# New Digs for Chickens



## Sammy the spoo

That looks like a really cool set up!!! Your chickens will love the new house!!!


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## zooeysmom

Very nice! Your chickens are lucky birds.


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## lily cd re

Well these birds work hard for us and are generous with eggs, so they deserve a great home. This will look nice in my yard too. BF will like that he can give them food and water and collect eggs without having to actually interact with the girls. He is not a chicken wrangler.


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## Dechi

I love your chicken coop, I could live in it ! 

Having chickens is one of my dreams. One day, maybe. Here in Canada you need to have heat for the winter but chickens are pretty hardy birds.

Do you pet your chickens ? I used to pet chickens when I was a kid and they are actually good birds for that. I remember one particular hen would sit on my lap for long periods.


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## lily cd re

Dechi, my girls were raised from hatchlings by me so yes, they are very friendly. they are also pretty mellow breeds and cold hardy too.


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## Skylar

Handsome abode - and it looks like a very comfortable set up for both you and the chickens.


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## oshagcj914

Lily, do you let your chickens free range at all? I'm hoping to get a few when I get a house as long as I live in a place where I can have them, and I'd like to let them out during the day if possible. What breed do you have? That is a really neat chicken crib  Where did you get it?


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## lily cd re

oshagcj914 said:


> Lily, do you let your chickens free range at all? I'm hoping to get a few when I get a house as long as I live in a place where I can have them, and I'd like to let them out during the day if possible. What breed do you have? That is a really neat chicken crib  Where did you get it?



I do let them range freely when I can keep an eye on them or leave Lily out with them to watch over them. There are many essentially feral cats based around my across the street neighbor's house and we also have large numbers of red tailed hawks around which is why I don't leave my birds free when I can't watch over them or send Lily to do so. I have a buff orpington (although she is sick and in the house for the winter) and three blue ameraucanas. The coop is from the Urban Coop Company. Urban Coop Company | Urban Backyard Chicken Coops I think they seem like a really nice company.


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## MollyMuiMa

WOW! I tell ya, coops have come a long way from simple wooden sheds with wood crates nailed to the walls for nesting! LOL! My Grama's chickens had a lean-to by her barn and were never caged...................LOL!


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## lily cd re

Molly here in NYC area at least they have come to be very chic pets with people like Kelly Ripa talking about them all the time. I suspect that has a lot to do with why coops have gotten fancy. You should look up the coops they have at Williams Sonoma for some eye popping stuff!


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## oshagcj914

lily cd re said:


> I do let them range freely when I can keep an eye on them or leave Lily out with them to watch over them. There are many essentially feral cats based around my across the street neighbor's house and we also have large numbers of red tailed hawks around which is why I don't leave my birds free when I can't watch over them or send Lily to do so. I have a buff orpington (although she is sick and in the house for the winter) and three blue ameraucanas. The coop is from the Urban Coop Company. Urban Coop Company | Urban Backyard Chicken Coops I think they seem like a really nice company.


Thanks, I'll check those out! All the areas I'm looking are pretty rural, so we have not only hawks to worry about but also owls, foxes, raccoons, and coyotes :/ I have some research/learning to do so I will know how to care of them before I take the plunge. I'd like ducks too if I live near a pond or lake.


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## Tiny Poodles

Wow that is really nice, it is sweet that your chickens have become pets for you!


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## Mfmst

That is a very nice looking chicken coop. It actually looks like a chicken condo


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## Poodlemanic

That looks so pretty Lily! I have seen these movable little tent contraptions to protect the chickens while they peck and scratch in the pasture. I think they would be protected from predator birds that way....not really at all from coyotes though, I imagine. Still I would like to get one because it seems safer than just letting them out with no protection at all.


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## Asta's Mom

What a fancy new house for your chicks!


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## Caddy

Not only is that a really great house for your chickens, it's going to look pretty good in the yard too.


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## lily cd re

Caddy, yes I think it will be a very nice looking set up in the yard and the main part of it without any add on by my has about a 6' by 6' footprint, so not a gigantic structure sitting on a postage stamp patch of grass (out property is about 1/4 acre, but has a largish front yard and lots of decks in the back, so not wide open spaces).


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## lily cd re

Well now I decided that the new coop would need some new company for my older girls, so this morning I ordered four birds with a June hatch date, a lavendar orpington, a buff orpington and two blue splash marans. My current buff orpington is sick and in the house for the winter. I am not sure that she will recover (sad since she is my sweetest girl and was my best layer). She has been Peeves girlfriend all along. I think the new birds will go nicely with my three blue ameraucanas. The new birds are all brown egg layers and are cold hardy as well as calm and gentle in their breed personalities. The orpingtons will mature and start laying pretty fast too.


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## Caddy

Is there ever a problem bringing new birds in with the others? In his last years my brother had chickens, and built an elaborate house for them. He used what eggs he needed and would put the rest in a fridge just outside his gate, people would come and take them putting whatever money they saw fit in a jar. He was also an avid gardener and did the same with his vegetables. When he became ill and had to move, he was frantic trying to find a new home for his chickens.


