Chicken coop

to make a long story short, my 3 kids want laying chickens for fresh eggs. I am looking for a coop or coop plans. I am looking for something that will hold 10-20 chickens. any ideas

Get ready to deal with rats, that was my number 1 problem with chickens. Go ahead and get some rat stations and a big box of just one bite.

Other then that, build the coop the way you want, they need plenty of fresh water, look into the nipple type devices. They are much easier then water bowls. Same with food, the hanging food containers are rat magnets. Look at the rat resistant feeders.

Also later in the afternoons let them out in the yard to free range for a couple of hours, just remeber to go out to the coop after dark and close the door.

Run a 2-3' section of fence just under ground all the way around the coop to keep critter from digging in it.

And coons. I have killed 17 the last month by my chicken house.

If you are planning on close to 20 chickens, if I were you I'd just build a large pen with a net top on it. Then, build them a coop inside to roost in at night. I have 10 hens and a rooster in a 20' wide by 30' long pen that has wire around it that is 5' tall. Then over the top I have poultry netting to keep anything from getting inside like hawks, owls and coons. Inside the pen I built a roosting coop and a community laying box. Works great for me.

I had 6 RIR's, turned into a part time job. And eggs are cheaper than laying mash.
Not to pee on your parade. It was fun for a little while.
Bobcat got in the pen with them and ended my chicken raising days.

There are some other threads where this is discussed and we have several members who have chickens. I got rid of mine a few months back. Remember EVERYTHING wants to eat a chicken. Rats, rat/chicken snakes and flies are a pain in the behind, for sure. I kept chickens for years but decided I was tired of working for them, plus I had the meanest rooster this side of the Mississippi. Got tired of fighting that jerk all the time. They are fun to watch but when you have a good sized flock, they are a lot of work. Good luck and check around for some of the other threads about chickens. We have some very savvy members with loads of experience.

anything you build make it like Ft Knox for night time keeping, coon proof it, re coon proof, then look it over and coon proof it again.

Auto coop door closing devices like Chicken Guard are worth their weight in gold. Auto waterer from a 300 gallon tote filled by rainwater.

You only need about four laying boxes because they will ALL lay in the same box er two no matter how many you have.

where are you located i have one I used to house 14 chickens in built 4x8 and elevated off the ground with a wire mesh floor so the manure falls thru it has 6 or 7 laying boxes built in with doors cut behind them for accessibility you can have it for free if you come pick it up PM me if you are interest ill send you some pictures. it can be closed up and latched shut at night to keep critters out. i never had a problem with coons because of the dogs and i buried the fence around the pen 6 inches deep never lost one chicken to an animal. 14 chickens will lay more eggs than youll be able to eat. i used to buy 7 or 8 chickens of a different color every year white, brown, buff on the third year the oldest group got ate because they stop laying as much after 3 years having them color coded helped tell the old from new

I sent u a pm gkelly

Nice gesture GKelley.

automatic chicken door and feed only what the chickens can eat in a day. all-you-can-eat feed attracts rats. Run a water line to whatever watering device you use.

Poultry plus electric netting works for me so far. First year and no losses yet. I have night pics of Coronas and coyotes next to the pen and they never even tried to penetrate it. I built the coup so tight If it’s on flat ground I’m not sure what could possibly get in it. It’s fun but it is some work fo sho. We have 12 and get 9-11 eggs daily.

Coyotes with Beer?

Might look on the extension's web site for plans

Go to Backyardchickens.com.

10-20 hens can produce way more eggs than you and the kids can eat!

I had 10 in a 20 x 30 run with a coop, down to 4, now. I've never found a snake in my laying boxes, never had a single problem with a coon, fox, or opossum. There is netting over the run, so I've never had trouble out of hawks or owls. Biggest problem we've had that I know of has been the occasional stray dog, which were all dealt with before they could actually get in and harm any of my birds.

I miss having chickens - we kept about 20 laying hens for several years. We used a old trough for water and a hanging feeder. Never had problems with vermin. The occasional coon and rat snake would bite the dust but other than that - no problems. We closed in part of an old horse barn and it worked great. When i get more, i will build a small coop that i can move around and keep 8-10 hens. Backyard Chickens always had good info.

Everything eats chicken. 5 years ago I probably had 150 game yard chickens and it was almost a nightly thing to get up and shoot a possum, coon, owl, dog or something else that was after them on the roost. I finally gave up on the yard chicken and built a good enclosed chicken yard and snakes an everything else would still find a way to get in. I have 0 chickens now.

Yup, the store has plenty ready for eating or cooking.

1).Like st32 said,,,,RATS!!! I think the rats ate more of the chicken feed than the chickens.

2.) Everything will try to eat the chickens. Had a Bobcat rip the chicken wire out from around the bottom
that I had just buried and not nailed to a secure board. Killed 3, ate 1.

3.) Laying mash was 20$ for 50lb. I can buy a lot of eggs for 20$.

4.) They quit laying after a year or so.

5.) They were kind of fun for a while. Used to love watching them catch cockroaches and lizards in the yard.
They will eat whatever they can in your garden too, like tomatoes.