Coop life - backyard chickens

[mich1972]

So we adopted our girls in April and they bring us so much joy, eggs and beautiful fertiliser !!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

[MitchellMc]

@mich1972,

I'm not sure if this is a silly question, but do you need to clip their wing feathers to allow them to free-range?

Mitchell

[mich1972]

 Our girls are not clipped Mitch. They seem to be ok. We have high fence for the chook run and high fences on our property. I only let them free range when I’m on a day off and I am home. 😊

[MitchellMc]

@mich1972,

Interesting, I ask because I bought some chickens when I was younger and they "flew the coop" almost immediately after getting them. Maybe it was because I moved them to a new environment and they wanted to explore. The fences were certainly high enough, so I always presumed they must have been un-clipped and flew over them.

Mitchell

[sue8]

I wanted to start a backyard coop. Would you recommend buying a pre made coop and if so which one...and if not do you have any suggestions on how to construct a good coop for 2-4 hens?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @sue8. It's great to have you join us and many thanks for your question.

On the first page of this discussion @mich1972 mentions-

We used : 

Absco Fowl House 1.5 x 1.1 x 0.7. We choose a metal coop , easier to clean the walls. Doesn’t harbour mites like timber can. Has mesh panelling for good ventilation. 

600 x 600 x 38 concrete slabs for the floors. Slabs are the best as it protects the coop from foxes and rats trying to dig underneath to get in. 
 

1.8 x 1.05 Reo Light Mesh for the fencing. 
1.8 Star Pickets to attach the Reo Mesh. 
Roll of wire cut into pieces to secure to mesh to the star pickets. 
The holes are large enough for the girls to fit through, so we added a roll of Flower Mesh to the bottom of the fence, approximately 500mm in height and that is cable tied to the Reo. This was all purchased from Bunnings. 

I trust that she'll let us know if she'd do anything differently for 2-4 hens.

We look forward to hearing more about your backyard coop project and we'd also encourage you to let us know if you need any assistance or would like to share it with the community.

Mitchell

[MitchellMc]

@sue8 ,

You might also be interested in browsing our range of easy to assemble fowl houses. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes to suit your needs. 

An excellent option would be the Absco 1.52 x 0.78 x 1.8m Pale Eucalypt Organic Garden Co Aviary and I trust @mich1972 would be able to tell us if it was suitable for 2-4 chickens.

You might also be interested in these articles Ultimate guide to keeping chickens and What to consider for your very own chicken coop. There's a great step-by-step D.I.Y. tutorial on How to build A DIY chicken-coop which I trust you'll find interesting.

Mitchell

[mich1972]

My coop is small but enough for six hens. They sleep / roost in their at night and they are fine. They also lay their eggs in there. I can get into to clean it out. It depends how you want to do it. The walk in aviary’s are good. I honestly prefer metal as it doesn’t harbour mites but that’s up to you. I will take another photo of the coop for you 🐓😊

[mich1972]

 

 

 not a big coop but works well with six girls 🐓😊

[Aussie-Garden]

We have 7 chickens divided into 2 different yards, with their own coops in each yard.

First 4 are the older girls and they are let out daily to roam one half of our large back yard and I lock them up at night in a coop that is made from an old swing set frame covered in wire, which goes into a large box I made from pallets and that goes into part of a second hand pre-made coop where they sleep and lay eggs.

All my lower garden beds are covered with bird netting and sticks to raise it up, so the girls don't eat my vegies.

The other half of the back yard is separated with a chicken wire fence and that is for the dogs and my orchard and my orchard is fully enclosed with bird netting and a door to come and go.

I have 3, Platinum Sussex girls who just started laying last week and they live in the orchard and I have a basic coop that I made from scrap, which sits side on to the orchard and I made an opening so they can go in and out when they please. I then close that opening at night so they are secure in their coop.

They get let into the dog yard a couple of days a week and the dogs get kept in our alfresco so they don't bother the girls.

I have a chair and side table in the orchard and it's my favourite spot to just sit and have lunch while the 3 young ones peck around my feet.

Especially nice now as all the stone fruit have blossomed and all the other fruit trees are coming to life.

[mich1972]

Love this !!! Would love to see some photos 😊🐓