I am a young dad myself. Thank you for sharing your trials with the rest of us. I have way more room than you and I was concerned about the work. No excuses now. :)
AAAAHHHH Man - I LOVE your coop and ADORE the paper clippings! I used to raise my rats on that and it really did away with the odor. I just never thought of using them with my chickens. I have had chickens most of my adult life and am always thrilled when I learn something new to improve their lives. Thank you so very much for taking the time to share.
GREAT JOB! I absolutely love what you did here. Video, plans, explanations for why you did what you did. I'm building this coop in a week. Vids and friends helped convince my wife.. here we go! kids are excited and ready to help! Thanks again for all the details!
Thanks for sharing your Coop! We just built one and after watching your video and others with the tray we found that people who had coops with just simple linoleum on the floor and a nice wide door had truly the easiest clean outs. They simply open the door and rake out the entire bedding into a wheel barrow in one or two sweeps. Much easier than messing with a tray. You could convert your coop and it would save you time and effort in the long run. I think the tray idea came from bird cages but it really doesn't make it easier for a Coop, it makes the clean out harder. After struggling to pull it out you end up cleaning Two floors, one for the Tray itself and one inside the coop after half of the tray spills onto it. Just thought I'd share this observation because a poor design shouldn't be touted as "easy" when clearly it's the opposite. Go check out some coops with just the linoleum floors. I'll post a Video of mine when it's done as well. I, like you, want my coop easy-peasy to clean, doesn't everyone? ;)
AquaWoman Having the sweep out flooring is also a great way to go. I went back and forth when I designed this coop Idecided for the tray instead. But this design allows you to do either, if you just want the sweep out just don't put the tray in, just put the linoleum right on the flooring. I like the cleanout tray better because it keeps all of the wet mess off of the actual coop floor which will in turn help the coop last longer. Believe me, it is not just as easy to just "sweep it into a wheel barrow" The mess gets stuck to the floor and you end up needing to climb or reach in an scrap the flooring so it doesn't always just sweep out as easily as it might seem. Hope that helps give you some insight, I have cleaned coops of all different design and this is by far the easiest I have ever cleaned:) Thanks for checking it out!
I RAISED AMAZON PARROTS YEARS AGO AND HAD A SET UP LIKE YOURS. ONLY THING DIFFERENT THEY HAD A FLYWAY INSIDE AND OUTSIDE AND THEY LOVED TO SHOWER WHEN IT RAINED. I HAD DOORS THAT WOULD BLOCK THEIR NEST BOXES FROM THE WIND WHICH WOULD BLOW FROM UNDERNEATH THE CAGES. THE FLOORING WAS 1 1/2" HEAVY WIRE WHICH THEY COULD WALK OR FLY OUTSIDE. THEY ALSO LIKE TO PERCH ON REAL TREE LIMBS. I LIVE IN TEXAS SO THE WEATHER IS TOLERABLE FOR THEM DOWN HERE. WHEN THE BABIES WERE FLEDGED AND EATING ON THEIR OWN, I WAS SELLING THE BABIES ALL OVER THE USA & CANADA. I GOT SICK WITH CANCER, AND I WAS WORRIED ABOUT LOSING THEM, SO I SOLD OUT TO A MACAW BREEDER IN LOUISIANA.
I had a similar situation with the waterer when I first made the first small coop. The fix was adding a spacer block to get the pipe off the wall stud by an 1 1/2" and also I took some scrap formica, cut it to fit between the wall studs. made it about a foot long. Ran it so it stuck out from the sill about 3/4" into the tray and up the wall forming a curved water protecting slide of sorts. If they splatter even as high as the main tube, it hits the formica and runs down to drip into the box of shavings. this also prevents the usual "stuff"getting up on the 2x4 sill to clean off.
I would rather clean out the shop vac than tote the tray to the compost pile. I got very lazy in my youth when I discovered the wheel and have to find a reason change that consideration. Like the coop and I have cleaned out a coop the old way,shove, wheel barrow, etc.. Way too much work anyway "LAZY" is how I spell engineer.
We have used some vinyl flooring for the bottom of our coop and it goes up the sides of the by one foot ,so it makes it very easy to wash the floors down and easy to scrape any poop off .
If you take a bar of soap and rub it on the sides of your slide out tray for your bedding, it will slide much easier. Very nice chicken coop btw, much nicer than mine.
harbor freight sells a device for unloading the bed of a pickup which is nothing more than very heavy plastic on a roller. I bet this can be engineered to more easily empty the coop of bedding
I tried using newspaper shaving but prefer the wood shaving because if any wind blow it across your yard then it doesn't look so trashy. Also I think that it would be faster just to sweep the shavings directly into the wheelbarrow if you didn't have the tray system.
Hi, you should build watering system where there is no maintenance or filling the water manually by using toilet fill valve. You can then permanently attached a water hose to the watering system and the water will fill as needed. If you like you use a five gallon reservoir with the fill valve inside.
i built your coop.. it really turned out great.. i didn’t do the pull out drawer.. thought it would be easier to just scrape it out.. the only thing i didn’t think about until after i was done was where to stick the chicken perches.. there isn’t a lot of room for those but I do see where you have yours put in..