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## lily cd re

Good question Caddy! Yes there can be pecking order issues when introducing new birds to each other. I will have to let then two groups see each other without contact, then let them mingle while loose in the yard before putting them all into the coop together. Since the new youngsters will hatch on June 12th (as opposed to my older birds who hatched August 11th and didn't get turned outside until late September), I anticipate plenty of time to get them settled as a group long before the weather becomes at all a concern.


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## pudellvr

Yes and change ANYTHING in the coop and the pecking order is likely to change as well. 


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## pudellvr

lily cd re said:


> My chicken coop has had a rough couple of winters and I decided that the girls could use some new digs. I just ordered a new home for the girls (plus maybe a couple of new birds over the summer).
> 
> It is made of cedar and built in the USA (Texas). It is tall enough to stand up in it and the door into the run is wide enough for a large bushel basket to fit through. I think I will build an add on run off the back where there is a turn out run that can accommodate an automatic door. This way they will have extra space and still be safe from cats and hawks during the day and raccoons at night.
> 
> Here are pictures of the model I am getting with and without add on panels for bad weather.
> 
> View attachment 381225
> 
> 
> View attachment 381233




Those panels are interesting. What company?


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## lily cd re

pudellvr, here is a link. This is the stand up coop that I am getting. Urban Coop Company | Urban Backyard Chicken Coops

The panels should be really useful and easy to put on and take off since they attach magnetically. They are translucent so the birds would still have light even if the panel stayed in place for an extended period. There is room to store the panels up above the roost space.


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## oshagcj914

lily cd re said:


> Well now I decided that the new coop would need some new company for my older girls, so this morning I ordered four birds with a June hatch date, a lavendar orpington, a buff orpington and two blue splash marans. My current buff orpington is sick and in the house for the winter. I am not sure that she will recover (sad since she is my sweetest girl and was my best layer). She has been Peeves girlfriend all along. I think the new birds will go nicely with my three blue ameraucanas. The new birds are all brown egg layers and are cold hardy as well as calm and gentle in their breed personalities. The orpingtons will mature and start laying pretty fast too.


Where did you order your new birds?


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## pudellvr

When we are having a real winter (not this year) we wrap the wire bits of our coop w clear plastic and staple it for a wind break and rain relief. 


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## pudellvr

If you are on backyardchickens forum you can look up Coup De Ville by pudellvr there. 


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## lily cd re

oshagcj914 said:


> Where did you order your new birds?


Meyer hatchery, since they are one of the few good hatcheries I know of that allows small orders when the weather is warm and that had the breeds I was interested in.

pudellvr I spend too much time talking about poodles online to spend much time talking about chickens, but I will look you up there.


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## pudellvr

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-york-coop-de-ville


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## lily cd re

That is a very nice build! I am going to have to plant a tree near the coop after I get it sited. We had a peach tree right near the current coop, but I had it removed late in the fall since there was too much dead wood in it and if a big branch had fallen off it would have made a super big mess. Also since I didn't really invest in trying to get peaches off it (would have had to be done organically) we just ended up with a huge crop of peach pits every year. I think I will probably put an Eastern Redbud which is a nice native tree with pretty inflorescence and no fruit mess in the yard.


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## lily cd re

The new coop has been built and customized to my specs, packeed into boxes and is currently making its way (in pieces) from Texas to New York. It should arrive on Wednesday but I will be waiting until my Easter week break to build. It will be good to know it is all here ready to assemble before I leave for Georgia on the 17th though.


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## Charmed

How exciting! I almost wrote how "eggciting", but decided that would be to punny. Oh dear, I think my cold medicine is getting the better of me. At any rate, I am glad the the hens and the new chicks will have a nice, big home. Not sure if you have experience integrating chicks; when the chicks were hardy enough to be outside we put them in a large dog cage with some hardware cloth wrapped around it... and placed the crate in the hen house. After a day or two, the hens lost all interest in pecking the chicks. Then, we left the cage open for the first time, in the evening, so the hens were more interested in roosting than bothering the chicks. We were probably more cautious than necessary because of the overly dramatic human children watching the chicks, ha-ha!


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## lily cd re

Charmed your strategy for integrating the flock is roughly what my plan is. It will be summer time so I expect I will have some flexibility on how to make it work.


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## lily cd re

The delivery of the boxes containing my build up yourself chicken coop arrived the day before we left on our road trip, so I didn't have any chance to check it all out. BF wrestled the boxes into the garage for me so the cardboard wouldn't melt in the rain. Thankfully he put the box with the instructions and hardware in a place that was easily accessed. 

Since I feel fairly atrocious today with a cold (stayed home from work) I decided to go open that one box so I could pull out the instructions and start to review them so that I can be very familiar with what I will have to do to assemble everything (which I plan to do in two weeks when we have our Passover/Easter holiday week) before I start. I was impressed with the organization of the packing and happy to see they tell you they've given you extra of all the screw types. The instructions are very clear with good writing and excellent diagrams. I think I will be very happy with this purchase.

