• Created 9/12/16 by Birdy Buddy

This is my coop for five hens.  I built it this past May in Sacramento Ca. I didn't use any plans but I have been planning it in my head for quite a while and it's a lot like other coops I built in the past.  I'm a pro carpenter so I just winged it.     Before I built the coop I made sure I had dog proof 6' fencing for the perimeter.  The handle for moving it is built into the frame.  The wheels are rated for 900 lbs and have solid tires.  Most of the material I used, I had on hand.  The biggest expense was the roofing and the wheels.     I tried to keep it as... read more

• Created 9/10/16 by gadus

We bought 18 chicks from the local feed store at the end of April. I built a 4 x 4 x 2' high brooder out of Advantech (very good particle board), complete with heat lamp (38 dollars a month extra to run), and kept them in the house for my two-year-old to amuse herself with. I figured I'd be done with a coop by the end of June at the latest. By the time July rolled around and the coop no more than four , 8 X 8' walls with not much sheathing, we had to do something so we moved the brooder out of the house into our quonset. I built a little roost into the inside back of the... read more

• Created 9/4/16 by ODchickens

This is the semi final coop after 3-4 revisions to keep adding footage. We started out with a 4x4 foot inside and a 4x10 foot run underneath. Then I added on another 4x4, 2 story area with the wooden door. That then became a duplex with the big girls on top and babies on the bottom. Eventually it will be one big area once I migrate all the girls together. I then added on another 4x6 foot run for the infants. The big Girls free range an hour or so a day. In October they will all mix and The coop will be one big mansion. Enjoy! read more

• Created 8/31/16 by PatchtoTable

    This feeder improves on other PVC gravity feeder designs by solving these key problems:   Mess and wasted feed: The enclosed feeder design and front spill guard eliminates mess and wasted feed Rain getting in the feeder opening: A rain hood keeps the grain dry Keeps pests’ away: Easily seal the feeder closed with a cap to keep rats and other pests away at night.   DIY Instructions   In the past I have found it frustrating and time consuming to try and follow other feeder designs with only a photo and some very rough detail to go from. To make this... read more

• Created 8/25/16 by 8MerryHens

  My goal was to build a coop that reminded me of the red barn I grew up with and to reuse as much material as I could.  This was to be a home for 8 layers, who were 5 weeks old when I started.  The finishing touch was a 'coop' quilt on the door.  The coop/run was built in four sections which allowed me to get the girls out of my mudroom sooner.  The coop is 4'x6', the porch (upper level) is 4'x4', and the lower run is 4'x10'.  It is fully enclosed with hardware cloth and the wire runs under it and beyond the border to prevent digging.  There are perches in the lower run... read more

• Created 8/24/16 by kellyjeanne

I have pretty much NO carpentry skills and so I'm somewhat winging it, but in the spirit of the Garden Coop.   About 50% of my materials have been salvaged - including some of the walls, which are actually half walls from under a movie set that I picked up at the building materials salvage, SO handy.    7/5 My first step was to dig and level a cinderblock foundation.  I have heavy clay soil and a ton of weed stumps.  So this actually took for FREAKING ever in the heat and humidity of my first real Deep South Summer - I had to get a pickax.  I went with full... read more

• Created 8/23/16 by FlyWheel

August 23, 2016 ~ Design.   When I decided to start having chickens again, I figured on a small flock, say 6-7 chickens. However it wasn't long before "Chicken Math" (part of which was my housemates' sudden cravings for fresh eggs!) made it obvious that half a dozen birds would not be sufficient! So obviously "The Dawg House" would no longer work; I would have to build something bigger. In order to be big enough to give the 11 birds I am now raising the ballpark recommended 4 ft2 of floor space per bird, I would need about 48 ft2. So I figured 8' wide by 6'... read more

• Created 8/21/16 by countryladyNH

Hi! We live in NEW HAMPSHIRE~ We are historical reenactors living in a little 240 yr. old house that has been a DIY labor of love to restore for over 17 years. We JUST got chickens for the first time last April---4 English buff orpingtons, and put up a coop. Always on a tight budget, we do pretty much everything ourselves and have a lot of fun working on our various projects! We had just finished building our own fence of trees we cut down, and had 'tricked out' our purchased coop (from Coops for a Cause, where a portion goes to charity) with period-style hardware... read more

• Created 8/18/16 by Robilyn81

  Hello! Here is my adventure to obtain a chicken coop. The coop was bought pre-made so this page is mostly about the run construction, which I did myself (with help).   I had been thinking about chickens for years and finally made off with some chicks from the feed store in late March. I had 4 to start with and planned to get a couple more in a few weeks when the breeds I was after were coming in. Here's the first batch (2 Australorps, an EE, and GLW) under the watchful eye of my dog. Luckily she has been a gem with the chickens this whole journey--I feel very... read more

• Created 8/18/16 by mc79

I have a raised deck at my house, and thought to myself, I'll make this one big run!  With 4x4 posts and California-style chain link fence around the perimeter of the bottom of the deck, we have made it completely enclosed.  My chicks now have 180 square feet to stretch their legs comfortably.         read more