10 Do's and Don'ts for Your Chicken Coop

Often, we buy or build the chicken coop we think we need, only to bring home a flock and discover the things we should have done differently. Steve & Brian give 10 Do's and Don'ts for chicken coops, so you don't have to learn the hard way.

#hobbyfarm #backyardchickens #homestead

[garyvee]

I have a poop board under the roost. I just throw sawdust (not woodchip) over this and sieve the sawdust twice a week..., takes literally seconds (well under a minute) to clean. I then bag the poop into the empty chicken feed bags for use in my veggie garden when I am prepping for the next crop. Give it 2 or 3 weeks to break down and its ready to plant out again. I have been doing this for over 4 years now and have one of the best veggie gardens in my neighbourhood..., even having to put excess veggies out on the street for people to take. ☺

[johndesjardins]

A good way to clean up the coop is the use of an old shop vac. I use one all the time. It's good for getting into the corner . Afterwards I just dump it in the compost pile.

[SusanRogersMakingItWorkMe]

Since I moved from one state to another, money is super short! I got free pallets, bought some wire, 2x4's and screws and built a coop and run for 9 chickens for less than $100. Plus I got roofing shingles for free to cover my coop roof! Amazing how The Universe Blesses Us!💞💞💞
Universe, meaning "God, The Source".
GOD IS GOOD!!!

[jojozepofthejungle]

Having autism made me prepare for everything and learn everything, and I mean everything as that's what we do when we become interested in something. I didn't have trees, so I erected a shade long house with a roosting frame underneath. I have made a dusting area and a chicken garden. They also have access to a compost bin, which has a never-ending supply of worms. Their coop has screened doors I open in summer and close in cooler months. They wake up and get busy, foraging their little hearts out bless them. Did you know that chickens keep your orchids pest free. They perch on top, which is good for orchids as it breaks old stems and pushes out old bulbs, and they fertilise them just enough. My orchids are blooming twice a year now.

[augustrain]

I originally bought a small cheap $400 coop for my original four pullets. I quickly learned that it had too small a run area for four adult hens to live happily. My solution? Go big or go home! LOL. I ended up spending another $4, 000 to have a luxury chicken palace built. It has windows, solar lighting, an automatic door and enough square feet for to put in a bed if I wanted to sleep with the girls. 🤣😉 I use the small chicken coop as an infirmary now or as a starter coop for young pullets. 🐔🐔🐔

[dellaangel]

Just found your channel, and love your content!
Im a city girl that lived im a row home all my life, barely saw grass let alone a live chicken until visiting friends in Florida & enjoyed fresh eggs. Just moved to small suburb 10 mins outside the city, got 3 chicks in May & $400 prefab coop @ tractor supply. The girls outgrew it by Sept. I built one from pallets i got at work & $70 3/4inch plywood. Its 18in off the ground 40" x 40" w slanted roof & 2 external nest box, it wasn't easy but edu videos helped. Also made a 15' long x 4' wide attached run out of PVC pipe & hardware cloth. It takes up 1/4 of the yard... but after a hawk attacked my best layer GoldieClucks, a covered run was non-negotiable. She is doing good, feathers growin back & puncture wounds healed.
Friends, protect your hens, it's heartbreaking seeing them hurt or worse knowing you could prevent it

[CeeDeeTeeVee]

Thanks Eric!!! They couldn’t bring us this great info without you!!❤️
I’m a seventy year old woman who lives alone. I wanted chickens! I bought a used coop on Craigslist, cut ventilation holes in it, added roosting bars, an auto door, and cut stall mats for the floor. I painted it inside and out and got a mixed flock of four. I dearly love them and can’t wait to get out and see them every day.😄. They follow me like puppies.

[bobmccarron]

5 hens maximum as per zoning by-law in a converted eight by twelve garden shed w/run. No roosters permitted. 8' x 2' piece of vinyl flooring centered on two planks underneath top roosting bar makes manure collection so much easier, since 80% of daily poop production occurs during sleep. (8" drywall taping knife is a most handy tool.) Cut straw bedding thus stays noticeably cleaner. Fresh air from two windows, roof vent + duct fan. Two motion detectors, plus LED lighting fixture and elevated heated drinker, radio, wall-mounted radiant heater unit, 3 mirrors, sand bath, 2 nesting boxes, suspended feeder, 4 oyster shell, cat food, rolled oats, and baked crushed egg shell dispensers keep my little flock happy and healthy. Lately ACV has been added to their water. Tip: during Winter remove the drinker at night to reduce humidity level. Kudos to HFG's for another vivacious video! 🇨🇦

[minomokwa]

Thank you, guys, so valuable and fun listening. I appreciate your advice and you ACTUALLY gave me an important advice (that I had not heard before) --> having a dustbath 'inside' the coup (for winter) ... I shall see to it. God bless and thank you.

[pamelawarfield]

My husband made a chicken coop out of a walnut crate(4x4x4). It has 4 nesting boxes, a led light, and several roosting sticks, ventilation under the eaves, and a metal roof. The door that goes into the run isa sliding door. The entrance door is cut right out of the wall of the nut crate and is secured with a hook like on a leash. Works great. We have it lifted off the ground with cinder blocks. Sorry no picture. The crate only cost $50 and we had the paint and hardware already (my husband is a custom cabinet maker).

[MosaicHomestead]

I'm building a chicken bunker, it's a hurricane proof steel reinforced block and concrete coop, and it's elevated lol, it's going to have off grid Solar power and rain harvesting, it will have a 100% automated watering system...I hate watering the chickens 🐔 lol

[innerstream]

Thanks for the shout out to us in Canada 🇨🇦the cold weather presents challenges for sure!

[catezaida]

Cleaning. THAT is always a problem, especially if you only have a few chickens, because you forget to make a door big enough to do that. Don't ask me how I know this. My coops, yes, I have several, are now with large enough doors to do that dirty duty. Love your videos!

[adpi]

We are currently building our third chicken coop, The first one was a kids play set (fort made of wood) we converted to a coop, the second one was a harbor freight green house we used as a coop. We are now building one using all the ideas we had from the first two. Thanks for all the tips and design ideas. This time we have 20 baby chicks and are excited for this next chicken season....now that we are in Texas and not Louisiana we will be more concerned about the birds of prey we have out here. Got two geese to help guard out flock along with using avian netting over the run area. This coop will be 8x10 and off the ground 4 feet with the dusting back under the coop!

[thefrenchgardener]

Just found this video and it is timely. I am in the middle of finishing up a new coop. I was on the fence about electrical power but you helped me make up my mind....power it is! I am building off the ground and wheelbarrow height for easier cleaning. Here in Georgia, Summers get hot and winters cold so it has shade in summer and direct sun in winter.... thank you very much. Your videos are practical and fun!

[KwajGecko]

Love your videos. Great information for new chicken owners. Thank you!

[thebirdmaster]

I put sawdust underneath my roost and clean it out I just take a Kitty litter scooper and scoop like you're scooping up cat poop

[strictlyconservative]

I have to say right off the bat, that is the most hysterically funny shirt I have ever seen! Love you guys!

[lisagayhart]

I added widows for extra free light as well great content guys. Keep up the good work

[solovableify]

The kids outgrew their playhouse...it was an easy conversion to a chicken coop. Some fresh paint, hardware cloth, couple roost, new door and latches