I just watched this video, I love your coop. Watching the girls when you put down new bedding just made my day. I can't wait til I get my chicks. they will be shipped on 8/3/15. Thanks so much for the video's
Suggestion for Improvement . . . The opening to pull the floor-drawer out is too shallow, causing the debris to get pushed back into the pen & requiring putting your hands in it ... repeatedly, no less.... So ... Raise the top of that opening [to pull the bottom through] high enough so *none* of the debris gets pushed back while pulling it out. That will also mean shortening the door above it ... and ... adding an extra piece to plug the larger opening. I wouldn't make the *front* of the floor-drawer higher, as this would make it more difficult to handle.
That has been suggested and I think it is a good idea. Just waiting to get a new shop vacation so I can dedicate the old one for chicken coop cleanup. Thanks!
A suggestion go with out the tray but leave the door in and put the wheelbarrow in the same place then use a garden rake to pull out the stuff from a U of M fan lol
+Bryan lol, we'll I am sorry about your sports choices but you have a great point. I like the tray but many others have also mentioned just using the clean out and sweeping it in. With the tray the floor of the coop is kept dry so the coop will last longer I hope
Wish I would have had this system when I had chickens. Glad to see you're using the mask, very important not to get any of that stuff in your lungs. Love watching the video.
It is easy to clean but still a little dusty so the mask helps. I happen to know first hand that I wish you had this system on your chicken coop also:) Thanks for always taking the time to watch and comment!!!
Thanks MrFakit, that is a great idea and I should probably grab a couple of straw bales this winter for that and other things coming up this spring, thanks!
Mark Thieme That works too! I think one of the biggest reasons I didn't want chickens originally was because I didn't want to have to deal with cleaning it, the tray makes it super easy and I don't mind it at all.
*Know the essential tips on building a predator-proof chicken coop to let the chickens lay the eggs safely…* Go here => ---www.ibuildachickencoop.blogspot.com---
I'm curious about how you ran and connected your water lines(pvc). Do you have issues with them freezing?I'm in the process of doing mine.Lots of options.
fuzzbutt2871 I am going to redesign mine this year as well. I want to be able to shut off the outside part completely in the winter as it was too hard to keep thawed when temps were below 10 degrees. I had them wrapped in heat tape and insulation but that couldn't keep up when the temps were too low. I am now going to insulate the inside piping and install a valve to shut off the water going to the outside. I am just using pipe insulation and heat tape. Hope that helps!
Thanks for sharing all your videos and ideas. Planning to built my coop this spring in South Suburbs Chicago. My original idea was to built it against one side of the garage, to cut an opening on the side of the garage and to built the nesting box inside the garage for easy access to eggs when the weather is awful. Any input on that idea? Thanks again for the videos
Looks good, I added a PVC pipe with holes drilled in it DIRECTLY under the nipple to catch any drips from the nipple. Then I ran the pipe at an angle out of the coop, seemed to work. Who knows maybe it would work for you too. Keep up the good work.
What type of paper is safe for the chicken coops? I couldn't tell if you said you do or do not use newspaper and construction paper. (Great idea for whichever kind is safe!)
+Jillian Marie we have a couple different things we have done, one is with heat tape on this system which worked ok. Another was a cooler system that I built. I have several videos on the channel if you want to check them out!
Did you build the coop youself and if so where did you get the plans? Great vids! I just got chicks and they are still under their heating lamp so we have 4 or 5 weeks to go and will be needing a simple system!
I'm curious as to how you clean the area below the coop where the feeder is? How often and how difficult it is to get to? With the food and the water it seems like a high traffic area.
rujonesin1 Since the entire run can just roll away from the coop I can throw in some sand or spray area off with the hose. So far I have had to do this once in the last year but I will probably do it again before winter. I usually ust add some sand to any low spots and the rain takes care of the rest.
Joseph Kowalewski I am working on plans but do not have anything concrete together yet. I will post to the blog at www.simplesuburbanliving.com when I get them done.
+heyitsmay Not all the time, I will add some wood chips or shredded paper from time to time in the nesting boxes and I do clean it quite a bit more often than I said in this video during the Winter months.
I only clean 1 a week and trow a few crush herbs in the nest boxes, i do not use deep littler 1 is not that hard to clean weekly and 2 i have s mall heather i turn on sometimes for about an hour in cold nigth, and a fan in the summer so i keep the beding low and sprinkle baking poweder.
great job but honestly it seems harder then to just rake shavings off the floor into the wheel barrel. should have made floor from lighter material and put it on some kind of rollers. Or you can put tray onto a roller like one that comes with IKEA kitchen drawers, split floor in half in the middle with latch holding it together and put halfs on a hinges. so you can slide it out, then open latch and just dump contents into your wheel barell :)
Just wondering how your dog and the chickens get along. Beautiful dog by the way. I hope to add some backyard chickens this next spring and I'm hoping my chocolate lab won't give them a hard time.
