Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Tour Of My Tiny Chicken Coop

When you raise chickens in a small urban back yard, you need to keep your coop on the small side. Our city allows for three hens per yard so a tiny chicken coop was all we needed. Here is a tour of our chicken coop and run.

Our first frugal homemade coop is still here and is behind the garage and we use it as a grow out coop. The new garden coop was ordered from Amazon. My husband said he didn't care if we got a new coop but he did not want to build this one. For our small yard this small chicken coop is perfect. We have had it for three years now and it is perfect for us.

chicken coop picture ideas, urban chicken coop, backyard chickens

It really is possible to keep chickens in a small garden. The key is not having too many and to keep it clean and attractive. A back planter was the perfect spot to place the new coop and we surrounded the perimeter with stepping stones for security.

During the day the girls are let out into the large fenced run but at night they are enclosed in the little coop which gives them a little scratching space and contains the chicken waterer and feeder. The chickens get plenty of sun in the morning and then lots of afternoon shade which is important here in southern California.

Chicken Coop Picture Ideas


simple chicken coop plans, chickens scratching

 Next to the coop is my compost bin. I am obsessed with composting and this makes it easy to just clean the coop and drop the waste right in the bin. I can also let the girls scratch and stir the compost by opening the bottom doors of the bin. I keep metal barrels that hold feed and straw for the coop bedding behind the compost bin but can be brought over for easy chores. I also use fly predators to control the flies that chickens can attract. These tiny insects you release into your garden or barn area eat the larvae of the flies before they can ever develop. I swear by these cause they actually work great and it is totally organic fly control.

You can see a small patio umbrella over the coop. I need a new one but we have had this one here for years now and it provides more shade in the summer and also keeps the main part of the coop dry when it rains and leaves a dry sandy spot below for chicken baths.

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The actual hen house in the coop contains two roosting bars. One that came with it and an extra one I bought. The girls have plenty of room at night and fit fine. I keep straw up here and you can see the nesting boxes tucked in at the back. Of course like most chickens, they always use the same nest box for laying eggs.

small backyard chicken coop

I hope you enjoyed our little tour of our tiny backyard chicken coop. Visit again soon.

You can find the coop we ordered here. Six years later and the coop is still working great. I have only had to clean it and restain every three years.


12 comments:

  1. This is adorbs....I just got a new townhouse for our rabbit....check it out when you get a chance....Pinning your chicken inspiration...soooo cute would also work fir bunnies!!! Christine from Little Brags
    http://littlebrags.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-lazy-sunday-and-bunny-home-tour.html

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  2. I like your idea of having 3 chickens and that cute coop you purchased. It sounds like a manageable size and amount of work.

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  3. Elaine, I think you were born to have chickens.
    Brenda

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  4. Cute, and I like to use pine shavings, great to use in the veggie garden! Nancy@LittlehomesteadinBoise

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  5. You have it all set up just perfectly!!!!
    xo Kris

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  6. ... I love your chicken coop Elaine.... I like how you have everything organised and how it all works so well.......
    Hugs ... barb xxx

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  7. If my grandma could see your chicken coop, she'd be blown away!
    Heck, I'm blown away!!

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  8. What a cute little palace for your feathered ones. They look so happy.

    I always wanted to have some at the condo..we lived on the ground floor, and I had all of those plants, LOL.

    I'm obsessed with my compost also...every single peel goes in there. It's free soil!

    Jen

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  9. How wonderful that your city allows chickens. We are unable at the moment to have them in our location. It looks like you've found the ideal set-up.

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  10. This is so cute! We can now have a couple of chickens...maybe I'll have to give this some thought. :) Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We'd love to have you for a visit. The Door is OPEN. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/02/19/home-matters-linky-party-25/ :)

    ~Lorelai
    Life With Lorelai

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  11. Hi! I also live in SoCal and we are thinking of getting a couple of hens, your coop looks like it would fit perfect in our yard too! We just got a mini pig and am starting to think I maybe should buy a farm, lol! Urban Farm it is. Thank you for sharing!

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  12. It's all so precious. I would want to spent all my spare time out there enjoying it. I even love the one girl's name...flower muffin! Never met you but I know I would love to be your friend!

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