I have one question to settle before I start which is whether to stain the wood at all or not. It is all cedar and so very weather and insect resistant on its own. If I don't do anything it will weather to a grey color over time or I can stain it with a clear coat to keep it looking like new wood or with a color. Any thoughts?


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## snow0160

I had this issue with restoring an antique parrot cage. A few people at the bird rescue told me to be careful about using the correct type of paint because some are toxic to birds. I found this thread in the African Grey forum. I don't know if chickens are different from parrots. In the end, I did paint the antique cage with a safe paint but she actually was able was able to rip open the iron wire and destroy the cage. Here are some links I thought would help: 
Safe woodstain for Aviary
https://theparrotuniversity.com/repainting-bird-cages


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## pudellvr

Stain it. Chickens don't tend to peck wood. We have stained ours and it still looks great since 2012. 


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## pudellvr

I am creating a new chicken run today to keep the hens away from Percy. They are just too tempting. 


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## snow0160

That is a really good point pudellvr. Only parrots eat wood. They usually use food coloring to stain parrot toys 


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## rj16

I really like the look of grey wood. Probably comes from growing up around barns! So I would leave it natural and save myself some work if it would look good with whatever else is around it. I can imagine a scenario it which that just wouldn't look right though.


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## pudellvr

rj16 said:


> I really like the look of grey wood. Probably comes from growing up around barns! So I would leave it natural and save myself some work if it would look good with whatever else is around it. I can imagine a scenario it which that just wouldn't look right though.




I would suggest using a grey stain. It that is the look she wants. The stain will protect the wood and help it to last. Hubby still has to stain the new wood on our addition. I just came in from finishing the chickens xpen. 80+ degrees outside with few clouds!!!! Used 16' cattle panels lined w hardware cloth. This way we can move it to fresh grass.










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## lily cd re

Well after some back and forth in my head I have decided I am going to leave the wood to age naturally. It is all nice clear cedar and it will grey up nicely in time. I had hoped to start building last week but we had some rain and also BF's mom is having some cardiology tests (looks like she may need a stent) and I've been negotiating getting her to appointments and talking to the doctor (whole other story, he wanted to go ahead and schedule her for an angiography and possible stent without having the appointment with her to review the other test results...that appointment is tomorrow and she is totally able to understand and make her own decision on this).

I finally was home with BF on a nice day today so we were able to move the girls current coop out of the way of where I will build the new coop! I did just the first steps in assembling the bottom layer and placed it roughly where I want the final setting. This way I can have BF look at it with me before I go any further (he went out this afternoon) to make sure I haven't overlooked anything. I want to rototill around the area that the coop will sit on and place cinder blocks under it to keep it off direct ground contact and to thwart digging on both sides by dogs and by birds, so I am stopping at this point until we look at it together. I threw some branches I cut off some shrubs this morning into the middle to keep the dogs from trying to dig around in that area which is loaded with chicken poo and other nasty things that I know at least one poodle would think was delicious.









I was able to get the roof support piece for the front of the run area carved with a name (Catherine's Flock). 









I also have all of the pieces sorted and staged. We are making progress, even if it is a little slow. I still have two months before my chicks hatch and ship and more time before they will be ready to turn out so I will take my time and make sure it is all for the good.


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## pudellvr

We will have Orpington chicks ready before too long. 


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## lily cd re

Mable is so pretty and orpington chicks are super cuties! Are you keeping the chicks? What if you get roos?


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## pudellvr

We will only keep one hen to replace an elderly hen. We will sell whatever else we have. We can't keep rooster's in town. 


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## lily cd re

We aren't allowed to have roosters either!


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## pudellvr

We buy fertilized eggs from breeders that we like. This time we have a variety of orpingtons. Last time we got cochins, legbars, & easter eggers.


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## zooeysmom

I am joining the chicken club and getting chicks in June  Buff and Lavender Orps. Might as well become a full-on farmer while I'm living here


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## pudellvr

zooeysmom said:


> I am joining the chicken club and getting chicks in June  Buff and Lavender Orps. Might as well become a full-on farmer while I'm living here











Chicken Math is contagious!


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## lily cd re

zooeysmom said:


> I am joining the chicken club and getting chicks in June  Buff and Lavender Orps. Might as well become a full-on farmer while I'm living here


You will love orpingtons. They are very sweet and relaxed birds. I am getting one each buff and a lavender along with 2 splash marans in June. My hatch date/ship week is June 12th and they are from Meyer Hatchery. When is your hatch date and where are they from?


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## zooeysmom

They're coming from My Pet Chicken, shipping the week of June 19th.


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## pudellvr

Both are great suppliers. 
The biggest thing that has surprised me is that several of our hens have become broody. Inspite of the fact that we don't have a rooster. 


