Easy Backyard Chicken Coops

This year I raised meat chicks and they grew out of the box I had them in so fast! I went to the grocery store and asked for a box that watermelons come in. They were happy to give it to me, and it works awesome for my growing chicks! It is the perfect height and width and they have plenty of room to move around now.

I have a chicken tractor based off the traditional "chicken ark" design. I really love it. I made mine from scratch for about 175.00 of new lumber, but it could have been done a lot cheaper with recycled wood.

I suggest doing a search on 'chicken tractors". You'll find lots of wonderful pictures and ideas!

Sorry i guess its just Green Chicken Coop. I googled it.

Check out Green Chicken Coops they where really nice and gave me tons of advice. I choose them because they where made in america my wife chose them because she thought they where pretty. Isn't that how things go? How old will my chickens get before they start "slowing down" i had almost everyone of them laying an egg almost every day this winter in northern michigan.

doe 53,
If you are worried about giving them a break here is an idea. Cattle panels are about sixteen feel long. You can bend them to form a big U and anchor each side with tent pegs. Then you can streatch plastic over the panels. The angle is great enough to keep snow from sticking and you can make you chicken escape as big as you like.

I live in MO and even though it is not as cold as your area I decided to raise chickens. I had some old cinder blocks I stacked four high and made a door. Then I put my pick up truck camper shell on the blocks with some non fiber glass insulation between. I can open the coop on three sides. I do feed on one window, water on another and gather the eggs on the third. I put a light in there to extend the day light hours and keep it warmer - 40 wt is enough. I keep eight happy chickens in there and let them out daily. They have lots of light which chickens love and are warm enough to keep water from freezing down to 20 degrees and lower. My coop cost me nothing and they roost on a 2X4 across the middle. It will work for you I am sure.
Terry

About twenty years ago I raised my own eggs with three Rhode Island reds and three barred rock. I enjoyed them very much and loved the brown eggs. They became other little personalities besides the dogs and cats running around the yard. I never named them and couldn't tell them apart other than breed, but I still found it very difficult to 'do the deed' when they began to slow down on laying. Just for that reason I don't think I will have chickens again. I finally had to give them to an old farmer who was less sentimental than me.

If you have a working green house, please do yourself a favor and dont put any chickens in it, they will eat your green plants and if you think the plants are high enough, they are not, the chickens jump and fly to get what they want, unless you clip their wings. I love my chickens but do try to keep them away from my cherished plants.

Does anyone have experience with just a few chickens kept in the northeast in the winter. I am in mountains, very cold and deep snow here in mid winter. How do i protect them from cold, how do i let them out for a break when snow is 3 feet deep or more?

ck out

I am at the moment in the process of turning an old greenhouse
into a chicken run. Most of the glass was broken so it has been a
simpled task of replacing it with chicken wire all around the
sides. The remaining glass has been used as a roof to help keep of
some of our wonderful weather. Compared to brought runs this will
give the hens far more room :-)

I read this magazine as a kid, and moved around a bit, and
forgot about it. I just read this months issue. I like the way it
has changed and matured over the years.

ATait: You can get instructions for building the small coop for
2 hens
at:http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/2007-04-01/Portable-Chicken-Mini-coop-Plan.aspxAgolobic:
I'd recommend keeping chickens in a greenhouse during the winter
only. Keep them confined to one area of the greenhouse if you have
plants growing (unless they're meant to be chicken feed). ghart:
I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on chicken breeds for
hotter climates, but breeds like Leghorns, Andalusians or
White-faced Black Spanish would probably do well.OBoudreau: Great
points to consider. Thank you. The dust comes not only from the
sand, but as feathers grow, they produce dust, too.CBennett: Thanks
for your comments, too.

Don't forget about the droppings which will be absolutely
everywhere, including doorsteps, especially with free-range
chickens. They also love to scratch in flower beds and shrubs, can
actually kill ornamentals if the chickens get to them early in the
spring. There are feathers, droppings and dust (from sand in
feathers) everywhere so think twice before sacrificing a garage or
greenhouse. Chickens need a minimum amount of floor space in the
coop or they will peck each other. But chickens are worth the
trouble if you have the room for them.

Which chickens survive and thrive best in very hot climates, 125
degrees + in the summer months? Do they need to be kept cool? Not
sure and only checking as we maybe moving into an environment where
we can have our own chickens. Any suggestions or information is
greatly appreciated. Thank you.

If you're thinking about keeping chickens, don't. Just get on
and do it. If you move let them run around the garden they won't
wreck the place, you don't end-up with big patches of bare earth
and they are fun to watch and obviously happy. But don't feed them
from the table in your garden unless you want them bothering you
every time you sit down outside! That really is the only drawback
I've found, with four Buff Orpingtons.

Want details of small coop for 2 hens

Is is feasible/useful/practical to keep a chicken in a green
house?