Urban Coop

Our Urban Coop

We are new backyard chicken owners. The law just passed in our city north of Seattle, WA and we jumped on educating ourselves on all things chicken. After much looking at coops on raisingbackyardchickens.com we came up with a plan and went to work building. We wanted something that would fit into and compliment the environment of our small back yard. We are really happy at how it has turned out and our 4 girls seem to like it too.

We started the construction over spring break and accomplished allot before the chicks even arrived.

Each wall was built on the ground separately. The coop is 5'x8' and 6' high.

We used pressure treated wood for all ground pieces.

Then we attached them altogether and stained a nice redwood color.

Then the chicks arrived.

Rosie - Rhode Island, Coco - Americana, Tilly - Barnvelder & Zepo - Barred Rock

Construction continued....

We stapled the hardware cloth in place and then built the hen house portion.

The hen house is 3'x5' and about 4' tall, (it's about 2' off the ground). The 2 nesting boxes add another 2 square feet. I love the trellis like top.

We then installed a smoky corrugated plastic on top to keep it dry.(not pictured sorry) 

Did I mention we're in Washington

Next we moved it into place. (Not an easy task, my husband is quite tricky. I love him!)

We prepared the spot prior to moving by leveling and adding cement pavers all the way around for a base. The inside was filled with sand.

At 5 weeks old the chicks are starting to out grow their box.

We put the doors on and windows in.

The girls moved in at 61/2 weeks old.

We still need to hang their food and we are looking into making a nippled water bucket. Maybe a few other finishing touches but all in all it's great. I like the sand in the bottom so far, it stays relatively dry and we use a cat litter scoop to sift it out.

I'll have to add some pictures of the roosting bars and sliding hen house door. I don't have any right now.