The Modern Victory Garden

After spending the day getting blown around and hailed on while doing our monthly day-ranging rotation, I'm thinking about a permanent coop again.

1. What are your top 3 frustrations with your coop?

2. What are the top 3 chores you wish you did not have to do related to the birds?

3. What would you do different in the design if you could do it all over again?

1.   That is a hard one because I really adore my coop!  I think the primary complaint I have with it is that the ground slopes down at the point that you access the top of the run to close the chicken door - and when it is really wet out that makes it a slippery slope (literally!).   Honestly I don't have any other complaints because it is easy to clean, well ventilated, easy to access for both cleaning and egg collecting, has great natural sunlight from the big windows, and has electricity run to it with a light on a timer and a heat lamp on a thermostat that kicks on when it is very cold.  

2.   Top 3 chores I wish I did not have to do for the birds:  1) the monthly clean out of the coop takes about an hour to do properly and is time I would prefer to use elsewhere but the beautiful clean coop and fresh bedding is always reward enough to offset that annoyance; 2) raking the chicken yard up (weekly) - they free range most of the day but are in the covered small yard in the early morning and evening and I keep the yard clean for cleanliness and because I want the wasted feed and poop to go into my compost pile.   This is done weekly so it takes less than 10 minutes to do and is not that hard - but work none the less; and 3) chasing down my one "flyer" who likes to venture into the frontyard beyond the fenceline.  

3) I would do a better job of setting my metal covered run/yard onto leveled heavy pressure treated timbers.   The timbers are there but I did not bother to really level them like I did for the timbers the coop sits on.   It works fine but does not look as nice as it should and creates some unnecessary gaps.   I would have put the cross fencing in right from the start that we are putting in this month.   We love letting the birds free range in the back area during the day but the current fenced area includes my garden and it was difficult even with hoops and covers to keep them out of production beds.   We are fixing that though very soon - possibly next week if the weather will cooperate.

Honestly, I am very happy with my coop and chicken set up.   Just minor tweaks are all that I would change about it.