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1:35 am
February 10, 2009
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Depends on how many you are getting. I'd say twelve or fewer barely smell, and really not at all if you are even half way decent at cleaning their coop up a bit… They're not nearly as bad as geese either, but you should try to avoid letting them on your porch, cause they do poop extra there.
Probably 20 or more and they start to get a bit annoying and you may notice the smell more… I have 21, right now, so I know this. 
6:56 am
October 31, 2010
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Hey BEG…where's the photo of your coop/hen house? 
9:26 am
October 5, 2010
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Thanks that's good to know. I only want 5 or 6. i will keep them off our deck.
9:42 am
February 8, 2009
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I think it depends more on where you live, I live on the prairies and the climate is very dry, My coop only smells in the spring when the snow melts and the humidity is high.
But in spring I always give the coop a huge clean after winter and after that..it doesn't smell till next spring.
I have 50 chickens and some other birds in that coop…now I don't have picture on this laptop of my coop, but it should be on here somewhere..
11:34 am
February 10, 2009
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Very true Astrid! (Flatlander) I live in NE Ohio which gets quite humid, not to mention damp in the winter, so yes, I can notice some smell if I don't clean it up a bit and turn the bedding. (I use the deep litter method with shavings and a little straw) I posted an article about that in the links section.
There is a picture of your coop in the original thread that Pete linked to.
Yes Leah's Mom, I'll post some picture, …soon. >.>
1:53 am
April 8, 2010
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Hi, Here's a picture of our coop. It is about 4x6 without the nesting boxes. We have 5 hens. There is a big pen so they can go outside through a little door and down a ramp on the other side. Both the pen and the coop are easy to move so they get new grass. We use wood chips and the deep litter method. I shake up the litter every day with a little rake. I put in a new layer of chips as needed to keep things looking clean. We rake out the whole coop about 4 times a year as the seasons change. It is never icky or smelly. The hens go outside a lot even in the snow. Part of their run is covered so they are out scratching even on rainy days.
2:09 am
April 8, 2010
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Hi again,
Here is our broiler coop that we use in the summer to raise 25 meaties in 8 weeks. These cornish crosses just eat and poop and do not roost so the floor gets messy faster. They spend most of the day outside. My DH built the coop so it fits on our little trailer & we move it around to give the birds new grass. That is sun shade mesh draped over the top of the pen. When the broilers are gone we back the trailer into one of our barns and slide the coop off so DH can use the trailer for other things.
8:29 am
October 31, 2010
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Thanks JL! I have a couple questions for you…
-Did you make your 4x6 yourself or purchase it somewhere?
-How do you move it?
On your broiler coop, at least this morning the link won't work but I was wondering 2 things on that (even though I haven't seen it yet!)
-How do you get it onto and of of the trailer?
-(Maybe the photo will answer this…)What kind of trailer do you use? Is it a home-made item or did you purchase it somewhere?
I'm looking at good ways to move a coop before deciding on the final design!
9:14 am
October 5, 2010
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Me too I can't see the pic of the broiler coop.
and some of your post got cut off.
I think I figured out what you were to say.
1:28 pm
April 8, 2010
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Hi Gals,
OK-I think I fixed the link to the broiler house.
Yes we bought the layer coop from horizon structures as a demo model at the livestock expo in Louisville a few years ago and got a good deal. (google them-they are online) It is a strong building-no cracks for beasties to get in and eat my girls at night. But other companies now make the same thing and probably cheaper. Or you could build one yourself.
We have a Ford 8N tractor (google that too if you are not sure of the size) with a lift dealy on it that just fits right under the coop and my DH carries it to a new place. You can get wheels for that coop now too. We put bales around it in the winter but no heat. The girls have kept laying right through 2 winters so they must be comfy enough. We have it set so the windows are to the south. We are in IN.
Regarding the broiler house- it is about 5x9 so the trailer is about that size. It has a ramp that folds down. DH and our SometimesHired just shove the house onto the ramp and pull the trailer away. The house just slides off. To get it back on, they put the trailer ramp down by it, put a chain on it, and use the tractor to pull it up the ramp and onto the trailer.
We don't let the chickens free range because our place is close to the road so that is a danger and also for fear of hawks and other preds.
Let me know if you need anything else.
11:53 pm
October 31, 2010
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Okay… we had been looking around for a "yard barn" that someone might want to get rid of that we could re-purpose for a chicken coop. We finally found one for a great price.
We're going to move it over to our property this Saturday and it will be the new hen house. If we decide later not to keep ckns, we can use it as a storage shed, milking shed, etc. later.
This photo is in it's current location. Will post photo after we get it set up at home 
6:22 am
February 22, 2010
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I've been looking for something like that too. Great find!
