Every piece of wood (except the ply wood) was reclaimed wood. Even the roofing material was free and "scrap roofing". When we first got our chickens, we bought a prefab that claimed to house 6-8 and barely held our 5 Australorps. We immediately began construction.
The new coop is 7'x4', 4' tall on the back wall, and 5' tall on the front wall. The floor is 2 pallets, framed with 2x4's, a sheet of ply wood on top with leftover linoleum flooring to cover the ply wood. It sits almost 2' off the ground to allow for covered run space, and a 4' run uncovered off the front. The door on the side allows for easy cleaning of my poop board, and the door with chicken wire is my main entry to the coop for feeder and waterer access.
This is the "back" of the coop. A piece of old fence wood prevents heavy rains from blowing inside. The two best boxes sit off the back of the coop, and the angled side opens upward and latches beneath.
The door for our 5 Australorps to come in and out of during the day is a drawbridge style, which latches closed at the top. Or thought was it would be harder for country preditors to get into.
A view of inside the run with dustbath, and extra feeder and waterer for if we're away, or hot days. I will post updated pictures of the inside tomorrow. I just tried to upload a panoramic I took off the inside and it said "error: file too large".
For now, here it is without bedding, feeder and waterer, and without the updated roost.
Of course, here is the flock enjoying the less hot weather today!
If you guys have questions or suggestions, please post them!
Thanks for reading!
Edit: I forgot to mention this cost only $50 more than what the prefab cost! Screws, sheet roof insulation, chicken wire, ply wood, and corner fixtures for added support are all that was purchased. Advice to anyone thinking of buying a coop, just find materials to reuse and make a better one than what you're thinking of buying!
The new coop is 7'x4', 4' tall on the back wall, and 5' tall on the front wall. The floor is 2 pallets, framed with 2x4's, a sheet of ply wood on top with leftover linoleum flooring to cover the ply wood. It sits almost 2' off the ground to allow for covered run space, and a 4' run uncovered off the front. The door on the side allows for easy cleaning of my poop board, and the door with chicken wire is my main entry to the coop for feeder and waterer access.
This is the "back" of the coop. A piece of old fence wood prevents heavy rains from blowing inside. The two best boxes sit off the back of the coop, and the angled side opens upward and latches beneath.
The door for our 5 Australorps to come in and out of during the day is a drawbridge style, which latches closed at the top. Or thought was it would be harder for country preditors to get into.
A view of inside the run with dustbath, and extra feeder and waterer for if we're away, or hot days. I will post updated pictures of the inside tomorrow. I just tried to upload a panoramic I took off the inside and it said "error: file too large".
For now, here it is without bedding, feeder and waterer, and without the updated roost.
Of course, here is the flock enjoying the less hot weather today!
If you guys have questions or suggestions, please post them!
Thanks for reading!
Edit: I forgot to mention this cost only $50 more than what the prefab cost! Screws, sheet roof insulation, chicken wire, ply wood, and corner fixtures for added support are all that was purchased. Advice to anyone thinking of buying a coop, just find materials to reuse and make a better one than what you're thinking of buying!
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I'm super envious. Say, you wouldn't want to lend me your expertise here in Texas would you?
