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Make It Easy:  Chicken Coop Help  |
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crafter
True Blue Farmgirl
2313 Posts
lori
Fort Atkinson
Wisconsin
USA
2313 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 10 2009 : 08:52:09 AM
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I want to build a chicken coop- I live in the city and can have up to 6 hens- no roosters. I have a design in mind. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some pointers. I have read some books and magazine articles on this. Just wondering if anyone is willing to share some first hand knowledge! Thanks in advance for your help!!
Lori
Have a Country Day |
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ruralfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
4309 Posts
Rene'
Prosser
WA
USA
4309 Posts |
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farmmom22
True Blue Farmgirl
616 Posts
Tammy
Scottsville
KY
USA
616 Posts |
Posted - Jan 10 2009 : 1:58:38 PM
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Hey Lori, I would check with your local library. They probably have a book or two that will give you instructions on building a chicken coop the size you need. And maybe check the bookstore or somewhere like TSC. I know there is a book about chicken coops out that has all kinds of different ones you can build. And lastly if you will e-mail me your addy I will see if I can send you some info from one of my Backyard Poultry mags. It had an article about keeping chickens in the city. Hope this helps! Tammy
Best farm wishes |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4186 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4186 Posts |
Posted - Jan 11 2009 : 04:03:54 AM
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Don't know about doing this in the city, but my coop is all windows, facing south. It works great in the winter when the sun is low. It warms up so well. In the summer when the sun is higher, it stays a bit cooler. Also you will probley need to cover the windows in poultry wire. It helps to keep the windows from getting broken.
Michele |
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MotherLodeBeth
True Blue Farmgirl
110 Posts
Beth
Calaveras County
California
USA
110 Posts |
Posted - Jan 25 2009 : 12:52:52 AM
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Just remember even in the city, possum and racoons can come into the yard as well as rodents so make sure the coop has construction cloth under the flooring and up at least twelve inches on the sides since this helps prevent varmints from chewing thru and into the coop. And if possible have some windows with mesh cover so that the hens on cold days can stay inside and still get sunlight. And any fencing outside should also have some wire mesh well under the ground so that digging animals cannot dig under and in.
~MotherLodebeth- I was born in the wrong era~ |
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crafter
True Blue Farmgirl
2313 Posts
lori
Fort Atkinson
Wisconsin
USA
2313 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 07:50:31 AM
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Thanks for the info- I have a folder with ideas and things I need to know on raising chickens- I have a couple of books on hold at our library- I'll be ready once all of this snow melts!
Lori
Have a Country Day |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 10:18:30 AM
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When I was growing up in the city, we had such a problem with varmits eating the chickens, we had to put the chain link fencing and then chicken wire over it under, and 6 foot up, and then across the top! (opposums and coons can climb, even a 6 foot chain link fence!) Finally when we had it completely covered bottom, sides and top (then had the coop inside that, they had like a yard in the fencing, and a coop in there to come and go from their coop as they pleased) we finally stopped getting chickens eaten!
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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farmgirl blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
777 Posts
Lea
TN
777 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 6:17:24 PM
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I love MaryJane's Hen Hotel plan. It's just darling. Don't forget to check your local county extension office on-line. Our Univ of TN extension has hundreds of floor plans for outbuildings including coops, hutches and shelters all for free!
Blessings, Lea
www.farmhouseblessings.blogspot.com
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Edited by - farmgirl blessings on Feb 04 2009 6:20:51 PM |
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K-Falls Farmgirl
Chapter Leader
2096 Posts
Cheryl
Klamath Falls
Oregon
USA
2096 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 6:25:32 PM
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Lori, I purchased a book titles "Chicken Coops" 45 building plans by Judy Panman. Great ideas, plans *suitable for backyards to small farms. We built ours using some of the ideas. My coop " I call mine The "Hen Studio" & posted pix on my blog in some past posts.. good luck..Cheryl
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
Almost daily posts at:
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise',
I wash my mouth out with chocolate.
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lelasfriend
True Blue Farmgirl
109 Posts
sara
baltimore
MD
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - Mar 04 2009 : 06:08:59 AM
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| I have now done four different chicken coops. The last one was really easy. I found a wooden play house that someone was selling cheap on Craigs list. I laid a second plywood floor over the windowsills and ended up with a two story chicken coop. I added a ramp for the chickens to walk up to the second level, put shutters on the windows to keep out the cold and used old clementine boxes for nesting boxes. I put a dog yard around it so they could have a play yard. It looks to people like a kid's play yard and play house. In the city this could be a good thing! |
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JustBeeingMJ
Farmgirl in Training
27 Posts
Mary Jane
Port Orchard
WA
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2009 : 11:50:40 AM
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Just a thought, our local feed store has a gentleman who builds smaller scale chicken houses that look like mini-barns. They are very cute and have easy access sides for egg pick-up and clean-up chores. I saw a similar setup being sold at Cenex farm supplies. You could check with your local feed store and see what they might have.
We bought a storage shed kit 8'x10' w/ a gambrell roof and modified it to fit our needs. It wasn't super hard but it took us a few days to finish it. I've had it for almost 4 yrs and it still looks great!
Have fun! You'll love having chickens they are a ton of fun!
Farm Girl #537
It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder |
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Tammy Claxton
True Blue Farmgirl
1559 Posts
Tammy
Glen Burnie
Maryland
USA
1559 Posts |
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Tapestry
True Blue Farmgirl
1223 Posts
Cheryl
Wisconsin
USA
1223 Posts |
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Tammy Claxton
True Blue Farmgirl
1559 Posts
Tammy
Glen Burnie
Maryland
USA
1559 Posts |
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Make It Easy: Chicken Coop Help |
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Chicken Coop Help