The dog is very interested in the chickens but we have never had them actually together. I have a feeling she would "play" with them to death:) Other than that she recently has found a new interest in trying to dig under the coop to get their food. So curious and annoying would be my answer to that questions:) Thanks for checking it out!
yeah you're right my siberian loves to play with our free range chicken..he enjoys playing with them hide and seek..unfortunately he does it the other way around he seeks and he hides them under the ground..we've learned about it after noticing chicken feets on the ground..poor hens
Hi, I love your videos. Its such a great thing to spread the word about sustainability and animal care. Im in Oz, and I'm teaching a backyard chicken course for a local community group. Could I please have your permission to play your youtube's to this group? I think they're great. Hoping its ok with you? Regards Liz
Any problems with chicken lice? If so, how is that handled? I remember as a kid gathering eggs and that nasty lice. Yes, that way of cleaning looks much easier. Although we had about twenty chickens and a few roosters. Our chicken coop was a 12ft x 16ft shed. Cleaning was done with a shovel. Great videos btw!
Yeah, that is a god idea Thomas. I might put something more permanent in there next time I clean it. A small piece of wood on an angle would be perfect!
Thanks for the video! Looks great! We just picked up 5 chicks this past weekend and now the clock starts on my design and building of my coop. I have a small side yard that is 4'-8" wide and 28' long, so I was going to build it out there seeing it is a useless piece of land for almost anything. I've read people saying you need 4 sq ft per chicken for coop space and 10 sq ft of run per chicken also. It looks like your coop space is about 9 sq ft (based on linoleum size). Can you give some insight as well as how long your roosts are and how many you have? I'm toying with a design that is around 2 1/2' - 3' wide by 6-7' long and the run will be 4' x 20'.... Any help would be great! Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks Stephen, the whole series on the chicken coop is here - ruclips.net/p/PLL3IEVIDKMm6QVVL4DPxq9LpcSTu4yQCp if you want to check it out. It is a 4'X4' coop for 16 square feet of coop area. The run is 4'X8' for 32 square feet of run space. The roosts are 4' long and there is room for probably no more than a total of 8 chickens in this design, I have 6. Hope that helps! Good luck with your setup and let me know if you have any questions along the way. Post pics to facebook.com/simplesuburbanliving.com if you get the chance! Thanks for checking it out!
+Ximena Pyne I will probably clean out there run this year, it has been two years. The main coop depending on how big and the weather you have will need to be cleaned about once a month while it is snowing outside and every two or three months in the summer.
You know what, I thought about that as an easy way to get in the harder to reach places but didn't want to dirty up a shop vac that I would then later use in other places with chicken manure! Thanks for watching Harry!
I am using about half pine shavings (Which are very cheap) and half shredded paper. I just shred up anything that is not glossy and add that to the nesting boxes and coop floor. Hope that helps, thanks for stopping by!
I use hay most of the time and pine sahvings in the boxes wich are nade of plastic trays so i dont change them often. Hey is really cheap but may not fit in the tray
Was there any set or recommended height to set the drinking nipples or did you just eyeball it on height for your chickens? Also was there any trouble with them learning to use them? Thanks
In hind sight I would have put mine a little bit higher than I did but I added them when the chickens were much smaller and needed to be able to reach them. I would put them higher than they can reach as chicks and just put something underneath for them to stand on until they get older. They learned how to use them in about 2 days. I would go in and tap them with my finger and let a little water out and they are curious enough to go and do it too. They figured it out pretty quick. Thanks for watching and good luck with your coop!
BrianStocking In the summer I clean it every few months. But I did find that in the winter it needs to be cleaned much more often. Once per month while there is snow on the ground since they tend to stay inside.
SSLFamilyDad Cool. I got worried because a friend is bringing me 5 chickens and I have a week to build a coop. I didn't want to get something I was going to have to clean once or twice a week. I saw your other video on you building the coop. Very Cool! That is basically what I decided to build.Thanks for the great videos.
You can have about 2,3 hens layng per nest but when they choise a favorite even if you a bunch they will lay in the special 1 sometimes bith hens piling up toguether in 1 nest they are like school girls.
Please answer, lol. I want to create a watering system just like yours, but my question is - How do you keep it from freezing in the winter? Or do you have mild enough winters that you don't have to deal with it? My only idea so far is to put the chicken nipples on the bottom of a bucket instead of PVC pipe, and have a submersible heater inside the bucket, which are more commonly used to keep bird baths from freezing.
Ryan And Maty I had considered the bucket idea as well and I think that would work great! I have a video on what I did with mine this past winter here - ruclips.net/video/TltF8rW4KeA/видео.html. However, for next winter I will be shutting off the outside section and just heating the inside section as this heat tape could not keep up with temps below 10 for more than a couple days, then it would start freezing. Hope that helps and good luck getting it setup!
SSLFamilyDad Ok, thank you very much :). I was also considering the heating tape, so that's good to know. I guess I am going to go with the bucket with a submersible heater and have it able to be filled from outside using PVC pipe just like yours. It's funny because I haven't even started building the coop yet.
I am going for your design for a coop. But I am wondering it would have been more convenient to avoid the sliding tray for the poop management instead to give a clear opening to sweep of the poop into a trolley with much less effort. Your comments plz.
Bizzie Bee60 Shouldn't be an issue. Modern wood treatments are not toxic like the old stuff used to be. I would only use treated lumber for the base of the coop though since it is more expensive and you should seal the rest with a stain anyway.
TheJeffDGorman by building a frame and then cover it up lol.. thats what im about to do.. Im going to build 4X8X4H (because it is even cuts mostly on a MDF board base) put in an access door for me and a walk through for the birds and some vents and a window.. build it about 2 ft off the ground and build a fence around it.
