We bought a house a year ago that had a chicken coop already built in to the back fenced area. I'd always wanted chickens for fresh eggs daily, but never thought I'd love chickens so much. Since moving in and getting them, I've added to my flock and built onto the coop that was already on my property.
Lucky for me, my awesome father in law's a contractor who's incredibly knowledgeable in constructing and executing his own plans. Once I asked him to help me do this, this is what he came up with. I'll start with what we had to start with then add pictures of what was added on. It took one week start to finish just him and I. Well mostly him but I was a pretty good sidekick.
This is the original coop on the property when we bought it.
This was the inside area, there was a lot of space and perching area for them. There are 3 nesting boxes attached to the actual coop that can be used to remove eggs from the outside:
I wanted to add an additional coop with a run that connected the area so they would be safe and free to roam without worrying about predators. This is what my father In Law came up with, there is chicken wire everywhere including draped over the top to keep Hawks from getting them. We skirted the outside of the entire added area with the tiny square wire to keep out Bobcats and Coyote's which are all over here. In the end the entire addition, including several donated items (from my super amazing Father In Law) like the gate and the rustic fencing piece that I absolutely loved once I saw it- total cost in all was just under $500 :
I'm incredibly happy with it, and it turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined.
So far in my flock, I started with some Brahma hens, added 2 roosters (one who didn't make it), then added 11 more hens- some Easter Eggers, a few mixed breeds, Ameraucana's, and then 4 Black Copper Marans. I also have a very young (6 weeks) Easter Egger Roo but he's being kept separate in a wire cage with some baby EE's for my sister in law. He'll be joining the others once he gets big enough.
Lucky for me, my awesome father in law's a contractor who's incredibly knowledgeable in constructing and executing his own plans. Once I asked him to help me do this, this is what he came up with. I'll start with what we had to start with then add pictures of what was added on. It took one week start to finish just him and I. Well mostly him but I was a pretty good sidekick.
This is the original coop on the property when we bought it.
This was the inside area, there was a lot of space and perching area for them. There are 3 nesting boxes attached to the actual coop that can be used to remove eggs from the outside:
I wanted to add an additional coop with a run that connected the area so they would be safe and free to roam without worrying about predators. This is what my father In Law came up with, there is chicken wire everywhere including draped over the top to keep Hawks from getting them. We skirted the outside of the entire added area with the tiny square wire to keep out Bobcats and Coyote's which are all over here. In the end the entire addition, including several donated items (from my super amazing Father In Law) like the gate and the rustic fencing piece that I absolutely loved once I saw it- total cost in all was just under $500 :
I'm incredibly happy with it, and it turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined.
So far in my flock, I started with some Brahma hens, added 2 roosters (one who didn't make it), then added 11 more hens- some Easter Eggers, a few mixed breeds, Ameraucana's, and then 4 Black Copper Marans. I also have a very young (6 weeks) Easter Egger Roo but he's being kept separate in a wire cage with some baby EE's for my sister in law. He'll be joining the others once he gets big enough.