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## lily cd re

I have a broody girl right now too. No rooster in ear shot and I pull eggs every day so she isn't sitting on anything. Since their housing is in a bit of a state of disarray I will just pull her out of the box and turn her out when I am around to keep an eye on them for the next while. It may not break her brooding behavior since she has done this a couple of times a year in the spring and early summer each year, but it will get her to do some level of eating and drinking. My orpington never was broody, just this one ameracauna.


My understanding is that at least some of My Pet Chicken's chicks actually are from Meyer. The whole hatchery thing is really remarkable with how they can know how many birds and what sexes they will have so far in advance. Plus having all the hatching on Mondays! What I like too about My Pet Chicken and Meyer is that you can order such a small number of birds. 

zooeysmom are you building a coop from a kit or getting a pre-built coop? Show pictures when you get it set up please.


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## Cadency

I'm hoping that my Silkie hen will go broody soon. My girls are all considered "mature" now, ranging from 3 years old to 8 years old), so need to add a few new layers - egg production has gone down significantly since last fall. She's showing the usual signs and has been for a few weeks now, so when she finally decides to get serious again, I'll be buying some Brabanter hatching eggs. I've always wanted Brabanters.


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## Muggles

I am jealous! I love chickens (we had silkies growing up) but I don't have enough yard space in my place. Next house I will definitely get them!
I'll be curious how your pups go with them ZM.


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## zooeysmom

lily cd re said:


> What I like too about My Pet Chicken and Meyer is that you can order such a small number of birds.
> 
> zooeysmom are you building a coop from a kit or getting a pre-built coop? Show pictures when you get it set up please.


Oh, well our birds may be related, then  I had to order a minimum of 7, so I rounded up to 8. I may keep them all, or I may sell some. I was thinking a flock of 4 would be really manageable--what do you all think? I'm still researching coops. Seems like the shipping is pretty high. Maybe my handyman could build a coop from a kit?


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## pudellvr

Cadency said:


> I'm hoping that my Silkie hen will go broody soon. My girls are all considered "mature" now, ranging from 3 years old to 8 years old), so need to add a few new layers - egg production has gone down significantly since last fall. She's showing the usual signs and has been for a few weeks now, so when she finally decides to get serious again, I'll be buying some Brabanter hatching eggs. I've always wanted Brabanters.




What is a Brabanter? Never heard of that one. 


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## lily cd re

I will have seven birds once my new chicks come. I don't see a huge difference between any smallish flock of ten or under other than in how much they will eat and what you will do with your extra eggs.

There are chicken coop plans online and books with plans. If your handy man is really handy I am sure he could build for you.


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## lily cd re

Here's another idea for you for a coop (depending on how splurgy you want to be). Check out https://urbancoopcompany.com/ This is where my new coop is from. Your handy man would have no problem building one of their kits for you. They have an Earth Day special going until May 2nd.


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## pudellvr

Those are beautiful but you definitely pay for convenience. We have about $1200 in our coup that we built from plans on backyard chicken and lumber from a local independent retailer. I.e. Not Lowes or Home Depot. 
I did like the looks of their stand up coop. Being able to stand up in the coop has greatly helped the chicken keeping. 


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## Cadency

pudellvr said:


> What is a Brabanter? Never heard of that one.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It's a heritage breed of chicken that originated in the Province of Brabant in the Netherlands.
Here's a link to a site that has some good examples of what they look like. 

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Brab/BRKBrabanter.html

I don't have any white eggs in my egg basket at the moment, so thought it would be nice to add a few white egg layers to my flock.


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## pudellvr

They are lovely. They remind me a bit of a roadrunner! Their crest particularly. 
https://goo.gl/images/PURpvg


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## zooeysmom

lily cd re said:


> Here's another idea for you for a coop (depending on how splurgy you want to be). Check out https://urbancoopcompany.com/ This is where my new coop is from. Your handy man would have no problem building one of their kits for you. They have an Earth Day special going until May 2nd.


Thank you for letting me know about the sale, lily! I've seen those and they are gorgeous. I'll do some shopping here, before my first little charge arrives


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## lily cd re

Yes, standing up will make me very happy! BF is handy, but we don't have appropriate power saw for such a build and he is not enthusiastic about the chickens so the help I ask of him regarding them is selective. I am enjoying the build so far and am happy with the quality.


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## mashaphan

well,I missed all of this w/the werewolf's arrival. (seriously,he looks like a werewolf,as he has not been done since Feb sometime! :afraid

See you in a couple of months,Catherine (and the spoos! :angel2, You can meet the terror (Che's words!) -we will be a practice day afternoon.

BTW the girls' new home looks awesome! (Not a "chicken wrangler" :heh:,good one!)

martha et al


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## kontiki

I am impressed with these stylish new chicken coops! They look nothing like what my cousins had on their old farm. 

I am quite envious. My town does not allow chickens at all (the no roosters being a given). There was a college student across the street from me that had a lovely white chicken. It wandered around the neighborhood visiting people. Most of us thought of it as the friendly neighborhood chicken. 

