a call at least.  We got our chicks from schaeffers in Flemington

 

CHICKEN PULLETS/ HENS Laying Now: RI

Reds, Easter Eggers, Barred Rock,

Speckled Sussex, Polish Crested,

Wyandotte; & Assorted Roosters, $10-$15.

Ducks & Geese W/ Eggs. 908-730-8389

[Farmshine]

Some assembly required 

Hopefully in a few weeks it should look like this:

As someone who has had a junkie homemade and now a new tractor supply type, if your in for the long haul homemade heavy duty is the best. My next one will be much bigger and heavy duty then necessary. And I will add it’s not about “free” eggs it about the experience. Best of luck with your adventure!


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[Septicdude]

Finsished mine today, well sorta this weekend I'm extending the run 16ft out the other side of shes.  Good luck buddy.  

[Tuck]

Certainly agree it has been a fun journey.  My wife actually found this Omlet coop last year on craigslist.  We put it inside an existing goat pen and then I added netting on top.

[mike033089]

nice coop design!  best advice i can give is if possible go with the deep litter method and you will hardly have to clean it out.  also under the roost if possible build a platform or a board of some sort to catch all the crap that they let loose at night.  that way you can just scrap it right off into a bucket.  makes it super easy to clean

[Swamp_Yankee]

1 hour ago, Kype said:

nice. im gonna build one this summer for next year. or less theres a place i can buy hens and not start from chicks. this is all new to me. good luck and have fun building it. 

1 hour ago, Tuck said:

I would recommend skipping the chick faze unless you have kids that are going to do it!!!  Makes the birds more friendly BUT it is a mess having chicks in the house and feeding them until they start giving back with eggs. 

We have friends that have a flock of about 50 birds-they are going to sell us a few good layers to get us started.  We might try chicks  with the kids next year.  

51 minutes ago, mike033089 said:

nice coop design!  best advice i can give is if possible go with the deep litter method and you will hardly have to clean it out.  also under the roost if possible build a platform or a board of some sort to catch all the crap that they let loose at night.  that way you can just scrap it right off into a bucket.  makes it super easy to clean

Thanks-it's a Woods Coop type design:

https://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood/openairpoultryho00wood_djvu.txt

I try to read up on different forums and I'm up on poop boards, deep litter, etc...all good stuff.  One of the best tricks I learned though was here from @Greybeard with the 5 gallon buckets for nesting boxes.  Definitely going to use those.  Going to break ground this weekend!

 

[Tuck]

Milk crates also work great for nest boxes.  They also love when I throw grass clippings and the leaves in the Fall.  Scratch instinct takes over.

[Greybeard]

7 hours ago, Tuck said:

Milk crates also work great for nest boxes.  They also love when I throw grass clippings and the leaves in the Fall.  Scratch instinct takes over.

Every time I mow, I throw them a couple handfuls of grass clippings since they can't roam the yard for it.  Also worms from the garden and lettuce etc that gets too old to use.  They love just about anything, including shrimp tail shells and crumbled egg shells.  I'll smash a cracked egg in the pen for them and they go nuts over it.

I also bag my leaves and pine needles in the fall into the big brown paper leaf bags to use as bedding through the winter.  I give a lot away to family and neighbors, so it helps to cut costs.

[MRMCR]

I feel the less the less litter the better.....when the poop accumulates youll get a bunch of flies in hot weather........pullets are much easier than baby chicks......and by all means make sure its fox proof.........hopefully when your coop is done being built it wont look like Homer Simpsons bbq..........