I'm almost done with this small (8 x 6) unit:

Chick threads usually wind up with naked pics. Not good.

Oh, wait... Never mind.

Nice coop!

H&K-Guy

Agreed, nice henhouse, I like the color scheme also.

Further down the road, I see eggs & crispy fried chicken! Mmmmmmmmmm!

Very nice. Are snakes or racoons in the area?

I had chickens, then I had a fisher cat......I no longer have chickens!
good looking coop!

Looks good. Be careful, it's a slippery slope. It's relaxing to watch them fritter about.

We do have coons, possums, the occasional chicken hawk. I will need to beef up the base of the yard with some hardware cloth in the ground, possibly some heavy pavers around the perimeter. The sides are all hardware cloth. The coop proper is 2x3 frame, 1/2" plywood sheath with the T1-11 over that.

Still a few issues to work out. Winter will see a heated water dispenser and also some low watt panel-type heaters in the coop.

quote:

Originally posted by H&K-Guy:
Chick threads usually wind up with naked pics.
...

H&K-Guy

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

quote:

Originally posted by H&K-Guy:
Chick threads usually wind up with naked pics.
...

H&K-Guy

HA! You are one sick monkey. Get help. Get help now.

H&K-Guy

A hot chick:

Your chickens

Have come home

to roost

Looks eggcellent. I love it that more and more folks are keeping small flocks around

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by striker1:

Still a few issues to work out. Winter will see a heated water dispenser and also some low watt panel-type heaters in the coop.

I've been keeping layers for almost 30 years here in Maine.

While the heated water source is obviously necessary, supplemental heat in the coop is not. The birds do just fine through our Maine winters with just a little extra corn in their diet. Even more so in a small coop like that. Mine is 10 x 12 with 8 foot walls, uninsulated and unheated.

With the dust and the bedding, heat lamps and such are more of a fire hazard than a benefit IMHO.

Be sure to recycle the manure.
Does a wonderful job in your vegetable garden.

quote:

Originally posted by striker1:
Still a few issues to work out. Winter will see a heated water dispenser and also some low watt panel-type heaters in the coop.

Word of advice, don't add heaters to the coop unless it gets very, very cold. The birds will become dependent on them and if you lose power the birds will freeze. If there is no heater they will get used to the cold. The key is to avoid drafts while having adequate ventilation to remove humidity.

This is the heater I was thinking of using for extreme cold. Runs about 60w, about 4" x 3", clips to a DIN rail. But, yeah, they're birds, so I agree that they can manage well inside a box away from direct exposure.

Studies have shown that blue and yellow color combinations are relaxing to chickens and they will lay twice as many eggs.

Nah, I'm just kidding. Hey, I like it though.

I thought they just used good old heat lamps during the winter months?

My wife handled the paint. I think she did a great job.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
I thought they just used good old heat lamps during the winter months?

Nope, the only time heat lamps are necessary are when they are young chicks and haven't feathered out completely yet.

Heat lamps are an extreme fire hazard. Especially in a chicken coop that is filled with wood shavings and dust.

quote:

Originally posted by striker1:
We do have coons, possums, the occasional chicken hawk. <snip>

Chickenhawk - one of my favorite Looney Toons Characters!