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8 awesome urban chicken coops
8 awesome urban chicken coops
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SarahJ
Apr 23 2013 at 1:35 PM
You need detailed plans and instructions to build functional and good looking chicken coop. Then you also need to know how to raise chicken in proper conditions. You can check this website to learn everything you need to build your own chicken coop.
http://www.makeusknow.com/categories/home&garden/diy-chicken-coop.html
@cloudstuff
Apr 28 2012 at 11:50 AM
Great ideas from some superbly creative folks - still like our funky green Eglu best from www.omlet.com, pricy but safe and easy to maintain.
greenminstrel
Apr 15 2012 at 4:32 PM
I've considered getting urban chickens before, I just wonder what kind of time investment they involve?
john travis
Mar 08 2011 at 4:16 PM
Just after my cat of 18 years died, my chicken started pecking on my front door evey morning. Iv'e been feeding it the cat food that I still have from Sparky my cat. Finally I have a good friend once again......We are in love,. Chickens make great pets!.
Janet Murray
Mar 12 2011 at 11:08 AM
If i ever get a decent size yard, I'm getting me some chickens.
Hell, i and others put up with all kind of urban sounds & other nuisances of blaring car sirens, revving up vehicles, lounging around crack heads, prostitutes and flying around trash of discarded McDonald's wraps, soda/beer cans and unpicked dog poop. I'll take the cackle of a hen, crow or poop of a rooster any day.
Fortunately I keep my feathers numbered for such an emergency! - Foghorn Leghorn
john travis
Mar 08 2011 at 4:15 PM
Just after my cat of 18 years died, my chicken started pecking on my front door evey morning. Iv'e been feeding it the cat food that I still have from Sparky my cat. Finally I have a good friend once again......We are in love,. Chickens make great pets!.
Canucklette
Feb 27 2011 at 7:25 PM
My neighbour had chickens in our suburban 'hood. We were this close to strangling someone before we moved.
1) Chickens were 'free range' = free range in our yard, with poop the size of a small dogs' poop. Everywhere. Yuck
2) Raccoons, cats and other opportunist animals used to go hunting, leaving badly mangled and bloody carcasses in OUR yard. We had to get them to come and remove the mess on several occasions.
3) Ever been downwind from a coop on a summer's day?
4) The noise. The dumb, dumb noise.
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Our neighbours were hardly model amateur chicken owners. They were sloppy, lazy, and I think the thrill of 'fresh eggs' wore off really fast. They let the place stink, and somehow thought we'd love to put up with the above issues. Many people might think that it's a fabulous idea to start with, but I forsee the SPCA being overrun with abandoned birds.
thinkcritically
Feb 27 2011 at 8:30 PM
You had a bad neighbor. *That* was the problem. I've had neighbors who let their dogs run wild, poop in my yard and another neighbor who's cat loved my children's sandbox as a litter box as well as my garden. So...... I know! Lets ban cats and dogs. Yeah, that's it.
Canucklette
Feb 27 2011 at 7:19 PM
My neighbour had chickens in our suburban 'hood. We were this close to strangling someone before we moved.
1) Chickens were 'free range' = free range in our yard, with poop the size of a small dogs' poop. Everywhere. Yuck
2) Raccoons, cats and other opportunist animals used to go hunting, leaving badly mangled and bloody carcasses in OUR yard. We had to get them to come and remove the mess on several occasions.
3) Ever been downwind from a coop on a summer's day?
4) The noise. The dumb, dumb noise.
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Our neighbours were hardly model amateur chicken owners. They were sloppy, lazy, and I think the thrill of 'fresh eggs' wore off really fast. They let the place stink, and somehow thought we'd love to put up with the above issues. Many people might think that it's a fabulous idea to start with, but I forsee the SPCA being overrun with abandoned birds.