But apparently someone didn't like it and called the police on the chicken. The student was fined and actually had to go to court. He made the mistake of making a wisecrack to the judge. The result was a total city wide ban on chickens


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## lily cd re

That is too bad that one kid with one chicken ruined chicken keeping for the rest of the town! I teach college and I sure can say that some college students need better impulse control, never talk back snidely to the professor or a judge.


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## lily cd re

The rain yesterday allowed me to double check the level of the footings under the coop this morning. I had to do a bit of slogging in some pretty yucky mud to finalize the level, but once I knew it was good I was able to do a lot of the remaining assembly.

The outer walls consist of three levels the first of which I had already put together (see above). I was able to do the remaining two levels as seen below.

























Then I put together the nest box/roosting assembly which will basically hang inside the walls that are shown above. It is on a tilt right now, but don't worry I am not a crooked carpenter, that was just the steadiest way to leave it. I will need BF to help put that portion in place. After we do that (tomorrow) I will be able to do the roof and the front assembly with the feeder and waterer. Then the three girls will be able to move to their new home in advance of the June arrival of new chicks.


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## Mfmst

Wow! You've made a lot of progress in one day. It's going to be one sweet coop for the chickens


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## MollyMuiMa

Luxury tower for chickens! A little gold leaf and you would be in competition with the Donald! Hahaha!!! Good job!!!!!!


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## lily cd re

Mfmst the directions said that one person could do most of the work in 4 - 5 hours. I am probably a bit over that, but not too much, so their estimate was in the ball park.

Molly I remember going to Trump Tower when it first opened since it was billed as being so luxurious. I just remember thinking how gaudy and therefore sort of ugly it was. I've walked past it many times since, but haven't gone in since the stores are not my thing either. Since my chickies are organic we will keep their digs nice and simple although I suppose I might find a nice glossy enamel to paint in the "Catherine's Flock" engraving that will be above the front door.

The small door in the back panel at ground level is a turn out door. After I get back from our pilgrimage to the Indy 500 I plan to replace that door with a solar powered automatic door which I ordered separately. It actually just came today, but I want to be around when I first set it up so that I know the girls know to get back home for the night before it closes. The mid level door on the left side is for access to the nest boxes without entering the coop which will be good for when I am away and BF or someone else is collecting eggs. It will also be possible to go into the coop and collect eggs through other doors to the nest boxes. With the feeder and waterer it will also be possible for other caretakers to do what they need to without entering the coop or letting the birds out.


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## Charmed

That's a great idea to have access from the outside of the coop for caretakers. I am amazed by how many people are intimidated by chickens. I guess it is from lack of exposure, or maybe a run in with a mean rooster. I have to admit that a broody hen can make me think twice about stealing her eggs. There is nothing like being attacked by an angry bantam frizzle. It looks like a ball of feathers is coming after you!


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## lily cd re

I had an ornery roo and my broodies do growl at me when I take the eggs, but they mostly just hunker down and complain. I can see how some people don't want to deal with those issues. BF for one tolerates their presence but would never want to touch them. Although he does eat lots of eggs.


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## snow0160

I am undergoing some furniture construction right today and been putting together a wardrobe since 2pm and just decided to call it quits. Your chicken's new home looks very nice. I love the engraving. 
I thought the same thing going to Trump tower because one of my friend lived a block from it. Unfortunately a lot of old New York homes do have that flamboyant gold decoration. I think my friends prewar home was like that. 
I had stripped my old dresser and used clear enamel to redo it and some enamel paint smells really strong because it is oil based. Acrylic paint by contrast practically have no smell. 


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## kontiki

lily cd re said:


> The small door in the back panel at ground level is a turn out door. After I get back from our pilgrimage to the Indy 500 I plan to replace that door with a solar powered automatic door which I ordered separately. It actually just came today, but I want to be around when I first set it up so that I know the girls know to get back home for the night before it closes.


Wow, way cool, a solar powered door! I am so impressed


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## lily cd re

kontiki I was really happy to see the link to the solar automatic door on the web site of the folks who make the coop. In the long run I plan to build an add on run off the back for them since there are too many red tailed hawks and cats in my neighborhood for me to be happy to allow the birds free run of my yard when no one is around, but I do want them to have some more room during the day especially once the littles that will arrive in June grow up enough to be added in with the other birds. I generally only allow free ranging when I am in the yard doing work there or I can leave Lily with them. I guess a solar powered automatic chicken door is just one more bit of evidence that technology is everywhere, even backyard farming.


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## Cadency

lily cd re said:


> ... I generally only allow free ranging when I am in the yard doing work there or I can leave Lily with them.


How did you train Lily to watch your chickens, if you don't mind me asking?


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## lily cd re

I took her out in the yard and played ball with her while they were loose. Balls have powers over her that nothing else can rival. She learned to accept being around them by having something to do that mattered more to her. Now she just accepts them being loose with no problems.

