Our chicken coop and hen house we built as a family project.

Here is the coop and hen house my Wife and kids and I built. The coop is 6'T12W'x24'L. The treated posts are 18" deep with concrete. We buried the chicken wire below the surface to keep coons, possums, and dogs from digging underneath. The hen house is 6'LX4'WX3'T and is pretty much framed like a stick built home except I used 2X3's instead of 2X4 and 2X6's. I put 2" styrofoam insulation in the floor, walls and the roof. The siding is old cedar barn boards. I put a 30 year 130mph rated comp roof on as well. The window on the side is a piece of removable plexiglass that gives them some light inside and allows us to clean it out easily every few days. I used the slide off of the kid's old swing set we hauled to the dump and I put 3M stair tread material on it to give them some traction going up and down. I built them a roosting station and they all 6 like to cram together on the top rung. The roof on the nesting boxes is hinged so that we can gather the eggs without going inside the coop. There are 4 separate boxes and most of the time they use the same one. It wasn't necessarily inexpensive, but it cost us less money than the premade coops they sell at Farm stores and is built 10X better. This one will last a long time. It was a fun project for us and we are enjoying the delicious fresh eggs. I'm sorry I don't have a material list to share, I designed the whole thing in my head and built it from my vision of what I wanted it to be. I'm more than happy to answer any questions. Thanks for taking the time to read along.


Oh My, that looks rather crowded......
.....proving that 4sqft per bird in coop(hen house) is a bare minimum when roosts and feed/water takes up part of that space.

I don't see much ventilation either.
Does the chicken door close and lock?.....because chicken wire is not predator proof.
Nice big run tho at 6'T12W'x24'L.
 
So glad it was a fun project for the whole family. Ingenious use of the slide! Please don't be discouraged by the following suggestions, you coop looks very well built but I think it has some big design flaws.

I would suggest upgrading the chicken wire as soon as you can. From the beautiful backdrop in your pic it looks like you are in an area that is home to predators that could bust through it quite easily. Unfortunately, burying the wire was wasted effort. Coons, possums, and dogs won't need to dig in when they can easily tear through. You'll also want to put a latch on your nestbox lid.

What is the spacing on your ladder roost? The "rungs" look quite close together. If not adequately spaced with enough height and depth between rungs the chickens won't fit well. This will cause squabbling over space during roosting time or even make the birds not use the roost. If they don't use it then it's needlessly taking up valuable square footage in what already looks like what could be tight quarters.

I agree with the other poster that the coop is lacking adequate ventilation. I'd install some windows you can open wide for light and cross ventilation during summer and some adjustable vents along the entire front at the roofline as high above the birds heads as you can or you will experience humidity issues and inevitable health problems with your birds.

ETA:If you stick with the chicken wire, definitely install a pop door that can be securely latched shut. And if the birds are already cramming themselves on the top roost, it would probably be better to just install a single longer roost.
 
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Great job!

If I could make 3 suggestions:

1. I'd coat that coop floor in linoleum/cheap peal and stick vinyl tile so you can clean it out easier. I bet if you asked around someone has a remnant they'd give you.
2. A couple cheap vents above the nesting boxes.These are $4 each and would do the trick. - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Construc...el-Reversible-Foundation-Vent-TW146/202092771
3. You'll want to either install hardware cloth to replace the chicken wire or a pop door so you can close the chickens in at night to keep them safe. I'd recommend just adding a pop door.

That way, they are safe at night, get some ventilation when it gets hotter, moisture doesn't build up, and you're going to be able to clean the whole thing out a lot easier.
 

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