TR
Feb 27 2011 at 5:01 PM
We have had chickens since 2002. We like our chicks. Feed has become expensive. They love kitchen scraps. When they are ranging they not only eat weeds and bugs but also a lot of stuff you don't want them to eat. They don't discriminate. Great fertilizer. Best eggs for sure. We like Barred Rocks,
De
Feb 27 2011 at 5:46 AM
We built a small coop out back and bought 7 chickens. They have completely cleared our yard of the 'visible' bugs/spiders and ate almost all of our weeds. Cleaned along all property lines & areas we had to weed out last year. Now we're ready to plant our garden. Eggs everyday. Best organic option we've tried so far. Our coop has a sand/dirt mix and their droppings are easily broken down. We don't have a smell issues with our flock. Hours of entertainment watching them too.
holly lamar
Mar 30 2011 at 8:06 AM
Chickens r the funniest and sweetest and most calming and meditative to watch. They r so close to nature and to the universal force, whatever u call it. We could all learn from how in tune they r with their surroundings, unlike some of the judgmental people commenting here.
De
Feb 27 2011 at 5:45 AM
We built a small coop out back and bought 7 chickens. They have completely cleared our yard of the 'visible' bugs/spiders and ate almost all of our weeds. Cleaned along all property lines & areas we had to weed out last year. Now we're ready to plant our garden. Eggs everyday. Best organic option we've tried so far. Our coop has a sand/dirt mix and their droppings are easily broken down. We don't have a smell issues with our flock. Hours of entertainment watching them too.
Erica
Feb 26 2011 at 8:00 PM
I will take the sound of chickens before the racket of lawnmowers, leafblowers, snowblowers,motorcycles,tractors,& radios.
Frank
Feb 26 2011 at 10:24 PM
I would have to agree! Take a chicken over a dirt bike, snowmobile, blaring radio, loud parties and other loud, annoying noises!!!!!!! Preach it baby!!!
Elysia
Feb 26 2011 at 4:42 PM
My mom lives near someone with chicken coops, and the stench is god-awful... not to mention the noise.
If you live in an urban area and you don't want your neighbors to flatten you tires while you sleep, get your eggs at the grocery store like the rest of us!
non cat person
Feb 26 2011 at 6:44 PM
are you nuts, if kept up and cleaned once in a while they don't smell at all. Ive smelt neighbors cats that Crap in my yard and are some of the most vile smelling creatures on the planet. but everyone has cats
Vince A.
Feb 26 2011 at 10:46 PM
@AllSensesOperational ... either you are smelling your own stinky odor or you take a bath once a month only ... you said " the ones groomed and shampooed - they still stink, " ... show me how they do it and what shampoo they use ?...I have a small dog that I shampoo (my regular shampoo) every once or twice a week and she smells great and even sleeps beside my 2 kids every night.
AllSensesOperational
Feb 26 2011 at 8:27 PM
Based on your comments, your olfactory cells do not appear to be operating within the normal tollerance levels. Not that cats don't stink, I haven't encounted an animal that doesn't. Including the ones groomed and shampooded - they still stink, only their owners are either immune to or feign ignorrance of, the stench!
More Jenkins
Feb 26 2011 at 10:17 PM
Then they're not taking proper care of the coop, because mine has almost ZERO odor! And I'm very sensitive to odors!
elsie
Feb 25 2011 at 8:17 PM
I have heard a lot of myths regarding animals and I really urge people to get the facts before they bring any animals into their life.
Yes, roosters crow and some are aggressive, but not all are.
Most urban areas limit the amount of hens (usually 3) you can have and often do not allow roosters (for a variety of reasons).
Hens do not lay all year round, nor do they lay every day.
No, you do not need a rooster to have eggs (you'd be amazed at how many people who have hens think this is true!).
Hens
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need a healthy diet, plenty of fresh water, good ventilation along with calcium and grit - for good egg production (and meat) yard scratchings are not enough.
Having hens, raising chicks, opting for a rooster (or not), looking to have egg and/or meat production requires careful thought, research and commitment.
We have hens, a rooster and raise chicks for both egg and meat production and they require our attention on a daily basis.
They do not have a hap-hazzard schedule - they are attended to in the morning and the afternoon every day.
During very hot and cold days they are also checked on during the mid-day. Heatstroke and frostbite can be very detrimental to not only their productivity but also their well being.
So please do your research before you get a couple of hens.
Misinformed
Feb 26 2011 at 10:14 PM
Depending on the breed of chicken they CAN lay year round, everyday. My Dominicks are that type. Everyday, year round we have eggs.
