3 Useful Additions To Every Chicken Coop

Fresh eggs!

During my eleven years as a poultry keeper I have discovered a few additions which make every chicken coop a little more convenient to use. Most of these things are so simple and easy that you'll wonder why you never thought of them before!

1. Cup hooks for hanging egg baskets or heat lamps

I installed a couple of small, inexpensive cup hooks in my chicken coop that I can use to hang things from the ceiling. They make a handy place to store my egg basket while I'm gathering the eggs or safely hang a heat lamp during the sub-zero winter cold snaps we get sometimes. Just make sure that any kind of heat lamp or light bulb is secure before you leave it unattended, you don't want it to fall off the hook and land on a pile of flammable straw.

2. A "medicine cabinet"

My coop has a built in cupboard for storing scratch and layer feed as well as a large storage bin for extra feed, etc... I also have a small "medicine cabinet" where I can store my healing salves and other coop first aid essentials. I also keep some spray bottles with natural homemade cleaners, a sponge for wiping out waterers, a paint scraper for removing droppings from perches or cleaning built up ice off the doors in the winter, and a few other useful tools in the cabinet. You can build a custom cabinet if you like DIY projects or just find a small pre-made medicine cabinet which you can hang on the wall.

3. A screen door

During the first few years that I had chickens I had a huge problem with mosquitoes in the coop. They would swarm the hens, biting their exposed faces and feet, and generally tormenting them every night while they tried to sleep. I couldn't leave the door shut though because then the coop turned into an unventilated oven. Finally I hit on the perfect solution: a screen door. Now I can leave the large "person" door open during the evening to let the cool night air into the coop without giving a free pass to every bug in the county. I installed a spring loaded latch to keep the door shut and a hook and eye to secure it against night animals. I still shut the wooden door every night before I go to bed, for extra safety, but at least the poultry can enjoy some cool fresh air in the evening while they peacefully sleep.