Friday, October 15, 2010

Home Sweet Home


So, as I am sure many of you have searched and searched for the perfect coop for your girls.  I did too!  I spent months searching and deciding whether I should order plans, concoct one from various designs to build or just order something.

Initially, I ordered a small coop from http://www.mypetchicken.com/.  However, it was soon apparent that it was rapidly being out grown.  I also found that I had to replace the cheaply made hardware if I was going to protect the chickens from any predators.  This first coop is now used as a nursery as well as a place to quarantine anyone who doesn't feel well or is injured from the rest of the flock. 

It took me about 3 months of intensive searching to find ultimately what I believe to be the perfect chicken coop.  A man named Dan Cohen from Michigan has a company online called
www.greenchickencoop.com



He makes the coops from scratch with really great sturdy materials.  The coop itself is really terrific.  It takes only 5 minutes to clean out.   The floor inside has industrial grade linoleum that makes even the most caked on doo doo scrape right off!  When the eggs come, the handy little door opens to reveal 3 nest boxes.  I added the extra windows in the front with plexiglass slide-outs in warm weather and a small plexiglass vent on the side.  Dan truly was extremely thoughtful in creating this home for the girls.

The run comes in 3'x 6' sections.  You can order them seperately.  I ordered 3 sections to create a 6'x9' run.  Just perfect for 6-8 standard size breeds.  All the screening on both the coop and the run are 1/2 inch hardware cloth as well.  Often during the middle of a beautiful day, I find the girls lounging in their house.  They love it.

The area where we live on Cape Cod is known for predators.  We have racoons, foxes, coyotes, fisher cats, oppossum and owls.  I purchased additional hardware cloth and dug a 12" trench around the run.  I buried the wire around the entire run and folded the top into the run area as well.  I hope this will be enough protection.  Time will tell.

5 comments:

  1. Found the answer to my question! Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Buna
    ..foarte interesanta,ideea de a construi cotete speciale pentru gaini.
    Felicitari pentru acest minunat blog,voi reveni cu placere.
    Eugen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Eugen for your comment. I am so happy that you plan to come back and join us now and then on our adventures. Thank you for stopping by.~Melissa


      For those of you who don't speak Romanian, here is the translation thanks to Google Translate: Hi .. very interesting idea to build special cages for hens. Congratulations on this wonderful blog, I will return with pleasure. Eugene

      Delete
  3. http://garibaldi-diverse.blogspot.com/2012/02/f-m-c-g.html

    Buna Seara
    ..dupa cum am promis,am revenit pe minunatul tau sait.Din pacate nu stiu de ce Google translate i-mi joaca feste.Am lasat un link pentru a vizualiza un post de-al meu (sper ca poti sa-l deschizi)Acest filmulet este postat pe Yutube (protv in Romania este tv nationala)si arata cum poti sa vinzi oua la aparate cu bani,direct in cartoane de oua.
    ....cine stie poate te intereseaza,sau poate in USA este deja!
    Eu nu am nici un interes,am vrut doar sa-ti arat ce este "la moda" in Romania.
    Cu sinceritate
    Eugen

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I look forward to reading them with each and every post that I write and I also love hearing from you.

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