Expomonster's Modern Coop

Our family lives in Portland Oregon with 5 Bantam hens. We have a white Frizzle "Pom-Pom", a blue wheaten Ameraucana "Petunia", a Mille fleur d'uccle "Millie", and two Gray Japanese "Freckles and Zoro".  I wanted to build a clean modern looking coop that was functional and roomy for the hens.  After weeks of studying different coop designs I drew up some plans of my own and this is the result. It measures 4' x 4' x 4' with a big door so I can get in the coop to clean it out. It also features a flat roof with a window installed in the center. There is a separate slanted roof on the exterior made out of white opaque corrugated plastic so the diffused light can come in the sunroof window.

Because we get a lot of rain here in Portland I made the slanted roof much larger to overhang on all sides. That way I can stand under the eve to access the coop and stay dry. I initially built one perch a few feet off the floor with a wire covered dropping tray underneath and built a door that opens below to switch out the paper. Bantams however like to perch in the highest area possible near the roof so I installed new perches up near the ceiling. My white frizzle who cannot fly and is scared of heights prefers to sleep in one of the nest boxes that has a ramp for her. I made the coop very draft free and sealed all the windows and doors with weather stripping because Bantams are very sensitive to drafts. There is one ventilation strip near the ceiling on one side. The coop has worked out really well and the chickens love it. I work from home so I allow them to free range in my yard all day when I am there but they file into their coop every night without prodding. I often post about our chickens on my blog Plants & Animals

 

 

Here is the front of the coop when it was almost done.