Not that easy looking appears heavy. I have learned from this example: probably have the tray divided in two sections and perhaps some type of rolling on the bottom.
Did you seriously say, you only need to clean in 4x a YEAR? Did you mean month? How many chickens do you guys have? If that is right, then I can get my husband with on board with chickens, ha, ha!! I thought you had to clean weekly???
+J TDMN I clean it a little more now but only about 4 times through the winter and 2 times in the summer. They spend most of their time outside the coop in the summer. You can certainly clean it more but ours stays decent with about 3 inches of pine shavings in the cleanout tray
King Fisher I had thought of Straw but I am not sure, those pine shavings are only a couple bucks for a big bag and the paper shredding is free! Might do some straw for the nesting boxes though. Thanks for checking it out!
+SSLFamilyDad Craigslist is a good start. I am somewhat hadicapped and get about with a walker so the Fewer steps I have to do the better. I plan on converting a Full on Garbage can for collection duty. Just mount the vacuum unit and hose attachment on the lid. I Will have ALOT more chickens to clean up after when I get my poultry house built though.
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I am a young dad myself. Thank you for sharing your trials with the rest of us. I have way more room than you and I was concerned about the work. No excuses now. :)
lol, yup it really is pretty easy to maintain so get out there and build yourself a coop! Thanks for checking it out!
AAAAHHHH Man - I LOVE your coop and ADORE the paper clippings! I used to raise my rats on that and it really did away with the odor. I just never thought of using them with my chickens. I have had chickens most of my adult life and am always thrilled when I learn something new to improve their lives. Thank you so very much for taking the time to share.
***** No problem! Glad you enjoyed it.
GREAT JOB! I absolutely love what you did here. Video, plans, explanations for why you did what you did. I'm building this coop in a week. Vids and friends helped convince my wife.. here we go! kids are excited and ready to help! Thanks again for all the details!
+eric van cuyk thanks! I hope it all makes it easier for you and your family to get started. Let me know if you have any questions
Thanks for sharing your Coop! We just built one and after watching your video and others with the tray we found that people who had coops with just simple linoleum on the floor and a nice wide door had truly the easiest clean outs. They simply open the door and rake out the entire bedding into a wheel barrow in one or two sweeps. Much easier than messing with a tray. You could convert your coop and it would save you time and effort in the long run.
I think the tray idea came from bird cages but it really doesn't make it easier for a Coop, it makes the clean out harder. After struggling to pull it out you end up cleaning Two floors, one for the Tray itself and one inside the coop after half of the tray spills onto it. Just thought I'd share this observation because a poor design shouldn't be touted as "easy" when clearly it's the opposite. Go check out some coops with just the linoleum floors. I'll post a Video of mine when it's done as well. I, like you, want my coop easy-peasy to clean, doesn't everyone? ;)
AquaWoman Having the sweep out flooring is also a great way to go. I went back and forth when I designed this coop Idecided for the tray instead. But this design allows you to do either, if you just want the sweep out just don't put the tray in, just put the linoleum right on the flooring. I like the cleanout tray better because it keeps all of the wet mess off of the actual coop floor which will in turn help the coop last longer. Believe me, it is not just as easy to just "sweep it into a wheel barrow" The mess gets stuck to the floor and you end up needing to climb or reach in an scrap the flooring so it doesn't always just sweep out as easily as it might seem. Hope that helps give you some insight, I have cleaned coops of all different design and this is by far the easiest I have ever cleaned:) Thanks for checking it out!
I RAISED AMAZON PARROTS YEARS AGO AND HAD A SET UP LIKE YOURS. ONLY THING DIFFERENT THEY HAD A FLYWAY INSIDE AND OUTSIDE AND THEY LOVED TO SHOWER WHEN IT RAINED. I HAD DOORS THAT WOULD BLOCK THEIR NEST BOXES FROM THE WIND WHICH WOULD BLOW FROM UNDERNEATH THE CAGES. THE FLOORING WAS 1 1/2" HEAVY WIRE WHICH THEY COULD WALK OR FLY OUTSIDE. THEY ALSO LIKE TO PERCH ON REAL TREE LIMBS. I LIVE IN TEXAS SO THE WEATHER IS TOLERABLE FOR THEM DOWN HERE. WHEN THE BABIES WERE FLEDGED AND EATING ON THEIR OWN, I WAS SELLING THE BABIES ALL OVER THE USA & CANADA. I GOT SICK WITH CANCER, AND I WAS WORRIED ABOUT LOSING THEM, SO I SOLD OUT TO A MACAW BREEDER IN LOUISIANA.
I must say that i really like the linoleum tiles that you used
I had a similar situation with the waterer when I first made the first small coop. The fix was adding a spacer block to get the pipe off the wall stud by an 1 1/2" and also I took some scrap formica, cut it to fit between the wall studs. made it about a foot long. Ran it so it stuck out from the sill about 3/4" into the tray and up the wall forming a curved water protecting slide of sorts. If they splatter even as high as the main tube, it hits the formica and runs down to drip into the box of shavings. this also prevents the usual "stuff"getting up on the 2x4 sill to clean off.
That is a great idea. I plan to do something similar when I redesign the water system this spring.
