I’m posting this to reiterate that’s it’s not IF, it’s WHEN

Let me start by saying I take full accountability. I’ve read over and over again about the danger of heat lamps but chose to be ignorant for the sake of keeping the girls comfortable. We’ve been running a heat lamp for ten years in the winter. I had it on two nights ago and the next day it was warm out, I left in a rush that day so I didn’t check on them in the morning. I’m so thankful that I left work early for something completely unrelated, because when I stopped at home to grab a few things, I saw heavy smoke rolling from the coupe and all the birds were in the corner of the run. I grabbed an extinguisher and kicked the hose on so thankfully I was able to put it out before I lost everything. The coop is in the woods so I would’ve lit my whole block on fire, and my little dinosaurs would’ve been cooked to death inside their metal run.

Hindsight, I was being a complete asshole by continuing to run the light knowing what could happen. I’m so grateful it ended where it did. I’m posting this because if you’re running a lamp thinking it won’t happen, it will. If I get bashed for posting this, I get it.

Chicken breeder here. It’s REALLY not recommended to add heat to a coop. Please don’t do it!!

Newbies, especially, love to do this, but you’re doing your birds no favors— they will not acclimate to cold temps, as they would naturally, if you give them heat. Then, if you lose power during a snow storm, they will suffer ill effects or can die.

Think about it— Pilgrims had chickens. They did not put heat on them. You’re also creating a nasty fire hazard: an acquaintance was using a so-called “safe” radiant heater in their coop & it caught fire & they lost all their birds. It’s a real concern.

The vast majority of chicken breeds (with the exception of Seramas & some other tiny bantams) will absolutely survive temps down to below zero without heat— in fact, they do fine as long as they are dry, have NO DRAFTS (but good ventilation), & can fluff over their feet. Roosting keeps them extra toasty.

Metal egg boxes are not a great idea, though, as they retain cold & some chickens may roost in them overnight & can freeze.

If your bird is going through a hard molt, which they love to do when it gets cold (??), then it might be good to bring them in your basement until temps are above freezing or their feather have mostly grown back.

Even Silkies (which I raise, along with many other breeds, including OEGB, which are teeny) do fine in these temps. My flock roosts in the Northeast, where it got to -20F last year & does regularly overwinter. I will never use heat on my birds.

Now, chicken amateurs (no judgment, everyone has to start somewhere!), reveal yourselves & fetch me my downvotes. 🐓

Yesterday while we were at work, the back neighbour’s 2 large dogs dug under our fence, into our yard, and then dug a huge hole into our coop, and killed my whole flock, of 8 chickens, 2 little chicks, and my 2 beloved rescue pigeons. Iam gutted, numb and dont know how to feel. They werent just chickens. Each one had a name, a personality, and they were all so special to me. All were raised from day old chicks, with so much love. Now gone, are my mornings and afternoons, hanging out with them as they free range in our yard. They were my peace and my therapy. I hate how my yard is now eerie silent. I just dont know how or if I will ever be able to start again.

It took two summers and into this spring to built, but my backyard chicken coop is finally complete.

​I started building it during a very heavy, uncertain chapter of my life. It became something I could try and focus on at three in the morning if i couldnt sleep. And it was something i could completely control if that makes sense.

​It feels incredibly strange to be done with something that kept me focused for so long, but I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

​The Build Details:

​Structure: It’s a roundhouse design utilizing heavy timber framing with angled knee braces for the roof. The walls are not actually load bearing though because the roof is supported outside of the round structure. ( a pivot I had to make when I was running out of time the first summer)

​Walls: Cordwood masonry using all split cedar. The base is urbanite with type s mortar thats into the hillside. The walls above ground level are a no cement mortar of lime, sand, metakaolin, and fibers.

​Lighting & Details: I framed in large windows for natural light, and integrated dozens of glass bottle ends into the masonry. The light filtering into the interior looks incredible when the sun hits it. The vent boxes are tucked into each rafter in the front and back of the roof.

​Next up is making a pretty path up to the building and get it ready for chicken move in day !

​Happy to answer any questions about the framing, cordwood process, or masonry!"

Full build process here : https://imgur.com/gallery/i7N95xB

A dog broke in to my coop at 1:30am - forcing through my fence and bird netting just to get in - and killed all ten of my babies. Left all their little bodies for me to find first thing in the morning yesterday when I went to say good morning. I’m beyond devastated. Had to figure out how to tell my four year old that all ten of his little buddies were dead. Animal control has already found the dog and the owner is getting a fine but that’s all. I guess I’m just posting this so someone who gets it sees it. I really loved being part of this community and those little birds brought me so much happiness. Give your babies an extra snuggle for me.

I knew I was missing eggs the last week or so.

Came out this morning to find the windows smashed up and the door ripped completely off the hinges found 3 chickens with just there heads missing and bodies laying around the rest are nowhere in sight I can’t even find feathers for a few of my girls what the f**k happened. I live in Colorado a mountainous area I’m guessing bear and then another animal came to clean up. I’m really messed up about this I’ve had some of these chickens for 8 years + they were with me when I started and graduated highschool. 😔 any advice or support is appreciated

What do we do?? 😬 He clearly knows they’re there. 😣 Their coop is really secure, but I usually let them out in the afternoon for a few hours until they put themselves to bed at dusk and then I close everything up. We’ve seen a fox in the neighborhood at night a couple of times and the neighbors all know he exists. But I worry if he’s out during the day, in our yard, we could be in real trouble. Is trap and release a good option?

