wife wants chicken coop - advise please

[bigi]

Buy coop vs build coop


I need help with getting the coop. Coyotes are common. They do wipe out rabbits on yearly basis.

Is concrete base a must? Where should I look to buy or build???

Thanks

 

[jtworldwide3]

Build one you can skid around with your lawn mower. We have quite a few coyotes where i am at. Dont have concrete and have only ever lost 1. My modern sporting rifle does help with that though.

20 chickens is a ton though.. you plan on selling eggs?

 

[Rifter]

As long as you take care of the coyotes with a rifle then the integrity of the coop is not as important.

 

[Micrornd]

Just buy or build a shed with a (people) door (you need to be able to collect the eggs and clean the coop) and then set up the interior for roosts and nest boxes.

We're not allowed to shoot coyotes here, unless they are caught actually attacking domesticated animals/people.
We have to report them to Fish & Game and maybe they will set traps and relocate them 😡
It's the same with bears that raid trashcans, tear up pool enclosures and attack dogs and cats.

Do check to see if you are allowed to have chickens.
Here in the county, it is no more than 2 (considered as pets), unless the property is zoned for agriculture.
Enforcement depends on complaining neighbors (generally roosters crowing 😀)

Within neighboring city limits, no chickens are allowed.
It took national news coverage (and special exemption) for a young boy to even have a "therapy" chicken on a trial basis within the city limits (in what most would consider a rural-remote suburbs location).

 

[bigi]

Thanks.

Yes, chickens are allowed. We might go with less than 20, 10-12 ?

I don't mind coyotes as long as the coop is protected.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Can't advise on buy vs. build. Two guys could frame one in a day though.
Setting it on cinder blocks is fine.
Might want to build an adjacent caged enclosure, so they can run around outside the coop - a chicken run w/ corrugated steel roof.

 

[Billb2]

I live on a 6 acre estate, I rent the coach house. The landlord's wife raises chickens - 37 hens and 3 roosters = 18 to 24 eggs per day, which they sell for $4/dozen.

They converted a 12'x12' kids playhouse they had (two story on a concrete slab) to a chicken coop and built a 6' high, 75' x 50' wire fence around it. The chickens roost in straw filled milk crates.

There are coyotes around but in a year and a half they only got one chicken. Hawks are a problem though.
And badgers, raccoons and ground hogs eat the eggs if they can get inside the coop. They shot one pesky groundhog.

There are quit a few forums around devoted to raising chickens.

 

[John D. Howard]

As long as you can dig down deep enough, to get the chicken coop fencing into the ground, you should be OK. Save the chickens from the Foxes!

 

[bigi]

As long as you can dig down deep enough, to get the chicken coop fencing into the ground, you should be OK. Save the chickens from the Foxes!

That is what I'd prefer. How deep are we talking about???

 

[mindless1]

"therapy" chicken

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

 

[Micrornd]

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

It actually works and the child was featured on "60 Minutes" (which is why the city relented).
The child is autistic and animal companions are a proven therapy.
That and chickens actually do make good pets, just not in the house. 😉

 

[mindless1]

^ I'm thinking screwed up parents that should have gotten him a puppy, and omitted the "therapy" angle. In a bit I'm going to get myself some therapy sammich then go do some therapy garage cleaning. 😵

 

[bigi]

^ as much as all posts are appreciated, can we keep this on track please? It might eventually be good reference post for related topic.

 

[herm0016]

This is our coop. I built it out of red wood and all the right exterior stuff. Made the windows and door. Cost about a grand and is built very well, so much so you can pick it up on the 4 corners and the door still works. Asphalt shingle roof with felt and drip edge on 1/2 osb. Much nicer than any pre made, took us a weekend to build. We have 6 chickens and we sell a couple dozen a week and eat the rest. 10 or 20 is a bit crazy I think. The area for roosting is raised for protection and the run is protected by 1/2 hardware cloth. The hardware cloth goes onto the ground and is held down with the patio stones.

 

[bigi]

^Excellent. Might use it as major template for self built one. Thanks.

 

[herm0016]

we moved it again this weekend. bolt 2x4 across each end sticking out about 2 feet and get 2 people on each corner. picked it up and set it on a trailer.

the base is 6 feet by 12 feet and it has a 12 in overhang all the way around. keeps the snow out of the run. the inside part is the 6 foot width by 3 feet. i think we could do 8 birds easily in that size, maybe 10.

 

[Muse]

Guy I know told me about raising chickens in the city. We were talking about maybe a couple of chickens. He told me that Costco stocks a chicken coop thing that he likes. I asked at Costco (this was around last November) and they said they get them in later. I'd think now would be the time.

The one time I raised chickens I had about 1/2 dozen baby chicks. They grew quick. They'd greet me when I got home from work, the last thing I wanted to do was eat them! If I keep chickens now, it would be for the eggs.