I will say that when my new chicks come I will introduce each dog separately to each new bird. I did that with the first collection of birds too. Since I am sure the dogs can recognize them individually I think it is important to do such introductions early and often to help the dogs understand that the birds are individuals to be respected as members of the extended family. We also made sure that Peeves saw that Salome had died when she passed over the winter. The two of them had a special rapport and I think it would have been unfair to him for her to have disappeared without giving him the chance to understand why.


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## kontiki

Cadency said:


> How did you train Lily to watch your chickens, if you don't mind me asking?





lily cd re said:


> I took her out in the yard and played ball with her while they were loose. Balls have powers over her that nothing else can rival. She learned to accept being around them by having something to do that mattered more to her. Now she just accepts them being loose with no problems.
> 
> I will say that when my new chicks come I will introduce each dog separately to each new bird. I did that with the first collection of birds too. Since I am sure the dogs can recognize them individually I think it is important to do such introductions early and often to help the dogs understand that the birds are individuals to be respected as members of the extended family. We also made sure that Peeves saw that Salome had died when she passed over the winter. The two of them had a special rapport and I think it would have been unfair to him for her to have disappeared without giving him the chance to understand why.


Wow, this is an incredibly fascinating and loving post!


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## lily cd re

kontiki I suppose I should explain that Peeves almost accidentally squished Salome when she was young since he got put out to yard without BF realizing the birds were loose. They somehow made eye contact when I got over to scoop her up from between his four feet and they always engaged each other after that. Somehow after that he also decided he has to tell us whenever there is a cat in the yard looking at them. We have redesignated his CGC as canine guardian of chickens. He always wants to herd the others when he sees them but he had a special affinity for her.

Javelin is coming along with being able to do Lily's job with/in place of her. I can recall him from starting to chase loose chickens, but he still wants to give them a bit of a run.


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## lily cd re

Just before it started to rain, BF and I were able to put the insert of the nest boxes and night roosting area into the framework of the outer walls. I was also able to put on the fixed panels of the front and the upper storage area door that sits above the nest box/roosting area.

Later in the week I will put in the front gate and do the roof work. I will also have to install the feeder and waterer and then the girls can move in (next weekend).


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## lily cd re

I finished the coop today. BF helped with getting the panels on the roof, but other than that and putting the insert into the outer walls I did all of it myself. I am very happy with how it turned out and am pleased to have done nearly all of it on my own. It is the first big yard/house project I've undertaken since I had my medical procedure in December.

I moved the girls over with the lure of a couple of hands full of meal worms on the ground inside for them. They clearly understand their new feeder, but not the waterer yet. I put their old waterer in with them and may add some vitamins to the new one to try to attract them to figuring it out. The new one uses nipple drippers as opposed to having water in a tray at the bottom of the container.

They seem to be settling in very well and there has been no squabbling. there are two nest boxes and four short and one long roosting perch so the three of them should be able to snuggle up or spread out as they want.









There are still a few finishing touches to take care of. I need to level out the soil and throw down some grass seed around the outside and I need to level the soil and block up in the front area of the coop. It is hard to see the engraved lettering (Catherine's Flock) on the front arch under the roof so I also plan to get a nice bright red outdoor quality enamel to hand paint the lettering.


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## Skylar

Wow, that looks great - both beautiful and so functional.


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## kontiki

Definitely the most elegant coop I have ever seen My friend has one that he moves around his yard every few days. Does your do that too?


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## Mfmst

Well done! It certainly is an attractive chicken coop. Love the personalized stenciling, too.


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## lily cd re

kontiki, no I will not be able to move the coop. It is quite heavy and I have set it on cinder block to reduce risks of digging. Also don't think I want to put the whole back yard under the scratching and digging by the chickens. There are already all sorts of pits, ruts and high spots on which people and dogs can trip and tear ligaments and tendons!


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## rj16

Looks fantastic! I bet they love the airiness of it. Do you leave the floor as is for optimal scratching and digging?


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## lily cd re

Thanks rj. I am going to leave the floor as soil for scratching. They were pretty excited to find earthworms yesterday. It is partly on the footprint of their old home and they had pretty well denuded that space of worms and slugs, but in the time they were relocated some stuff came back in I guess. Since I have made a cinder block footing for the whole thing I no longer have to worry about them managing to dig out.


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## mashaphan

Wow! looks like a lovely home for the chooks! Didn't know you lost a girl over the winter..sad,and our condolences. I just got back on PF-Otter keeps me so busy ,I forgot my password and mucked up trying to reset the first time:ahhhhh:

See you soon! Otter is a big boy now!

Martha et al


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## lily cd re

Last fall I had my landscaper remove a peach tree that was near the old chicken coop and provided shade for it. I loved it when in bloom, but hated it when it dropped rotten half ripe peaches and pits all over the place. Since I didn't want to spray it to get peaches and we have an orchard that produces spectacular peaches I was happy to be rid of it, but now that I have the new coop in place I can see the need for a new shade tree. 

