Sheila! I AM SO JEALOUS!!! That is precious.

I've already sent it to dh at work...

Love the wreath! Great job... And I LOVE the hollowed log. That is exactly the kind of "look" I want...natural, and functional. It is really beautiful, something to be very proud of. You guys will spend many wonderful moments out there. Just beautiful!

Suzie

Oh, that is tooo cute!! LOVE IT!!!!!!! hubby is home on vacation from work this week, so I am waiting for him to look, he is working on his fishing bow too busy to pick his head up!! LOL!! Ok well he liked it too, but he said I already have mine, we need to repaint, so I may have copy your colors, love them. I was already thinking about a very similar color. But my door is in the back, )c; I may have to hang a wreath on the front LOL!!

Wow I think the best I have seen. Could you post inside coop pictures?
Thanks,
Roxann.

Suzie, Leslie and Roxann, thanks!

My family was giving me such a hard time about having chickens in the first place and many negative comments from one sibling in particular about how we must look like the beverly hillbillies etc... of course he lives in a zillion dollar home by the water in a gated community where you need to get permission and approval to change a paint color on your house!

So I was determined to create something nice for the girls and us. We are going to try to be totally organic so we avoided pressure treated lumber and actually chopped down dead trees in the woods for most of the outdoor posts.

The paint color is actually the same as what we have on our house, we painted it last summer and honestly visually it changes with the seasons. It is a soft bluish gray in the summer when every thing is very green around it and in the winter when things are blanketed with snow (usually lots of it!) it appears to be a very soft periwinkle.

The wreath I was totally obsessed with! I wanted something pretty and country but not too processed looking. I went to the craft shop thinking I could pick one up already made but when I got there I couldn't believe the prices! $90 for a comparable wreath! so I picked out the materials and made it myself for just under $40 still no bargain I know but I guess I was stuck on the look I wanted.

I will work on taking some indoor shots, it's raining now so I'll try to take some later.

Sheila

I LOVE that picture of the log and that hen! Too damn cute! Great coop. I"m with you on making things look nice. My next coop is going to be extravagant... my chickens deserve only the greatest accomodations! LOL
And that Sheltie is too cute. My grandparents have a rough collie that is tri color also.
Funny side bar story... my grandmother took the collie to the groomers and said to "clean her up and give her a little hair cut so she's cooler this summer". Well, grandma picked her up and she was SHAVED... I mean completely with the exception of her ears and tail! She looks like a different dog. When her hair is long she's a beautiful tricolor... now she's GREY! She looks like a tall, skinny fox. I kind of like the look. My grandmother's only words out of her mouth to the groomer were... "had my husband done that I would have killed him".
I'll ahve to post a pic of her b/c she looks NOTHING like herself! Or even a collie for that!
Erin

Hi Erin, Serena is a rough collie (full size), she comes from champion lines on both sides but the breeder said she had a "sloppy rear" and the vet said she had an extra tooth which would disqualify her from a show career. I think she prefers living the simple life, she is a true lounge lizard.

We always in the past have been "rescuers" when adopting pets but having small kids proved difficult with a lot of shelter dogs. We even tried a collie rescue and had no success there. Collies have a great rep. with kids and Serena has certainly held true to that. She is also amazing with our chicks! she is quite obsessed with her new flock! Her biggest vice is sticking that long beak where it doesn't belong! she loves to goose any company we have....not the best greeting I can think of!

I'd love to see the picture of your grandparents dog :)

Sheila

Oh, from the pics she looked smaller... more of a sheltie size.
My grandparents collie came from the pound! She is GORGOUS! I think I have a picture of her posted somewhere in the gallery. I'll see if I can find it.
We have a Christmas tree customer that shows collies and claims that her ears are "perfect". They stand up very well, but the tipppy tops curve over just a bit. She's quite comical.
And she looks JUST like your collie color wise. I'll definatley have to snap a pic of her now that she's a fox! Tri color turns to grey at the skin!
Erin

Here's a shot of the inside after I finished installing the floor before the girls moved in.

{{gwi:33907}}

What a great coop. I would love to move in! I can't believe that chickens get nicer flooring that I have in two bathrooms. I'm jealous.

Sulli, or anyone, do you dig that chicken wire into the ground a way to prevent things from digging in? And do you anchor the outside lower edge as well? I can't tell if there is a row of rocks behind that adorable log.

Thanks Poochella, yes we did bury the chicken wire all around the outside pen (used a staple gun to secure it to each post) and also the indoor coop to prevent critters from getting in. It was kind of a pain but gives me more of a peace of mind.

