• Last updated 4/2/13 by CourtneyMB

Courtney's Secondhand Coop   We were broke when we first moved to the mountains.  :)  We found this old 3' x 3' doghouse in the barn and thought, what the heck!  It'll do for now. We first cut out a piece for the door, hinged it, and made a homemade "wood lock." We cut out 4 right triangles, 2 on each A-frame side, and screened them for ventilation in the coop.  (These pictures currently show them closed over with styrofoam for the winter.  When I take them off in a week or two I'll take more pictures.)     I found a large tree limb that... read more

• Last updated 4/2/13 by UrbanMoshavnik

I have received many inquiries from people in my neighborhood about chickens and coops.  Recently I agreed to make one for a dear friend of ours based on the design I used for our coop.       You can see it here: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/seattle-chicken-condo   I am trying to provide some step by step instructions here for anyone who may need them.   Keep checking back as I am adding more pictures and information as I have time. Thanks for your patience!   Our friend has limited space so we decided to make hers a bit smaller.  She will make... read more

• Last updated 4/28/13 by Hillbilly Liv

We took apart the old coop (which the comments below are related to) and built this one 4/20/2013. My blog is linked below to see all of the progress.     NEW COOP: http://shadygrovehomestead.blogspot.com/ read more

• Last updated 4/1/13 by flockandgarden

Describe 'Free Coop From Pallets' here  I needed a new coop but was totally broke.  I began dumpster diving and gathering good throw away pallets.  I found out the hard way these pallets are oak and heavy.  I made sure they were all the same size.  Broken ones were kept aside to use the wood as fillers between the pallets that were too open to keep predators out and hens in. I also found two old trow away windows one had glass in it the other I screened and fastened over the pallets for extra protection.  Hubby had no idea where I was going with this so I explained we... read more

• Last updated 4/1/13 by Cyxa

    The main squeeze has been working hard on the coop and finished it this weekend. With all the spare lumber laying around the place we only needed to get a few 2x4s and insulation. (Yes, this baby is insulated - top, bottom and walls.) Exterior walls are made of 1/2 inch oak in board & batten styling. The coop was built faciing south on 4x4's sunk into the ground and concreted in place. It measures 4x8x4 and is 2 foot off the ground. This coop is going nowhere. The front has 2 windows that open made from a recycled truck camper shell. The... read more

• Last updated 4/26/13 by armorfirelady

I am a newbie to chicken raising since I purchased my chickens in August 2012. I have 4 hatchery Plymouth Partridge Rocks.   I originally purchased one of those cute prefabricated chicken coops that state they will house between 4-6 chickens.(they were stretching the truth on that)   I then attached an enclosed 4x8 run out of lattice work.    As soon as the 4 hens started growing I realized they needed a bigger coop. There is no way 4 LF hens can fit in there comfortably.   So then after being on this forum I realized a hoop coop is what I needed. Others... read more

• Last updated 4/11/13 by jtaylor3578

My 9 year old son has been saving his money for several months, with only one goal in mind....to raise chickens!  Well, as luck would have it, we were in TSC this week and the chicks were out in full force.  My son was drawn to them like a moth to a flame!  We looked at the money he saved and decided he had saved enough to get started on becoming the 'egg czar' of our small town.  I designed his coop and we started construction this afternoon.  Still have a bit of work to do, but we made a huge dent in the project today.     The dimensions are 4'x8’.  4’ tall in... read more

• Last updated 4/13/13 by CRPerryJr

Why am I building this coop? 2/28/2013-Six new pullets were purchased and the prospect of fresh eggs became a reality!       First Coop: 3/15/2013-Bought a small coop as a brooder/isolation coop.   The Plan.... I threw together a quick sketch up plan just to give myself an idea of what I wanted to do.... I needed something mobile, self contained, I could keep level on my decidedly unlevel property, and give the Chickens the best quality of life I could.       Here's the actual file. (I'm not allowed to make attachments, so I... read more

• Last updated 3/29/13 by Clarebaxter

            We built our coop out of mostly recycled materials.  A friend who had dismantled a pigeon coop was invaluable for lumber, roofing etc....                                                          read more

• Last updated 4/4/13 by Banty-Shanty

    Describe: 4X8' easy to build (and safe)  My coop design keeps my little bantams safe from our dogs and other potential predators. I am a 60+ woman and was able to build it mostly by myself. Needed: 4, 8ft posts 3 pieces of 2x 8" roofing panels 2 are aluminum and one in middle is clear plastic) 6 ft pieces of dog eared fencing. (This amount will vary according to how large the windows are) Studs for horizontal supports 1/2 in hardware cloth wire for windows Door on side is narrow with spring closure and gate latch. Tools: skill saw and... read more