I would rather clean out the shop vac than tote the tray to the compost pile. I got very lazy in my youth when I discovered the wheel and have to find a reason change that consideration. Like the coop and I have cleaned out a coop the old way,shove, wheel barrow, etc.. Way too much work anyway "LAZY" is how I spell engineer.
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We have used some vinyl flooring for the bottom of our coop and it goes up the sides of the by one foot ,so it makes it very easy to wash the floors down and easy to scrape any poop off .
If you take a bar of soap and rub it on the sides of your slide out tray for your bedding, it will slide much easier. Very nice chicken coop btw, much nicer than mine.
Rock Sutton That is a great idea, I was thinking of furniture wax or beeswax but soap would work also, thanks!
hey there, that's pretty good mandolin playing !!
harbor freight sells a device for unloading the bed of a pickup which is nothing more than very heavy plastic on a roller. I bet this can be engineered to more easily empty the coop of bedding
I tried using newspaper shaving but prefer the wood shaving because if any wind blow it across your yard then it doesn't look so trashy. Also I think that it would be faster just to sweep the shavings directly into the wheelbarrow if you didn't have the tray system.
Hi, you should build watering system where there is no maintenance or filling the water manually by using toilet fill valve. You can then permanently attached a water hose to the watering system and the water will fill as needed. If you like you use a five gallon reservoir with the fill valve inside.
+tubetwo100 I have done something like this in my most recent video and plan to add a small float valve in the final product, great ideas!
Silicone sealer would be good to hold vinyl on with, totally sealed and waterproof.
i built your coop.. it really turned out great.. i didn’t do the pull out drawer.. thought it would be easier to just scrape it out.. the only thing i didn’t think about until after i was done was where to stick the chicken perches.. there isn’t a lot of room for those but I do see where you have yours put in..
I like the way you work and its very inspiring .
zahid hossaen Thanks!
I just watched this video, I love your coop. Watching the girls when you put down new bedding just made my day. I can't wait til I get my chicks. they will be shipped on 8/3/15. Thanks so much for the video's
Diane Kennedy No problem! Glad you enjoyed!
Suggestion for Improvement . . . The opening to pull the floor-drawer out is too shallow, causing the debris to get pushed back into the pen & requiring putting your hands in it ... repeatedly, no less.... So ... Raise the top of that opening [to pull the bottom through] high enough so *none* of the debris gets pushed back while pulling it out. That will also mean shortening the door above it ... and ... adding an extra piece to plug the larger opening. I wouldn't make the *front* of the floor-drawer higher, as this would make it more difficult to handle.
Great suggestions, thanks!
I was wondering about that wheelbarrow with the hole in the bottom! LOL. Now, I see! 😂
Thank you so much. That's awesome! Liz
Nice video. Thank you. I'm thinking about getting a dozen or so this year.
Nice job Dad.
My coop cleaning involved me on my knees with a short item to round it all up so I could shovel it out. This is much better.
It looks like it is working out really well for you. I hope that plastic has solved the water problem.
Wheels (small pulley bearing type) under tray.
Handle on tray, two holes with a rope since you probably don't have the room.
Another excellent idea
What a great chicken coop.
Lesley Caron Thanks!
Now I know what to do with my shredded papers. Thanks :)
Get a shop vac to suck up all the old bedding in the cracks.
That has been suggested and I think it is a good idea. Just waiting to get a new shop vacation so I can dedicate the old one for chicken coop cleanup. Thanks!
A suggestion go with out the tray but leave the door in and put the wheelbarrow in the same place then use a garden rake to pull out the stuff from a U of M fan lol
+Bryan lol, we'll I am sorry about your sports choices but you have a great point. I like the tray but many others have also mentioned just using the clean out and sweeping it in. With the tray the floor of the coop is kept dry so the coop will last longer I hope
Great stuff ! Thanks for sharing!
Wish I would have had this system when I had chickens. Glad to see you're using the mask, very important not to get any of that stuff in your lungs. Love watching the video.
It is easy to clean but still a little dusty so the mask helps. I happen to know first hand that I wish you had this system on your chicken coop also:) Thanks for always taking the time to watch and comment!!!
love the music dude ,,awesome..
I like Chopped straw, composts faster, just use a leaf shredder to chop it if you have one
Thanks MrFakit, that is a great idea and I should probably grab a couple of straw bales this winter for that and other things coming up this spring, thanks!
nice coop looks alot like mine before the expansion... I dont have a tray though I just scrape right into the wheel barrow
Mark Thieme That works too! I think one of the biggest reasons I didn't want chickens originally was because I didn't want to have to deal with cleaning it, the tray makes it super easy and I don't mind it at all.
I could see that but it's nice not to have to fuss getting the tray in and out...
Carrie Faden - Yes I did build the coop and it is of my own design. The video series is here - ruclips.net/p/PLL3IEVIDKMm6QVVL4DPxq9LpcSTu4yQCp
*Know the essential tips on building a predator-proof chicken coop to let the chickens lay the eggs safely…*
Go here => ---www.ibuildachickencoop.blogspot.com---
I'm curious about how you ran and connected your water lines(pvc). Do you have issues with them freezing?I'm in the process of doing mine.Lots of options.
fuzzbutt2871 I am going to redesign mine this year as well. I want to be able to shut off the outside part completely in the winter as it was too hard to keep thawed when temps were below 10 degrees. I had them wrapped in heat tape and insulation but that couldn't keep up when the temps were too low. I am now going to insulate the inside piping and install a valve to shut off the water going to the outside. I am just using pipe insulation and heat tape. Hope that helps!
