33.jpg

We took the plunge into backyard chickens this year (2014) and it's been great. Here's a quick look at our coop and the construction process involved. We live in Spokane, WA.


We started our build by selecting a spot close to the house with access to water and electricity. I highly recommend making plans for water and electricity during your build.










Get your coop built early in the spring! We bought the chicks and decided to buy a coop to save some construction time. Found this one on Craigslist from a local DIY builder. I planned out the foundation and layout after we bought the coop, so the whole build was somewhat of a moving target.








I've never really built roof trusses before, but this was definitely one of the more challenging aspects of the build. Definitely brought me back to the days of Algebra class. Biggest goal I had at this point was matching the pitch of the roof on the coop with the pitch on the run.
















Roof is on! Door is done!



All stained and ready for hardware cloth!



Going with the hardware cloth was more expensive, but it looks better and keeps more predators out. Well worth it, given this is now a major focal point in our backyard.














The watering system has worked perfectly through the winter so far. A simple aquarium heater and some horizontal chicken nipples seem to work just fine.






Ran some electricity in to provide some extra "daylight" which seems to be work well. Currently it's the middle of December and we're still seeing about 3-5 eggs per day from our 5 hens.















  • Like
Reactions: Ab1010