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My neighbor called my chicken coop a 'designer prison' and now I can't unsee it
Honestly, my neighbor Dave is this old-school farmer who keeps his birds in a basic tractor coop with zero frills. Last weekend he walked over to see my new setup I spent $400 on over two months - it's got a fancy automatic door, roosting bars at different heights, even a little herb planter on the roof. He just laughed and said 'you turned a chicken into a condo owner, that's a designer prison for birds that don't know any different.' At first I was ticked off, but he explained how his hens free range all day and come back to a bare box to sleep. Now I'm sitting here looking at my coop and wondering if I overcomplicated everything. Has anyone else had a farmer type make you rethink your whole approach?
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richardk262mo ago
Consider which setup makes those birds actually want to come back home at night.
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reese_patel2mo ago
That's actually a really good point. The whole design of the coop and run has to be inviting for them, not just functional for us. Like, if the roosting bars are too cold or drafty, they're gonna find a tree somewhere. And if the nesting boxes are too dark or cramped, they'll just lay their eggs in the bushes instead. Makes you think about airflow too - you want it dry but not breezy right where they sleep.
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