I have learned a lot!
Thanks for sharing all your videos and ideas. Planning to built my coop this spring in South Suburbs Chicago. My original idea was to built it against one side of the garage, to cut an opening on the side of the garage and to built the nesting box inside the garage for easy access to eggs when the weather is awful. Any input on that idea? Thanks again for the videos
That sounds like an awesome idea!
If you use industrial hemp you won’t have to clean but once a year and it won’t stink.
Looks good, I added a PVC pipe with holes drilled in it DIRECTLY under the nipple to catch any drips from the nipple. Then I ran the pipe at an angle out of the coop, seemed to work. Who knows maybe it would work for you too. Keep up the good work.
Directly in line* under, with room for the chickens to access the nipple.
+Jeffry Warren i had thought about that, sounds like a great idea
What type of paper is safe for the chicken coops? I couldn't tell if you said you do or do not use newspaper and construction paper. (Great idea for whichever kind is safe!)
If you live in a cold region as we do how are you keeping your water from freezing in the pipes? Thanks
+paulandroc I wrapped the piping in insulation and heat tape.
Great! Thanks Learning with your day by day
Blessings!
What do you do with the water system in winter? Great videos thanks so much!!!
+Jillian Marie we have a couple different things we have done, one is with heat tape on this system which worked ok. Another was a cooler system that I built. I have several videos on the channel if you want to check them out!
Thank You!
Do you have any problems with the water freezing? Thanks
Did you build the coop youself and if so where did you get the plans? Great vids! I just got chicks and they are still under their heating lamp so we have 4 or 5 weeks to go and will be needing a simple system!
How much quantity of wood shavings are used and how often do u change the bedding?
I'm curious as to how you clean the area below the coop where the feeder is? How often and how difficult it is to get to? With the food and the water it seems like a high traffic area.
rujonesin1 Since the entire run can just roll away from the coop I can throw in some sand or spray area off with the hose. So far I have had to do this once in the last year but I will probably do it again before winter. I usually ust add some sand to any low spots and the rain takes care of the rest.
How many nesting boxes do you need for 6 chickens. Is 3 enough. I'm wanting to build and you have awesome plans and great design ideas.
+Rod7355 3 is plenty, in fact they normally all lay in just one or sometimes two
+SSLFamilyDad great. Thanks so much
Hey my name is Joe, and I was wondering if you had the plans for the walls of your coop?
Joseph Kowalewski I am working on plans but do not have anything concrete together yet. I will post to the blog at www.simplesuburbanliving.com when I get them done.
I really wish i had dine my coup with a tray but maybe a modification for the futurr the linolium floor is great i use that un mine.
Do you spot clean daily/weekly? ^.^ thanks
+heyitsmay Not all the time, I will add some wood chips or shredded paper from time to time in the nesting boxes and I do clean it quite a bit more often than I said in this video during the Winter months.
I only clean 1 a week and trow a few crush herbs in the nest boxes, i do not use deep littler 1 is not that hard to clean weekly and 2 i have s mall heather i turn on sometimes for about an hour in cold nigth, and a fan in the summer so i keep the beding low and sprinkle baking poweder.
great job but honestly it seems harder then to just rake shavings off the floor into the wheel barrel. should have made floor from lighter material and put it on some kind of rollers. Or you can put tray onto a roller like one that comes with IKEA kitchen drawers, split floor in half in the middle with latch holding it together and put halfs on a hinges. so you can slide it out, then open latch and just dump contents into your wheel barell :)
How many square feet a chicken coop should be for 100 chickens ?
Just wondering how your dog and the chickens get along. Beautiful dog by the way. I hope to add some backyard chickens this next spring and I'm hoping my chocolate lab won't give them a hard time.
The dog is very interested in the chickens but we have never had them actually together. I have a feeling she would "play" with them to death:) Other than that she recently has found a new interest in trying to dig under the coop to get their food. So curious and annoying would be my answer to that questions:) Thanks for checking it out!
yeah you're right my siberian loves to play with our free range chicken..he enjoys playing with them hide and seek..unfortunately he does it the other way around he seeks and he hides them under the ground..we've learned about it after noticing chicken feets on the ground..poor hens
Dave Gatton I have 3 golden retrievers that love the chickens..lol, no kidding.When the chickens are out, they sit and watch over them.
Hi, I love your videos. Its such a great thing to spread the word about sustainability and animal care. Im in Oz, and I'm teaching a backyard chicken course for a local community group. Could I please have your permission to play your youtube's to this group? I think they're great. Hoping its ok with you? Regards Liz
+Liz OConnor Please use any of our content for this purpose, we would be honored. Happy Thanksgiving!
Any problems with chicken lice? If so, how is that handled? I remember as a kid gathering eggs and that nasty lice. Yes, that way of cleaning looks much easier. Although we had about twenty chickens and a few roosters. Our chicken coop was a 12ft x 16ft shed. Cleaning was done with a shovel. Great videos btw!