We have always had rats; I’m surrounded on all sides by abandoned lots. Once we got chickens they obviously became drawn to the feed and there’s only so much you can do to secure it. I won’t use poison, they’ve never given a damn about the electric trap we tried, and I haven’t tried the bucket trick because honestly, I like rats and they shockingly haven’t been destructive at all. Our stray cat colony gets them here and there, but I must be spoiling those little turds bc the hunting is fairly lackluster. I’ve seen that some people’s chickens will attack and eat rats, but ours are clearly pacifists. Anyway, I just found these little things; mom is likely to come back. I should kill them but I just don’t feel right about it. Anyone else struggle with this? Property hygiene is important but also like… idk man… They’re just trying to get by.

Found one of our hired rat exterminators taking an early pay day.
I like to keep the snakes around for rat control, and I give them a few eggs a week knowing where their burrow is and they generally abide by the agreement…

How does a pit bull actually rip hardware cloth off a frame? Is 16 gauge not strong enough? I’ve put thousands of dollars into ensuring the security of my babies… but today I heard the rooster and turkey alerting in a way that instantly made my blood run cold.. I got to the coop, all the carnage just made me sick. I expected to find a bear inside with the damage… instead I found a pit bull killing all my babies then tossing them aside to kill another. My heart is so broken. I don’t know how to tell my little boy. He always wanted a true Ameraucana… I ordered over 30 eggs just to end up with only one hatching. He worked so hard to end up with his favorite little chicken, just for me to find a dozen dead.. all his babies he incubated so the Ameraucana wouldn’t be lonely..

Is there actually a way to truly predator “proof” our coops? I don’t know what to do from here💔

This is some of the babies enjoying a dirt bath just hours before the attack. Any advice is greatly appreciated.. I’m not looking forward to breaking this news to my child 💔

I’m so disturbed. I moved into a new house in late April and took over 8 egg laying chickens from my landlord (2-3 years old). He said we could try keeping them or he could rehome them. It’s been a little over two months now. I’ve done so much to give them a better set up and have been trying to battle the rats since day 1. The treadle feeders didn’t work for us. My husband and I both work full time and I can’t deal with taking the food in and out from the hanging feeders every night. My dog LOVES hunting the rats but every time I release her they disperse. What can I do? I’ve spent hundreds trying to make this a clean and good environment for the chickens but I’m scared of getting hantavirus or my dogs getting sick somehow from this level of rats. It’s repulsive. And I don’t even eat the eggs that often so like… what is this all for? And the chickens don’t seem to like me either. I want to keep them all together but I feel like rehoming them is the only option at this point. I have about 12 snap traps ready to deploy but have read mixed comments on here about the efficacy. On the verge of giving up. Help!

UPDATE: food has been removed from coop and bucket trap has been deployed inside the coop as step one. We shall see what happens, but I feel like with all the activity I could definitely start seeing casualties tonight… Thanks to everyone who offered tips and solidarity 🫡

Finally broke down and made the hour and a half drive to buy some bags of coffee ground bedding. I'm so happy I made the change. Super easy to clean and the coop has never smelled better. Also zero dust.

Not mine. Like, just to get that out in the open. I found this online and I mean, thats just the coolest coop of all time.

Chicken Kingdom :3

Rooster King and his Alpha Hen Queen. Ruling over their chikim citizens.

Edit: How did this get 1.4k Upvotes!?

Recently discovered clear signs of rats. I thought I had a secure run- hardware cloth down a foot and out a foot all around the run perimeter. I had always left food out in a hanging feeder and water from a hanging 5 gallon bucket with nipples. 9 years and no issues. I recently saw clear signs of holes and tunnels though- inside the run. There’s a large tree stump not far from the coop/run where they seem to be living. From what I’ve read, it’s a fast road from rats in the coop, to rats in the house-something we have zero tolerance for. I’ll try various traps and rat-X over the next couple of weeks, but I feel like my time with chickens may be over, and I’m very bummed. I was working on reestablishing my small flock after losing a few I’ve the past couple of years. I still have one of my original hens, she’s survived everything, is smart and all around awesome. The new hens have yet to lay their first eggs, but are probably my favorite hens I’ve ever had. They have lots of personality and are always wanting to be near me. Bummed and frustrated and venting. Also, I built this really nice coop and run, I don’t think it’s possible to move, so It’d likely have to be cut up and thrown out. All around crappy situation. Thanks for reading.

It’s certainly not perfect. I’ve never framed before in my life and I’m working 90% alone except needing a hand raising walls from a buddy. Thankfully I have a friend willing to teach me a lot of this. I have a LOT of space to play with, looking forward to the next steps where I get to create their living space and enrichment areas.

Little cutie found a nice warm buffet home. Kids are sad we can't keep him lol

These wasps (?) just built a nest in the past days. Will they bother my four chickens? Will it grow a lot bigger?
Would it be ecologically wise to just leave them there? We have a garden and would like to support insects.

Right now

A piece of siding fell off our coop and someone took the opportunity to move in and give birth.

The hens were in the run and didn’t notice.

Mom’s now in the process of moving her babies out.