Ridelots24's Chicken Coop

I reluctantly became a chicken owner on a cold wet Tuesday evening approximately 8:30 pm.

My neighbor who purchased 6 peeps from Tractor supply this past Easter was surprised when 5months later he discovered he had 3 roosters and 3 hens.  A fight erupted one evening and the two larger adolescent trouble makers were picking on the smaller rooster named ‘happy feet’. 
The neighbor’s wife demanded action…..’Either tomorrow nights dinner or they had to go away’   Hence my opening statement.  We joke now that the boys were sent to a correctional facility on the west side of town. 
All joking aside, I have learned much from this website and everyone is genuinely helpful.  At the risk of sounding naive, I plan on letting the chickens free range in the 1 acre fenced in back yard –vs – attaching a run.  I plan to sell/exchange one rooster and purchase two hens.  I have contacted local farms in our area, no luck yet.  It has been more difficult than I imagined trying to select a rooster to keep.  Having a 2 year old child in the house guides us toward the White rooster ‘Elvis’ who does not approach people.  The Black rooster ‘Francesco’ seems more aggressive and will sort of side step at you but then backs off when you move forward.  I have read on the website an aggressive rooster could potentially protect the flock better.  We don’t handle the roosters at all, we feed them treats and they follow us around the yard when we are working or playing….this seems more social behavior rather than anything aggressive.  

Here is our submission. 

 

It was conceived directly from other coop designs found on this website…so I don’t deserve any credit for being creative.  I decided to go with a plywood floor covered with Linoleum with the potentially cold winters in western PA.  I have wheels installed on the 4x4 posts but it takes two people to push it around.  It still needs some tweaks on the inside and I plan to paint the white windows to match the trim.  

Another outside shot.

 

Inside

The roof opens up into the nesting boxes.

The boys seem to enjoy the new coop. 

Any feedback would be helpful.
Thanks for the great forum and web site!