9:46 pm
October 5, 2010
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Oh, I love that what a find. I was looking on Lowes site an whoo lots of money for them.
Where my hubby works they had huge machines delivered in these huge wood boxes. We are going to put roof and windows an door in it. I hope I can make it work. It was free. I might put textured siding on it and paint it. Looking on a site where someone made their coop. They put linoleum down under the perches, for easy clean up. Wondering what do people put on the floor of there chicken coops?
11:31 pm
October 31, 2010
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I love the idea of using the wooden crate/box to make a coop…Do post a photo or 2…maybe before and after.
My shed cost $295 and got a 2nd really little one for $35. The moving is expensive since you have to move them on a tow-truck type trailer and also depends on miles. Mine s/b about $200 to move but I was quoted anywhere from $120 – $250 depending on the miles.
11:44 pm
October 31, 2010
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Miss Judy – I kept looking on Craigslist at first and saw several of them from people that were moving out of mobile home parks. Aparently they need to get their yard barns off the property too when they leave.
I found this one when there was a road-widening project. My husband saw them as it was near his workplace so we did some knocking on doors to find out we had been about 1 week late as most of the homeowners had just signed the contract with DOT and were not allowed to remove anything from the property. We called DOT who were very helpful telling us to keep calling back about every 2 weeks as they would be turning them over to a contractor and then we would deal w/the contractor directly.
After they turned them over the the contractor we called and the contractor had turned them over to Habitat for Humanity to glean stuff from the properties for their local Re-Store. Contacted them and asked for prices if we took it directly off the property and that's how we got this one!
It wasn't one of the ones we first looked at but one that they told us about and sent me photos via email then had me come out to look. I like this one better than any of the others we had seen so far – and we're helping Habitat for Humanity also. A "win-win" situation 
If you have a Re-Store in your area you might contact them and see if they have anything in the works!
3:41 pm
October 5, 2010
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I am trying to figure out what all I need for the coop and some people on sites put linoleum on the floor of the coop with shavings on top. Also some people make a counter thing under the perches and have linoleum on that for easy clean up. What does everyone have on their floor?
Went pricing stuff yesterday. Want to find cheap place for windows and a doors also. Too excited want to start getting it together soon.
4:00 pm
February 10, 2009
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My flooring is bare plywood and I use pine shavings. If I had found any cheap linoleum, I'd have laid it to protect the plywood a bit more, but I didn't have the $$ for it then. I found some fairly inexpensive truck bed mats that I may lay down this summer, not sure though.
I have a 'poop shelf' under my roosts. They poop a lot overnight, and by having that there, it gives more usable floor space underneath there that stays nice and clean and dry. Also, I can scrape the tray clear once a week or so, that chicken poo without any shavings in it goes into the compost heap and is great for the garden.
My 'poop shelf' is also just plane bare plywood. It's been there 2 years and it's getting kinda warped and ragged so I will probably replace it this summer for sure.
Do you have a Habitat for Humanity "re-store" in your area? They often have windows and such.
5:11 pm
October 5, 2010
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Buckeye Girl,
Sounds like it would be great idea to put linoleum down and on the poop shelf.
How come you don't put shavings in the compost pile too?
I don't have a Habitat for Humanity store in our area, never heard of it before.
Is that a used items store?
6:24 pm
February 10, 2009
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Yes, it would be good to put linoleum there too, but at the time, it just wasn't happening. LOL
Shavings take longer to compost is all. I do deep litter method in the coop itself, so there isn't much there to actually compost, the stuff from the shelf is instant nitrogen though without the shavings. Only needs a little time in the compost really. Even most of the ammonia dissipates quickly because it is very exposed prior to clean-up.
Yes, the re-store program is to sell things that can't be used easily in large projects, but by selling them money does get generated for the larger program. Plus it provides jobs and ways for people to contribute to HFH, and chances for people to recycle stuff.
6:39 pm
October 31, 2010
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We got the shed into the yard! Glad to hear the questions regarding the vinyl flooring as I was just thinking I'd like to put one down. In my area there are several "salvage" stores as well as the Habit Re-Store that often have vinyl flooring REALLY INEXPENSIVE since you only need a remnant size!
The only thing I wondered is if their scratching might end up w/some of the vinyl in the litter but I'm guessing my litter will be too deep for that to make a lot of difference.
Back to topic…I have only seen drawings of the "poop" shelf idea..BG – when are you going to send a photo? How 'bout a photo of the poop shelf. We expect to see poop on it !!!
It would be helpful to see how deep it is while I'm cleaning up the new home and getting in roosts, etc.
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