Chicken Coop

Guys Poco and I are thinking about getting some chickens but I am wanting to know what is the best way to build a chicken coop. We will probably have problems with coyotes once we get chickens but I am going to try and little by little get more self reliant off the land. What is the best chicken to raise as far as meat?

Winnie is the expert chicken lady. she's helped me a lot with some really good info. I'll be adding them this year as well, I hope.
A relatively cheap source for lumber is the building supply. they often get pallets (flats) in and have lots leftover. would be a good bottom fencing addition to keep coyotes out. also, digging a shallow trench around the perimeter of the coop and laying some wire flat will prevent digging under the fence to get in.

If meat is all you want them for,then Cornish cross is a very fast growing chicken specifically for meat,average 6-8 weeks from hatching to butcher.

Any small shelter will work,just make sure you give them a place to roost,kind of like bleachers for the chickens.

When I raised my first batch of meat birds last summer, one of my girls went broody and I brought some fertile Colouryield eggs to set under her. She did all the work and sat quite happily in a plastic recycle box tipped on it's side. She hatched 8 out of 10 eggs, of the other 2 one was infertile and the other, the chick died in the egg. The chicks were in the freezer at 13-14wks and weighed between 5lb and 5lb 10oz. The big boy we had for Christmas dinner!
I'm not entirely sure about types of birds you have available over there, Nell would be able to help with that. I have 4 Hybrid layers and they've all just come back into lay. 2 stopped for a while after moulting. Jennifer, the oldest is 6 and I really thought she would retire this year, but no. She started laying last week.
Chickens aren't fussy about accommodation as long as it's dry, cosy and dark, they're happy. When I first got the girls they spent the first 6mths in a wooden tea chest!
The thing to remember is dry, cosy dark house and security from predators. I'm lucky, there's foxes etc, but they don't come into the garden during the day and the girls are securely locked in at night. Oh, one thing... decide where to put your garden, then decide whether or not you want free range chickens and a fenced in garden or an open garden and fenced in chickens!

I can take a photo of my set up to give you an idea if you like

Jennifer?.....

Yup Jennifer. The other 3 are called Tansy, Petal and Dizzybell.:) Jennifer's sibling was called Clarrissa sadly she had to be put to sleep last august.

I would have thought you would name them something like Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Feast.

Oh no, not the girls! The meat birds were not named and had a good if short free-range life with a proper mum(Dizzybell) You may remember the before and after pics?

Winnie if you could please take a pic. I am leaning more towards having my chickens fenced in just because I am between 2 other farms. We might even fence in the garden as well because of rabbits.

No probs Poco, I'll do it tomorrow, It's late over here now.

My son on the organic farm in NM built one of those roll around chicken $?1t producing thingees. It works great and keeps the predators out.

As promised some pics of my coop. Bear in mind, this is for a max of 6 chickens. The house measures 3'x4'x3'6'' and the run is 4'x4'6''. The run is just for security reasons. it's locked at night, but it means they still have access to the outside until I get up and let them out. They have access to food and water at all times in the house. Oh the coop was payment for sorting out the accounts for a local business!!:)

#1 Side view.
#2 front view
#3 View of coop and the reast of the garden the girls have access to during the day.
#4 Rear view showing roof up and back out to make it easier to clean out
#5 the log store. I used this for the meat birds last year with another piece of garden fenced off for them. I have a piece of plywood board that attaches to the front of the log store to make it a bit more cosy.

I hope this gives you an idea of what you can adapt. any questions, ask away!

great pics winnie. that helps me too.
Thanks!!

You're most welcome YCC. I find it often helps to see a photo of something to get the ideas flowing.
Just also to add, not sure whether you can see it in the pic the coop and run are standing on bricks to stop damp from the ground soaking the wood.

Just noticed, Jennifers rear-end has made an appearance in pic 4!

I use to have a problem with rabbits getting into my garden until my dad who is 82 years old and farmed his whole life told me to go to the feed store and buy a bag of sulfer and sprinkle around the out side of the whole garden, i did this and never had any more problems with rabbits going into the garden or eating my plants, it works.
Another thing that was told to me , you may want to know, I was having problems with cutworms cutting down my tomatoe and pepper plants, if you will go out and find some shinny sticks, break them about 4 inches long, push about two inches of each little stick down into the dirt and let the other two inches stick up touching two sides of the plant on you want have any more cut worms cutting down you plants. Let me tell you, these older farmers know a lots of good tricks.

Thank you Winnie!! That looks like a really great set up. Dottie said " Oh we have enough wood for that". I think she was thinking more of a shed type deal,that you can/would be able to walk in. You sure saved me a LOT of work!!! Anyway I'm getting the boot off the computer so I'm sure she will have something to add.

Some of you may not know what cutworms are. You probably don't have them north of Interstate 70 or so. They are the larvae of moths. A lot of different species.

As cabin girl said, any stick placed beside a plant (match stick) will keep them from ringing the plant and cut it off. However, they will still damage the plant. They will eat until they reach the stick and stop.

A better way that I have found is to wrap the plant in strips of newspaper when planting. Wrap the root bundle and all and set it in the ground leaving some of the newspaper exposed above ground. The will prevent the cutworm from even getting to your plant. You wind up with a "fence" of newspaper to keep them out. I hope that makes sense.

We had problems with them in Southern Illinois but they don't seem to exist here in Central Indiana. At least no one around here has heard of them.

Thanks guys for the input. I am getting excited about Spring this year since we are on the farm now.

Friend on mine has chickens, keep them in a coop, that is built on landscaping timbers.

Looks alot like Winnie's but is doubled up. (Nice pic's!)

Doors on both sides.
One year door on one side open to fenced in yard, following year, other door open to other side, fenced in yard.

First yard is planted into garden for that season, when harvest is complete, re-open that door, chickens finish off any plant material, bugs and fertilize.

Garden moved to other yard.
After a couple of years, coop (called a chicken tractor) is pulled with tractor to the area next to existing ground. (Need enough room, of course)
Google "chicken tractor" for movable coops.