My coop in the AZ sun!

This is my first coop which I think will be a continual work in progress. Over all the coop and run is 4' x 8' and the coop portion is 3' x 4' with a 1' x 3' nesting box pop out. I hope you like it.

Material:

The wood I used is pine 2x3's that you can get at Home Depot and Lowes. I drilled lots of counter sunk holes for the screws that went through the thicker part of the boards. If you look closely you can see pairs of holes everywhere where I did this. I used 3" decking screws for the framing and 1-1/2" screws for the fencing attachment and siding.

The top opening is for ventelation and the bottom is for cleanup. The stoop is positioned just above the bottom opening.

Future Plans:

In Progress - I want to add a rain gutter to catch the rain in the bucket and possibly adding a second bucket for spill over.

In Progress - I aslo plan on adding a run exstension which will be as tall as the fence and will be 4' x 8' to double the run size

In Progress - Would like to add some grape vines for shade.

Completed - I plan to add concrete block underneath for the wood to sit on to reduce the decay of the wood and to assist in keeping predators from digging underneath.

UPDATE: I just completed building my foundation out of 4" x 8" x 16" concrete block. The kind used to build brick walls. I got them for 75 cents each. Not sure if it would have been cheaper to just buy concrete mix and forms. The area is now 4' x 14' so if you recall the coop/run is 4' x 8', I will be building a run extension that will be 4' x 6' and six of seven feet tall. I will be building it out of 2" x 3" boards like the coop.

Run extension framing started. Almost ready for chicken wire! It's 6' long x 4' wide x 6'6" tall.

More bracing and door installed.

Coop and run extension in place in new location. Just behind our garden. Time to install the wire. It's already getting hot out here. :(

Phase 2: Fenced off yard for the chickens. (August 2012)

I am giving the chickens a fenced in area in the back of the yard to allow them to free range while protecting my garden. It's time to start planting here in AZ and I don't want to have to keep them confined to only the run area. Here is my concept drawn in Trimble SketchUp. (Previously Google SketchUp).