We got our first chicks about a year ago - six RIRs. We knew that we wanted to build the coop larger than we thought we would need (chicken math), so we planned for the coop to be 8 x 16. Once the coop was done, we added another 14 chicks.
Here is the "finished" product. I say "finished" because it seems like there is always something else to build/add/change. I think we're done now except painting trim and we have to fix some of the windows.
I didn't come up with the "Eggplant" idea. I saw two purple coops with this name online and I loved it. Purple is my daughter's favorite color, and my kids love puns.
We started building in December because we finally had the $ for supplies and the weather was unusually warm for NE Ohio. Of course, the weather didn't cooperate for very long so the coop wasn't ready for chicken residents until February. We were putting up roof joists during a very heavy snowstorm so that we could throw a tarp over the top to protect the coop from water damage.
My daughter did most of the roofing for us, and she did a great job!
The rear of the coop. Poop doors and chicken door all latch open when the weather is nice to increase ventilation. Had to add a temporary ramp for our chicks to get back inside more easily. The ramp to the chicken door was too steep for them at first. Now they can use it, but prefer to sunbathe on the plywood ramp.
I added pieces of gutter cover over the spaces between the roof joists so that stinging insects would not be able to get in as easily, since some of us are allergic. We already had the gutter cover, and it didn't really work for the gutters so I figured we might as well get some use out of it.
The roost swings up and out of the way for easier coop cleaning. A board is being used to make it easier for one of the ladies to get down from the top roost. She was slow to jump down in the morning and I didn't want her to hurt herself. Now she gets down with no trouble.
Nest boxes. They have never used the pre-made one and usually only use two of the other boxes. We will be adding more boxes as the chicks get older.
Storage area.
Dividing wall to separate chicks from adults, but now they have joined the rest of the flock. I leave the door open just enough so that the chicks can get through to have some space away from the adults.
Our run is pretty large. We used to let the chickens roam free, but then they started venturing into the neighbor's yard so up went the fence. We added a dust bath that's partly shaded, and have planted some shrubs for shade a security in the back of the run.
If I was doing it all over, I would've started the coop sooner (and not in the winter). I might have made it a little wider so that there would be more room for things. We can't put anything under the roost, so there aren't a lot of options left for placement of feeder, water, nest boxes.
Hope you like the coop! It turned out pretty good for our first attempt. We are really enjoying our chickens!
Here is the "finished" product. I say "finished" because it seems like there is always something else to build/add/change. I think we're done now except painting trim and we have to fix some of the windows.
I didn't come up with the "Eggplant" idea. I saw two purple coops with this name online and I loved it. Purple is my daughter's favorite color, and my kids love puns.
We started building in December because we finally had the $ for supplies and the weather was unusually warm for NE Ohio. Of course, the weather didn't cooperate for very long so the coop wasn't ready for chicken residents until February. We were putting up roof joists during a very heavy snowstorm so that we could throw a tarp over the top to protect the coop from water damage.
My daughter did most of the roofing for us, and she did a great job!
The rear of the coop. Poop doors and chicken door all latch open when the weather is nice to increase ventilation. Had to add a temporary ramp for our chicks to get back inside more easily. The ramp to the chicken door was too steep for them at first. Now they can use it, but prefer to sunbathe on the plywood ramp.
I added pieces of gutter cover over the spaces between the roof joists so that stinging insects would not be able to get in as easily, since some of us are allergic. We already had the gutter cover, and it didn't really work for the gutters so I figured we might as well get some use out of it.
The roost swings up and out of the way for easier coop cleaning. A board is being used to make it easier for one of the ladies to get down from the top roost. She was slow to jump down in the morning and I didn't want her to hurt herself. Now she gets down with no trouble.
Nest boxes. They have never used the pre-made one and usually only use two of the other boxes. We will be adding more boxes as the chicks get older.
Storage area.
Dividing wall to separate chicks from adults, but now they have joined the rest of the flock. I leave the door open just enough so that the chicks can get through to have some space away from the adults.
Our run is pretty large. We used to let the chickens roam free, but then they started venturing into the neighbor's yard so up went the fence. We added a dust bath that's partly shaded, and have planted some shrubs for shade a security in the back of the run.
If I was doing it all over, I would've started the coop sooner (and not in the winter). I might have made it a little wider so that there would be more room for things. We can't put anything under the roost, so there aren't a lot of options left for placement of feeder, water, nest boxes.
Hope you like the coop! It turned out pretty good for our first attempt. We are really enjoying our chickens!
