Chicken Mansion by Mike Clayton

Chicken Mansion

Well, I guess it really isn’t a mansion but it is too cool to just be called a chicken house. I know I put enough work into it for it to be called a chicken mansion.

This is the start to the mansion. I’ve never built anything on my own before so I had to get a lot of info from many of my friends. Yes, I called them a lot. The coop is 8x8 with a 4x8 porch. Inside walls are 6’5” tall. The run is 12’ x 16’ x 6’ tall..

My Granddaddy use to raise chickens some 30-40 odd years ago. He would raise 10,000 or more at a time. I cut it down to around 12. We can handle that many and still enjoy them without it seeming like work. My hat’s off to my Granddaddy, he was a good man.

The inside of the nesting boxes are 12” wide x 11.5” tall x 12 deep. The entrance to them is 11”wide x 8” tall so they won’t roost in them. I made the lid to the nesting boxes so that it could be opened without actually going into the coop or roosting area. Yes, that is linoleum flooring. Easy Cleanup.

I made a screen door to separate the coop from the entrance area. The pop door is 11” tall and 10” wide. I raised each entrance with 3 2x4’s so that the shavings would stay in the coop.

We have an assortment of chickens, not just one breed. Right now, half of them roost outside and half inside. I imagine when it gets colder they will all come inside.

Bruno takes care of his girls quite well and sings to the world every morning. For now, the run has a tarp over half of it for shade. Later, I plan on replacing the tarp with tin roofing and to finish staining the porch. I also plan on landscaping the yard around the coop. I’ve enjoyed every minute of building the chicken mansion and now enjoy every minute of watching its occupants.