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.
9 thoughts on “Home Sweet Home”
Found the answer to my question! Thanks 🙂
Great! Thanks Angelica!
Buna
..foarte interesanta,ideea de a construi cotete speciale pentru gaini.
Felicitari pentru acest minunat blog,voi reveni cu placere.
Eugen
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
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
I was reading this and laughing because we followed the exact same path (started w/one from mypetchicken and now have one from greenchickencoop – we got the Extended Alexandria w/an additional nesting box, and the extra windows. It really is well made. I also was reading about your watering situation. We bought the covered feeding station and our run is about 20×20' (covered, hot wire, hawk net, etc.) and currently I have the water and feed outside of the coop. Do I need to offer them water INSIDE the coop? I do close them in at night and open the door in the AM. If yes, I may do exactly what you did – with the piglet waterer.
I love it! Great minds think a like. I like water in the coop during the winter as it doesn't freeze as quickly. I think it has to do with their body heat. So that is why I have water in the coop. I also keep feed in there too. You never know when we will be hit with a snowstorm that would delay the coop opening 🙂
My coop is sitting on concrete. The concrete is not really part of the coop, it is actually part of the houses foundation. I am sure that our coop is not sturdy, because the run is made entirely of chicken wire. So i’ve been convincing my dad to by cover the chicken wire with hardware cloth. PS. our run is pretty stinky. The entire floor is chicken poop, i mean about 80 percent chicken poop.
Sounds like you need to do some tidying up with your Dad for the health of your chickens. All animals require care and maintainance of their living quarters. Just like our homes, they need to be tidied and cleaned on a regular basis. Perhaps this weekend, you can scoop out all the poop in the coop and run and even work on improving your set up of the cardboard run as you mentioned in an earlier comment. Good luck!