This seemed the perfect excuse to get a smoke tree (_Cotinus_ sp.). I have long admired this tree and just didn't have a place to put one until now. Sunday afternoon I took Javelin to go tree shopping. We were walking through the nursery yard and a man came up alongside us and asked if he could help us find something particular. I told him we wanted a smoke tree and he helped us find one that seemed just right, not too big to handle to plant, but with just the right potential to provide shade for the coop once it will in a bit. We had a nice conversation about our two favorite ornamental trees, the smoke tree and the eastern redbud and our very favorite dogs in the world, standard poodles, of course! Our tree helper grew up with spoos and still has one, so he loved meeting Javelin.

Here are a couple of pictures of our new tree which was just delivered by the nursery.


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## Mfmst

I never heard of a smoke tree. Had to Google it to see images. What a spectacular ornamental tree and it could work in our growing zone, if I could ever find one. The tree is a great contrast color for the cedar coop.


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## lily cd re

It is a cool tree isn't it? It has multiseason appeal. I can't wait to see the fall foliage. I bet you could find a small one online.


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## MollyMuiMa

What a pretty tree! Those chickens of yours are living in style! Beautiful!


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## lily cd re

Hey Mfmst (and anyone else who likes this tree) look what I found! https://www.thetreecenter.com/grace-smoke-tree/?gclid=CI7BqbGdrtQCFcePswod3yQPVQ

It comes in a one or a five gallon size pot. Both would be pretty small (one gallon size pretty tiny actually), but one of the nice things about this tree is that it is a fast grower. The variety listed here _Cotinus_ Grace is the one I have. I may end up bookmarking the page since I have a project in mind that will need another small tree or two. Shipping is free.


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## lily cd re

Work has progressed slowly on building the add on run for the new coop, but I now feel some sense of urgency to try to make deep progress this week since the younglings can probably move outside in a week to ten days and I also have the replacement lavender orpington+2 arriving at the end of the week this week so I need indoor brooder space back.

I did lay in the foundation cinder blocks and also built one of four side panels today. These are roughly like the wire panel parts of the main coop but I only need two high since my wire is wider. Overall I am planning for it to be just over 60" high, so I may have to duck a bit, but not much (I am 5'4"). The sides will screw onto the back of the coop and the back will have a full height door to make access easy. It will be all wire and wood framing, no enclosed areas. The back of the coop has a turn out door that I have an automatic door kit for. It will be solar powered and I will set it to open at dawn and close at dusk.

Here is a picture, along with the smoke tree in place.


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## Charmed

I love the automatic door. Our chickens were completely enclosed with framed hardware cloth, even so, there were times when I wished we could have shut them in the wood enclosed portion of the coop... like when hawks were hanging out just to annoy the chickens. It will make it so much easier on you to not have to worry about running home to shut the chooks in.


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## lily cd re

We have lots of red tailed hawks around. I often hear them calling or see them being harassed by crows over my yard. Someone in my area who has chickens lets them free range the yard all day and they have lost birds to predators from on high more than once. I have too much warm feeling for my birds and I also feel I owe them safety as part of their daily routine as much as I owe them decent housing, good food and clean water. Therefore I do not let them range in the yard unless I can be out with them myself or leave Lily to watch over them. I think with the flock getting bigger the add on run will be important for giving them more room and environmental stimulation (will put their swing back and add some outdoor perches and access to treat balls and the like out there). They will also have blue sky overhead (with wire) on that side.

Ironically over the winter during one of our larger snow falls a sharp shinned hawk perched on the top bar of the old run for a while. My girls were inside because the snow was deep, so I don't think they took its presence in at all.


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## lily cd re

Because it has been pretty hot here, my project is moving somewhat slowly, but I feel some sense of urgency since the teenagers really should get moved outside soon and I feel the need to introduce everyone to the permanent housing plan.

I have put up the side panels of the back run and spent the morning putting together pieces for the stationary part of the back. On the right there will be a fixed panel and on the left I will build a door. I want the right panel and roof in place before I build the door, so it will be last. I hope that I will be ready to do the door by Sunday. I will also have to install the automatic door.

Since I had a rebellious set of responses on Sunday afternoon from the older girls about the teens, I think I will put the dog crate in the run I am building and cover the roof with a tarp and let the teens have that space for the crate and the older girls some access to them that way. I showed Hannah to Sarah and Sarah pecked at her. Rachel watched the whole thing and gave us the evil eye. When I turned my back on her to return Hannah to the ex pen Rachel flew at me and gave me a "shove" in the back to let me know she was not amused. All to be expected and at least I know they are really starting to acknowledge the younger birds.

Here are a couple of pictures of my progress on the back run.


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## Beautiful Blue

Those are buried concrete blocks...not just pavers that the structure is resting on?


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## lily cd re

Yes, buried concrete blocks (4x8x16, laid on the 8" side flat). I wanted a stable foundation that would block diggers on both sides. I am sure you know how much chickens like to dig. I have to do some work before adding more walls to re-set and level some of those blocks.


