3 Chicken Coop Upgrades To Consider For Your Backyard Coop

This post may contain affiliate links which come at no extra cost to you. These links allow me to share the products I authentically recommend (and use) and support Cobble Hill Farm by receiving a small commission.  This post is sponsored by Automatic Chicken Coop Door.  All opinions are my own.

The Coop Girls here at Cobble Hill Farm are a loved bunch as I'm sure your own flock is (and if you don't yet have chickens, you NEED them!).  We are always keeping an eye out for something they "need" (and when I say "we" you already know that I mean "me").  If you have chickens in your backyard, I'm sure you can relate.

Please say it's not just me?  (my husband, of course, believes it is)

Anywhoo, that includes things to add to their coop that may provide them enjoyment (or provide me enjoyment in watching them) as well as practical items.  Today I bring you the practical.

Here are 3 chicken coop upgrades to consider for your backyard coop:

1. Covered Outdoor Run
Whether your flock is full-time or part-time free-range, they will be grateful for a covered space to spend afternoons when it's raining, snowing, or even very hot.  Ours love having the space, right next to their coop, where they know they can go to get out of the elements.  They also use this as their safe space when hawks are circling overhead.

You can see in the photo above, we used metal roofing for our covered outdoor runs and netting for our uncovered outdoor run (to keep wild birds and hawks out).

2. Electricity
Electricity is helpful in keeping water thawed in the middle of winter (you can purchase warmers that sit under the waterer), allows you to install non-solar lighting, flat panel heaters, automatic doors and more!  Electricity is also helpful if you have space within your coop to raise chicks (without the help of a hen), allowing you to use their essential heat lamp.

We did not originally run electrical to our coop.  After having the coop for a year, however, we decided it was a necessity and my handy husband dug a trench and had it installed.  We are so grateful for it and have used it regularly for all of the uses listed above.

Related Post: The Coop At Cobble Hill Farm

3. An Automatic Chicken Door
If you have electricity, then this is a dream upgrade!!!  Ok, so this is actually an upgrade for you as much (or more) than it is for them.   Take, for instance, the times that you might not make it out to the coop as early as the flock would like, which means they are stuck inside, waiting and waiting for your arrival.  But with an automatic chicken door, this dilemma is no longer, well, a dilemma.

Our girls get VERY loud - chanting until the coop is vibrating if we are more than 10 minutes late opening up their door (clearly they have some sort of internal clock).  I was offered the opportunity to try out this automatic chicken door for free and let me tell you.....it's such a hit!  The girls now line up at the door when their internal clock tells them it's about time, and out they run as soon as the magical door opens.  No more dirty looks or angry chatter.

The other nice thing is that it will automatically close at night as well, allowing your flock to be safely locked up, even if you aren't home.  This is actually the main reason I really wanted to try this.  The evenings that we are late coming home, I worry about the wildlife that we know pass through our property on a regular basis, getting into the coop before we get home to lock them up.  We no longer have to worry about that which is a huge relief.  Our girls tuck themselves in for the night by 8:30p.m. during the summer, so we have it close at 9p.m.  We'll reset it for winter as they will be in bed earlier since chickens don't hang around on the ground in the dark.

You can add this to a coop you are building as well as a coop that already exists (as we did).  Check out their site for dimensions to see if it will work in your coop. It was super easy to install too.

Related Post: 13 Lessons We Learned While Building Our Coop

What types of upgrades have you added? 

Which ones are you dreaming of?

3 Chicken Coop Upgrades To Consider For Your Backyard Coopwas originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)