Jon Adams Chicken Coop

Jon Adams
submitted by the Adams' family in Redmond, Washington

We decided to build a combination shed/chicken coop in our back yard. The biggest requirement by my wife was that it be 'cute' and match the look and feel of our house. My requirements were simple: I wanted plenty of room for my lawn equipment and garden tools, and ample space for about 10 chickens.

The end result was a 10' x 14' stick framed building with a pitched roof that would match our house in shingle material and pitch. I built a dividing wall inside with a door that sections off a 4' x 10' area which seems to be plenty of room for the chickens. Outside, I attached a 10' x 10' fenced in pen for the chickens to be in during the day when they are not free-ranging.

Now, I've built a deck before and some other 'small' projects but I had never built anything "3 dimensional" or this big. I started in mid-February, and working mainly weekends, finished in about late April. If I can do this, then anyone can. It was fun, interesting and very, very rewarding.

I have gotten a lot of information from this website and thought I'd give a little back. You'll see in the pictures that I built the same laying boxes mentioned on this website and the chickens seem to love them. The 'girls' are only 13 weeks old now but on occasion hop up to the boxes and look around, just as if they know what they are for.

For anyone thinking of having some backyard chickens I can only say GO FOR IT! They have been so much fun for my wife and myself - not to mention my 8 and 5 year old.

Good luck.

Jon Adams
Redmond, WA

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