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## lily cd re

I added the stationary side of the back wall today. I now only have to do the top pieces (need two), build the gate, finish re-leveling the foundation blocks and install the automatic door. I hope to finish in the early part of the week.

















The older chicks are now barely chicks, very close to pullets. they need more space and to get used to being outside to live so I hope that they will be outside by this time next week.

I had poodles who thought they were helping, but weren't really since Lily just wanted me to play fetch with her and that orange toy and Javelin just wanted Lily to play with him.









There are some imperfections in my construction (a few uneven cuts and so forth), but overall I am very happy with how this project is going. I can claim 99.9 % ownership of it from soup to nuts. I have consulted BF once or twice and he helped me get the roof on the coop, but otherwise it is all my work. Not bad for a closer to 60 than 50 something who works with her head and not with her hands!


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## Beautiful Blue

Wow! Two big thumbs UP.
Be very proud.


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## rj16

It's coming along! I am well impressed with your handiwork.


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## lily cd re

*Roof is on!*

Yesterday I worked on the roof and built the two panels I needed, put the wire on and installed them both.









Now all that is left is to build and install the gate (the opening for which is seen in the picture above). I have the gate planned out in my head and made measurements for it yesterday. I also have to replace the small door at the back of the coop with the automatic door. I will do the automatic door after I have the gate up. Today it is raining here, so no work will happen on this project, but I did get email from my trainer letting me know she had an open spot today, so Javelin and I will be leaving for that soon.


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## lily cd re

*Hooray, we have a usable run!*

Since BF is off on Fridays I got him to help me install the gate in the door way of the run after I finished my classes. Rachel came out to check the scene right away (the other two grown ups are being broody just now) and Javelin decided to check out the scene of a chicken in the run.

















Now all that is left are bits related to the automatic door. I have to take the current door off and install the new door in its place. I will also have to set up the solar panel and hook up the battery. I plan to put the battery (12V) in the storage area under the eaves. Since this area has a wire bottom, BF said yes to my question about making a wood shelf for it. The installation instructions also suggest mounting the solar panel onto a piece of wood rather than directly onto a metal roof such as my coop has. Those instructions also suggest providing freezing weather protection for the door so it doesn't try to open when it has ice on it. I think I will use 1 x 8 cedar and build a little awning box around it. I can use some of that same wood to make the shelf for the battery.

I also want to paint in the lettering on the front above the front door. I also put up two plant hangers that I will be able to see from my kitchen window. I can have hanging baskets in the summer and bird feeders in the winter.

To get the teenagers outside this weekend, I will put a tarp over the top of the run to give shade. I will put the dog crate in the run along with appropriate food and water. The last time I had grown ups and teenagers out together they were all fine together: no chasing, poking, pecking feather pulling or squawking. Hopefully those two groups are settling donw with each other. If it is warm and dry over the weekend I will take the littles outside for their first trip too.


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## Bevvie

WOW! That has to be the most stylish coop in the whole land. A chic-chick-coop indeed!


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## MollyMuiMa

The 'Chicken Hilton' for sure! I like that you are making it look nice, as well as functional!


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## lily cd re

Molly it is the main thing we see when we look out the kitchen window now, so it better not be an eyesore. Bevvie thanks for the nice words. It has been a nice project and I am thrilled to have done 98% of it myself.


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## mashaphan

"chicken Hilton" and "chic chick coop" describe it perfectly! Kudos! Who knew how many talents you had!

Guess you skipped Binghamton. The Nov shows at the Fairgrounds are kaput (VERY sad about that! That was 4 shows )or at least 3) that I went to,never fail) If you make it to Jan SOTC, Otter will already be a year old! BTW, Javvy's cut is quite similar to what Otter got-though,as I said,I hadn't planned on doing that until next June!:2in1:

M,C,and O


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## lily cd re

I did skip Binghamton this year. I have decided it is too big a venue for Lily for utility and it didn't seem worth it to go just for rally. Javelin is not ready for anything yet. I do plan that I will try to get to Syracuse in January.

That is too bad about the fall shows at the fairgrounds. Is it just no more obedience or nothing happening at all? I also am not happy with the building the spring trials are in at the fairgrounds now that the agility is on a separate week. If you ask Barbara about it she will tell you about the problems there.

Thanks again to all of you who have been following my construction thread here. although it may be a chic chicken Hilton, it is really just home for Catherine's Flock as the words above the front door say.


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## Bevvie

lily cd re said:


> it is really just home for Catherine's Flock as the words above the front door say.


Perfect, perfect name! Kudos to Catherine the engineer & architect, the biblical flock and the amazing dogs who brought it all into fruition. Oh yeah, the BF too ... who I'm sure took a lot of direction from the engineer & architect!:five:


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## kontiki

How is the Chicken Hilton doing?


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## lily cd re

Thanks for asking. They are doing great. The pullets have all been outside for about a month or a little over. It has taken time, but the nine of them are finally a flock rather than three little groups of three. I have some pictures of the birds and the coop and run here. http://www.poodleforum.com/8-other-animals/242042-integrating-flock.html


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