1. Introduction/Preface
(2022-3-4) Update/Clarification:
Since many people have pointed-out a size 'problem' with this coop, it is worth strongly emphasizing that this coop is designed to be placed within a giant, 9x9m (~30x30ft), 81m² (~900ft²)(!), predator-proof pen, -far more 'round-the-clock space per bird/rabbit than countless setups I've seen. Under ideal conditions, the bottom, boutique "pen" of this house should remain open at all times. Overall, if you believe only 3 chickens, say, should sleep inside this particular house at any one time, than that's your prerogative. Regardless, this was the first time I had attempted something like this, and of course I would change many, many things in future builds. ~Thanks for looking!
Hello,
My name is Joe. I've designed and built chicken-coops in the past, but never anything like this.
I present to you an experimental design for a chicken-coop & rabbit-hutch, all-in-one, that I was hired to make for an acquaintance. Although I tried my best to incorporate features that I felt would allow chickens and rabbits to live together with the least amount of stress, and the most amount of ease, there is really no guarantee how things will turn-out... And yes, I am aware of the risks of disease-spreading between rabbits and chickens, as well as the territorial nature of some rabbits being potentially dangerous to chickens. The latter is why it seems most important to raise baby bunnies and chicks together if you want any chance of something like this 'succeeding'. Do any of this at your own risk! -But this is what my 'client' wanted.
Anyway, with that out of the way, I will say that this coop-hutch could easily become just a chicken-coop by making some interior changes, like removing the main divider-wall (-as you will see later). This could also allow you to make the food-storage-compartment larger, and reduce complexity in general.
I have purposefully neglected including many details (-like exact, to-the-millimeter details), -narrowing things down to what I feel are the most relevant, overarching points and tips. Still, this post has turned-out quite long. Also, I built this thing while in Latvia, so I used the metric system, -shown in green. I have included rough estimates of sizes in the imperial system for my imperial friends... (-They will be listed in blue.)
As a final bit of preface, I encourage anyone attempting a house along these lines to change things, and change building methods, order, etc.. Be creative and improve upon this design(!). Also, if you see advertisements anywhere along this post, you should download and enable an ad-blocker for your browser.
The 6 pages of this 'tutorial' are:
- Introduction/Preface.
- Design.
- Construction (Part 1).
- Construction (Part 2).
- The Completed House.
- Concluding Thoughts.
- Next page: 2. Design
"(2022-3-4) Update/Clarification:
Since many people have pointed-out a size 'problem' with this coop, it is worth strongly emphasizing that this coop is designed to be placed within a giant, 9x9m (~30x30ft), 81m² (~900ft²)(!), predator-proof pen, -far more 'round-the-clock space per bird/rabbit than countless setups I've seen. Under ideal conditions, the bottom, boutique "pen" of this house should remain open at all times. Overall, if you believe only 3 chickens, say, should sleep inside this particular house at any one time, than that's your prerogative. Regardless, this was the first time I had attempted something like this, and of course I would change many, many things in future builds. ~Thanks for looking!"