+Jason Griffin no issues with lice of any kind so far. We have sand under the coop that they clean themselves with which I have heard helps.
How about a piece if thin paneling behind the water feeder to stop the water from hitting the framework
Yeah, that is a god idea Thomas. I might put something more permanent in there next time I clean it. A small piece of wood on an angle would be perfect!
Thanks for the video! Looks great! We just picked up 5 chicks this past weekend and now the clock starts on my design and building of my coop. I have a small side yard that is 4'-8" wide and 28' long, so I was going to build it out there seeing it is a useless piece of land for almost anything. I've read people saying you need 4 sq ft per chicken for coop space and 10 sq ft of run per chicken also. It looks like your coop space is about 9 sq ft (based on linoleum size). Can you give some insight as well as how long your roosts are and how many you have? I'm toying with a design that is around 2 1/2' - 3' wide by 6-7' long and the run will be 4' x 20'.... Any help would be great! Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks Stephen, the whole series on the chicken coop is here - ruclips.net/p/PLL3IEVIDKMm6QVVL4DPxq9LpcSTu4yQCp if you want to check it out. It is a 4'X4' coop for 16 square feet of coop area. The run is 4'X8' for 32 square feet of run space. The roosts are 4' long and there is room for probably no more than a total of 8 chickens in this design, I have 6. Hope that helps! Good luck with your setup and let me know if you have any questions along the way. Post pics to facebook.com/simplesuburbanliving.com if you get the chance! Thanks for checking it out!
I have 12 chickens, if I only put the pine shavings and paper do I really have to clean it four times a year? Do you clean their roaming area?
+Ximena Pyne I will probably clean out there run this year, it has been two years. The main coop depending on how big and the weather you have will need to be cleaned about once a month while it is snowing outside and every two or three months in the summer.
A shop vac would be easier to use.
You know what, I thought about that as an easy way to get in the harder to reach places but didn't want to dirty up a shop vac that I would then later use in other places with chicken manure! Thanks for watching Harry!
What would you recommend for the type of shavings or paper to put in the tray to keep the costs down
I am using about half pine shavings (Which are very cheap) and half shredded paper. I just shred up anything that is not glossy and add that to the nesting boxes and coop floor. Hope that helps, thanks for stopping by!
I use hay most of the time and pine sahvings in the boxes wich are nade of plastic trays so i dont change them often. Hey is really cheap but may not fit in the tray
What type of Shreaded paper is not exceptible for the coop
+Angelo Stefano I wouldn't use anything that is glossy. Only newspaper and cardboard or paper with natural inks
Was there any set or recommended height to set the drinking nipples or did you just eyeball it on height for your chickens? Also was there any trouble with them learning to use them? Thanks
In hind sight I would have put mine a little bit higher than I did but I added them when the chickens were much smaller and needed to be able to reach them. I would put them higher than they can reach as chicks and just put something underneath for them to stand on until they get older. They learned how to use them in about 2 days. I would go in and tap them with my finger and let a little water out and they are curious enough to go and do it too. They figured it out pretty quick. Thanks for watching and good luck with your coop!
How often are you having to clean out the coop? You said three times a year right? Thanks
BrianStocking In the summer I clean it every few months. But I did find that in the winter it needs to be cleaned much more often. Once per month while there is snow on the ground since they tend to stay inside.
SSLFamilyDad Cool. I got worried because a friend is bringing me 5 chickens and I have a week to build a coop. I didn't want to get something I was going to have to clean once or twice a week. I saw your other video on you building the coop. Very Cool! That is basically what I decided to build.Thanks for the great videos.
BrianStocking Glad I could help in some way please let me know if you have any questions along the way!
How often do you clean out the chicken coop? Martin Hatch Ireland
+martin hatch full clean out coupe times in summer and 4-6 times in winter
Hi
Can you advice me how get ride of red mite problem in chicken coop
Thank u
Sorry Jahaffer, I don't have much experience with that. Might want to check good old Google for some remedies on that.
Sprinkle DE, diatomaceous earth, in cracks, crevices, on roosts, and in nest boxes. That’ll do it.
Thanks for the video. The horizontal nipples work better as they don't leak like the vertical ones. This would also bring up the height a few inches.
Thanks Denton, I have not see any that are installed horizontally. I will have to look into that, thanks.
Do hens need a nest for each one or they share?
+Betsy Alvarez they share, we have three for 6 chickens
Thanks a lot, love your videos!
You can have about 2,3 hens layng per nest but when they choise a favorite even if you a bunch they will lay in the special 1 sometimes bith hens piling up toguether in 1 nest they are like school girls.
Please answer, lol. I want to create a watering system just like yours, but my question is - How do you keep it from freezing in the winter? Or do you have mild enough winters that you don't have to deal with it? My only idea so far is to put the chicken nipples on the bottom of a bucket instead of PVC pipe, and have a submersible heater inside the bucket, which are more commonly used to keep bird baths from freezing.
Ryan And Maty I had considered the bucket idea as well and I think that would work great! I have a video on what I did with mine this past winter here - ruclips.net/video/TltF8rW4KeA/видео.html. However, for next winter I will be shutting off the outside section and just heating the inside section as this heat tape could not keep up with temps below 10 for more than a couple days, then it would start freezing. Hope that helps and good luck getting it setup!
