Chicken Scratch Coop

We caught the chicken bug in the spring and ended up building this coop. Its design is based on a combination of coops on this site and others.  I spent some time actually modeling it with CAD software to figure out how I would put it all together, although once construction started, not all of the details were payed close attention to.

The footprint is 4'x10' and it currently houses 5 hens. Although the coop sits directly on the ground, 1\2" hardware mesh is extended out about 1' on all sides and the base lumber is pressure treated.

We had some help.

Sliding door which we don't seem to be using very much.

Deep litter method seems to be working so far. There is very little odor.

The girls have free run during the day.

A few things we need to change/add/finish are:

• paint
• shingles and drip edge on the roof
• permanent and heated waterer for the winter
• raise the roosting bars up. (one hen seems to be preferring an adjacent apple tree at night and climbing up the ladder is getting old)

Also on the list is a wildlife resistant feeder...

Thanks for checking it out,

Eric and Cara