Julie
Feb 25 2011 at 6:32 PM
That beautiful speckled bird in the first my blood pressure go up just looking at him. Roosters crow. Not just once or twice in the a.m. They are apt to crow literally at all hours of the day and night. Lots. And loudly - a roosters crow is meant to be heard a long way off. To whit - you do NOT want to have one unless you want homicidal neighbors. You do not one within 100 feet of your bedroom windows. I have lived with my Mothers chickens in the backyard and have no happy fantasies about them.
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Hens are quite capable of laying eggs w/o a rooster and for those who thinnk they need a male to be happy - get over it. They're more advanced than human females often are in that respect. In fact the depredations of roosters may require doctoring of hens whose backs have been plucked feather-free from roosters claws.
I think a few city hens are great, good for teaching kids how to care for animals, learning where food comes from, and yes, the contented clucking of hens is nice. (They squawk like mad when they're laying or fighting amongst themselves though)
I'm just saying - leave the roosters to more remote country settings where they belong. (along with humans who blast their TV and music at all hours in city apartments)
holly
Mar 30 2011 at 8:12 AM
I built a SOUNDPROOF coop and let my hens and roosters out after 9 am. My neighbors love to hear them. my cockerels r sweet as pie cuz i give them lots of love. my hens lay every day of the year cuz they're HAPPY. I have no stink at all cuz i use good hay and change it twice a week. Chickens r cleaner than dogs actually (and i love dogs and have 2 and give them baths as well). Chickens also LOVE BATHS! Most of the comments on here r ignorant and self-centered. MAN CREATED THE CHICKEN BREED
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and as such we are also responsible for them.
Desi Erasmus
Feb 25 2011 at 3:46 PM
The urban coop should be coordinated with the urban garden, to provide automatic chicken-produced fertilizer on one section of the garden for a growing period, after which the coop is moved to cover the other half of the garden while the first half is planted for a new growth cycle. "Rinse and repeat" through available growing seasons.
Lilred
Feb 25 2011 at 5:51 PM
Chicken manure is a high nitrogen fertilizer. You need to let it compost or age for a while before you add it to your already planted garden or before you start a new garden cycle with a layer of new manure on/in it. Failure to do so will result in burns to your plants or poor germination of your seeds.
Lilred
Feb 25 2011 at 2:13 PM
I keep a small flock of chickens, but I live in a rural area. Cleaning out the coop is not fun, but there are ways to keep the smell down. Keeping the "litter" fresh by adding new litter, using ag. lime, scattering scratch grain in the coop so the chickens keep the coop well "turned". And, clean on a regular schedule.
Here, the urban farmers can have hens, no roosters.
I will be raising meat chickens this year, along with turkeys. I know what my animals eat and what kind of life they have. It
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is my small contribution (in addition to my garden and sheep) to my food security.
Vince A.
Feb 26 2011 at 5:11 PM
I feel the same here , my mother raised chickens when I was a kid and the sound of roosters crow early morning didn't bother me at all .Some people think they own the place and the sound of chickens would ruin their whole life.If I have a neighbor who raise chickens I wouldn't mind at all , in fact I would support her/him , and probably buy the eggs or the meat. This is just my opinion so those "chicken haters", you chill out! ..Cocadoodle dooo!
Les Jenkins
Feb 25 2011 at 1:23 PM
I wonder if any of these folks advocating urban chicken coops
have ever cleaned one out that first warm day in spring. Bring
along a gas mask and a big shovel.
More Jenkins
Feb 25 2011 at 4:18 PM
Smell isn't bad at all, especially if you use a deep litter method and good ventilation.
Kathy
Feb 20 2011 at 6:50 PM
I love to hear a rooster crow and listen to the contented clucking of hens. These are sounds of my childhood.
JMA
Feb 25 2011 at 4:17 PM
Living next to the local chicken coop it a wonderful thing when they start crowing at 4:30 am every morning and your quite weekend mornings you get to awake to an hour or more of crowing then you get to listen to it all over again at about 4-5 pm in the afternoon, ya want crowing move to a farm and enjoy!!!!
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