• Last updated 5/22/13 by My6Chicks

Our Backyard Coop(s)   We live in Southern Maine with our 1 remaining hen, See Yau (Barred Rock).  We lost Squeak (Golden Comet) in November 2010 due to an impacted crop, Kung Pao (Buff Orpington) in October 2011, either Rhoda or Galena (Rhode Island Reds - they look alike) in September 2012 for unknown reasons and Bubble (Golden Comet) and the other Rhode Island Red in the winter of 2012/2013.  We got them as newly hatched chicks in April 2010 and have been living in the coop since mid-June 2010.  Our coop is an original design and we borrowed the cattle panel... read more

• Last updated 10/5/11 by pawsplus

Pick a Little, Talk a Little Craigslist Finds Chicken Coop and Run for 4 Lucky Pet Chooks My coop and run started with a 10x10x6 chain link dog kennel, found on Craigslist for $100.  On left the kennel as I found it; on right the kennel with wire cover, hardware cloth apron, and original small henhouse. Initially I used a tarp over the top to keep rain out, but after a while, water collecting in the tarp tore the wire roof and I had to find another way.      This is a closeup of the hardware cloth apron before it was staked down. It is attached to the fence with... read more

• Last updated 9/21/11 by jacksdad3

Greetings from southern New Hampshire where I have become the general contractor to a group of 11 pullets.  It is nice to know that my 41 years of engineering and 32 years of soldiering aren't wasted! Below is a picture of my customers, taken a couple of weeks ago.  They have filled out significantly since then, I can tell you.  We have five Black Jersey Giants, four New Hampshire Reds, one Welsummer and one Welsummer that turned out to be a Cochin!  That is the population, thus far, but my bride is going to talk to the store about a replacement for one chick who didn't... read more

• Last updated 2/18/13 by Mac in Wisco

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This page was created in 2007 when we lived in Abilene, TX.  Since then we have moved back to near my hometown in Southwest Wisconsin where we now have two flocks with 2500 organic layer hens in each flock and sell about 120,000 dozen eggs per year through an organic farmers' cooperative.  Please see my other pages for photos of our Wisconsin... read more

• Last updated 9/11/11 by Tool

Since I have found BYC SOOOO helpful with my coop build and EVERYTHING chicken. I decided I would share my coop build with everyone here and anyone looking to start in chicken keeping. Material list (so far)- 1.5 2x6x16 (free from our old farm fence) 8 2x4x8 $16 10 2x6x8 (culled wood for $15) ripped in half for 3x3 wall studs. 7 sheets OSB plywood $40 1 box stip nails (pnuematic nailer) $32 1 box coated nails $3 and 16 hurricane straps for the roof $4 3 10' Drip edge $9. Shingles and felt paper free from extra stored in garage.  Random hardware (door hinges,... read more

• Last updated 1/16/12 by silkiechicken

Preface: All coops thus far have been wood and wire tractors and one lowe's play house that was pre-cut. Skill level (1-10) was probably 2. This project in particular was all made possible by the contents of this box which I was lucky enough to be able to find about 6 years ago: It's an all in one unit that does EVERYTHING!   The trickiest part of this coop building is that we had to get it done in the summer and travel 5 hours each way to work on it. So we best utalized three day weekends for this project and had to have a VERY good step by step plan.... read more

• Last updated 9/5/11 by WKYChick

We wanted to use materials that we can recycle, all the metal and wood plus windows and paint are all recycled items. We took our time to find the pieces, we posted online, searched the local papers and drove around town. Some suggestion we didn't follow and in the future if our flock grows according to chicken math we will use all options to find materials to recycle :) We first gathered up a rough drawing  or two of what we basically wanted, neither of us have building skills We found a lady who wanted her upside down 10x12 all metal shed gone. Then we found the... read more

• Last updated 4/19/12 by chickenmandave

  OUR "RECYCLED"COOP   After moving to a country place this past April, my wife started to talk about having a chicken coop.  We had always lived in suburban neighborhoods (Track Homes) so the idea of having chickens seemed like fun.  After estimating the cost of building from all new materials, beeing as cheap (cheep!) as I am, I decided to experiment with building the coop from as much recycled and secondhand material I could find.   My wife had already brought home a sizeable amount of scrap posts and 2x4's from a friend's fence that was torn down a few... read more

• Last updated 9/4/11 by DawnSuiter

  www.DawnontheFarm.com Hen House: 99 square feet We began with the hen house design.  Large enough to accommodate 20-25 hens.  Two banks of nest boxes and a very open design.  A wire divider can be added to create a small area for brooding chicks and includes one of the nest boxes for broody hens. Aviary: 63 square feet The Aviary was added after we completed the main Hen House because we felt we needed more room to expand! It is fully secure and can be seperated from the Hen House or integrated. We use course construction sand as the... read more

• Last updated 4/1/12 by boisemarker

Wichita Cabin Coop - Boise Adaptation Many thanks to the Baldessari Clan for posting the photos of their Wichita Cabin Coop.   We took their idea and ran it with a very few minor changes to account for my lower level of DIY expertise. You can find their original coop design here.   UPDATE 30 MARCH 2012:  I've had several people ask me for plans and estimates on cost. The cost ran about $1,400 (I'm guessing) but I paid for some mistakes I made. I don't, sadly, have plans. However, if you want to view more of the images from the building so you can get more... read more