SSLFamilyDad Ok, thank you very much :). I was also considering the heating tape, so that's good to know. I guess I am going to go with the bucket with a submersible heater and have it able to be filled from outside using PVC pipe just like yours. It's funny because I haven't even started building the coop yet.
I am going for your design for a coop. But I am wondering it would have been more convenient to avoid the sliding tray for the poop management instead to give a clear opening to sweep of the poop into a trolley with much less effort. Your comments plz.
Either way works very well. Up to you!
who might the bluegrass muscians be playing in the background?
+Donald Reaves Beginning is - Jason_Shaw_-_TENNESEE_HAYRIDE, middle is - River Valley Breakdown. Both are free songs provided by RUclips
Can treated lumber be used to build a coop?
Bizzie Bee60 Shouldn't be an issue. Modern wood treatments are not toxic like the old stuff used to be. I would only use treated lumber for the base of the coop though since it is more expensive and you should seal the rest with a stain anyway.
I didnt notice any perches in there for them to sleep on?
There are two perches that run the length of the coop. You can see the lower one at 4:30 in the video. Thanks for checking it out!
SSLFamilyDad
no problem.. i like your simple build..I am wanting to build something myself but im not much of a builder lol
***** Me neither! I'd love to have this, but goodness .. I wouldn't know where to start!!
TheJeffDGorman
by building a frame and then cover it up lol.. thats what im about to do.. Im going to build 4X8X4H (because it is even cuts mostly on a MDF board base) put in an access door for me and a walk through for the birds and some vents and a window.. build it about 2 ft off the ground and build a fence around it.
How are the eggs coming along?
6 eggs per day, everyday....... plenty of eggs for us! Thanks for stopping by!
Is it legal to have chickens in the city?
+Verosity X Every city and township is different. Just check local ordinance or call city hall.
how often do you clean the coop
Every couple of months
How often do you clean your coop?
Not as much as I should! Maybe 4 times through the winter and then about once every couple of months in the spring, summer, and fall
Thanks
Hi do you have problem with rats or mices ?
+Matheus nope, no issues with mice
I like cheerios
Me too, thanks for watching!
did you say you clean it 4 times a year?
+Joe Smith about that in the spring through fall. In winter I cleaned it 4 more times which was after I shot the video
So a little less than once a month? I don't have anywhere to compost, got any recommendations?
I'm guessing not
let me guess the ones who put thumbs down are the jealous ones lol
Please, get rid of the music. PLEASE.... otherwise a great video
lol, to each their own I suppose. Thanks for checking it out anyway!
SSLFamilyDad
I much prefer music to rambling about nothing lol..
no, it doesn't look easy to clean...but it does look like a nice chicken coop.
Have you ever cleaned a traditional chicken coop?
Not that easy looking appears heavy. I have learned from this example: probably have the tray divided in two sections and perhaps some type of rolling on the bottom.
Did you seriously say, you only need to clean in 4x a YEAR? Did you mean month? How many chickens do you guys have? If that is right, then I can get my husband with on board with chickens, ha, ha!! I thought you had to clean weekly???
+J TDMN I clean it a little more now but only about 4 times through the winter and 2 times in the summer. They spend most of their time outside the coop in the summer. You can certainly clean it more but ours stays decent with about 3 inches of pine shavings in the cleanout tray
Wow! Thank you!
Use Hay it is a lot Cheaper!!
King Fisher I had thought of Straw but I am not sure, those pine shavings are only a couple bucks for a big bag and the paper shredding is free! Might do some straw for the nesting boxes though. Thanks for checking it out!
would it not be an idea to just dump the cleaning into the chicken yard as it will eventually become compost?
I use sand in the chicken run so I like to keep it clean and just sand. If you had straw in the run that would probably be just fine to do
+SSLFamilyDad Thanks for reply great videos well thought out and delivered.
I would use a vacuum
Didn't look easy at all. I would never have a coop with a shallow tray.
the only thing I would change was to switch to a Shop vac... you wouldnt have to wear a mask.
That has been suggested before actually and I suppose it would be a cool way to go, just need to find an old one at a garage sale somewhere. Thanks!
+SSLFamilyDad
Craigslist is a good start. I am somewhat hadicapped and get about with a walker so the Fewer steps I have to do the better. I plan on converting a Full on Garbage can for collection duty. Just mount the vacuum unit and hose attachment on the lid. I Will have ALOT more chickens to clean up after when I get my poultry house built though.
DEBRA DIXON- I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU WEAR A MASK ANYTIME YOU CLEAN, WHETHER YOU'RE SCRAPING OR VACUUMING..BUT, THAT'S JUST ME!!
That does not look easy to clean. Not at all!
Trust me man, if you have ever cleaned a traditional coop, this is much much easier!
looks like it's a pain to clean to me
Really? Well compared to cleaning a traditional chicken coop I can tell you assuredly that this is much easier to clean. Thanks for checking it out!
Nothing easy about that
you call this easy!?
That didn't look easy AT ALL. You need a real builder to improve your design.
How does this show easy to clean lol?
um, well, you pull out the tray, dump it, and put it back in. Not sure cleaning a chicken coop can be much easier do you think?