Sheila

I still love it each time I open this one, thanks for posting the inside coop.

Roxann

Wow, you did a fanstasic job on your coop, very very nice. I really like the log with the moss on it, you've sure got some lucky chickens. Oh and I know what you mean about the dog 'goosing', Mike does the same thing LOL.

Hi Sheila,
Now that you have had your chicken coop and run for 6 months, would you do anything different?
Mike

Ideally it would be nice to have two outdoor runs to rotate the girls in.

Since we converted the coop from an old shed we really didn't have an option to make it bigger but now I am wishing it were. My chicken addiction wishes to grow the flock and I am limited by the amount of space I have. Other than that we are very pleased with the coop. The hens seem very content out there so far in the cold, I am glad we went to the trouble to insulate it.

-Sheila

I've never heard of linoleum flooring in a chicken coop, how well is that working out?

By the way, I think you have a nice setup, and a very pretty collie, too.

Since the last post we've doubled the size of the original coop by building off the backside. We connected them with a sliding pocket door allowing us to walk through front to back. We did this for a variety of reasons. We used sound insulation on the new addition and keep our rooster in that section overnight so he doesn't wake the neighbors up.

The vinyl flooring is fabulous. I recommend painting the wood floor first for a primer before installation. I didn't do this step with the new addition and a few of the tiles are coming up. I also cheaped out and used a lesser grade tile (I regret both actions) the original coop's floor is holding up perfectly, it is a breeze to clean! I highly recommend it.

-Sheila

Here are some long overdue pictures of our enlarged coop, the pocket door is the very best!

-Sheila

Here is a link that might be useful: Coop Expansion

Hi Sheila
I'm planning to build a coop this Summer and have to say, yours is so inspiring! I'm curious about how well your vinyl flooring has held up. It seems like it would make cleaning much easier. Thanks! Kathy

Hi Kathy,
The vinyl floor has held up great, I recommend priming the sub floor before you install it though. Also if you go with blocks like I did, I recommend not getting the cheapest kind. My original front coop featured at the top of this post has held up perfectly in comparison to the newer coop/floor which I used cheaper squares and didn't prime the sub floor.

I highly recommend the vinyl. Good luck w/your coop!

-Sheila

what is the breed of the one in the log . i have 8 of them and thay are great!!!!!!!!! are they good seters?

The one in the log was a barred rock, I gave all mine to a friend w/a farm since mine were bullish to my other birds.

Sheila

I hope you do not mind but I used your picture of the chicken in the log as my desktop background. its soooo cool!

Hello, My husband and I are thinking about buying property in Colorado, and I have wanted to find ways to have the property to help pay for itself. I am becoming convinced about the chickens, and love your chicken coop and fencing. Do you sell your eggs, and where? We'll have at least 35 acres, but are "newbies" at the farm aspect. Even though I was a little girl when my father had chickens, its been a loooong time and I have lived in several different towns since then. I am encouraged, though, by all the output I've been reading. Especially when you can have such a really nice chicken coop. (My mother would have loved a chicken coop like this.)
Thanks,
Georgia

Hi Georgia,
We sell our eggs for $3 per dozen, w/feed prices and supplies, the chickens really do not support themselves but we keep chickens for other reasons. If I were going to try to turn a profit w/my birds I would have to probably either eat the birds that no longer produce or sell them for stew/meat. I have quite a few girls who no longer lay but I can't part with them and could never eat them.

My advice would be to look for several other ways to support yourselves w/your land. If you grow a huge garden and freeze/preserve your own veggies you could save a lot of $.

Good luck w/your new endeavor :)

Sheila

This is an old thread here but I'm thinking of having a chicken coop built and the one you have is really nice. If you read this post, would be nice to see how you're doing.

Thank you,

Anicee

Hi Anicee,
the coop has held up well but definitely needs upkeep and repairs from time to time. My teenage son does all the daily care of feeding and watering. We have one rooster and about 30 hens. Lots of retired girls that don't lay very much but we still love them.

Sheila :)

I k ow this is an old post but have any coyotes or foxes gotten in?Or any other wild life? If not, what do you think is the best preventer?

I might say the best prevention against coyotes and raccoons is a strong coop. The common poultry wire with hexagonal holes is not a long-lasting exterior fence because it eventually rusts and becomes"rotten" and easy for wild animals to tear open. A better fence is hardware cloth with 1/4 inch squares.
Some animals will attempt to dig under a coop to get in. This can be prevented by extending coop wall wire about a foot beyond the wall. This will thwart their digging. Raccoons are smart and strong and excellent climbers so you will have to keep your coop tight. Pay equal attention to your coop roof.