It all started a few years before when I wanted a pet. . . Who thought it would turn into this chicken addiction??
Thankfully, my mom was on my side and convincing my dad was a breeze. He was the one who made this coop for me. We had no plans and no experience in building. Pretty much, my mum and I just told him what we wanted, fetched tools, and my dad worked the whole summer making this coop for me!!! Thanks dad!!!! We had two pullets I had gotten in the spring as chicks, added incentive to finish the coop before the winter.
Aerial view of the coop taken from an airplane!!! (Okay, actually from my bedroom window, but still. . .)
It took a lot of work to flatten the ground, but I love the location. Fairly dry and south facing.
The frame is now up!
Checking out the construction of their new home.
Two walls up and insulated (they are the only walls that are). The ceiling is up as well.
Tail up, eyes sparkling, I think we are on the right track.
We decided to make the back wall two doors, so it will be easy to clean and access the
water and feed dishes.
Front door for collecting eggs!
Painting the coop. (I know, white is very original
The nesting boxes!!! Thanks to my siblings for the artistic talent.
We finished the floor with linoleum. The chain is to hang the feeder off of and, you can see on the roof, one of two 1ftx1ft ventilation holes.
And it's done!!! People and Chickens are happy!!!
Now for the Grand tour. . .
We used tin for the roof and have put rocks on top of chicken wire that was lain flat on the ground to keep predators from digging into the coop. You can see the rocks through the chicken wire on the left hand side of the coop.
Outdoor perch and east facing side of the coop.
In the winter we had trouble with snow and ice building up by the door and keeping it from closing. To fix that problem we cut about a foot off the bottom of the door and nailed a board there. Problem solved!!!
Back of the coop (North facing)
You can't see the rungs of the perch in this picture but, we have two perches attached to the cross piece.
We put plastic around the bottom of the coop in the winter. So the chickens have somewhere snow and wind free in the winter.
My Girls!!!
- Nefertiti (aka Nefi) Ameraucana.
- Freyja Ameraucana.
- Eleanor (aka Ellie) Silver Laced Wyandotte.
Our cat Figaro has learned not to hurt the chickens after he was chased by them when he got too close.
- Papagena (aka Poppy) Barred Plymouth Rock.
- Demeter (Deme) Rhode Island Red
- Una Black Australorp
Dimensions
Coop: 5ft x 7ft
Run: 5ft x 14ft
Key Things I like about my Coop
- The poop board. A must for any coop! I get free paper from a newspaper company and place the paper on my poop board-- It makes cleaning that much easier.
- That the back wall is two doors, it is super easy to clean the coop.
- A removable board that keeps the wood shavings from falling out when I open and close the door of the coop.
- I have a heated water dish for the winter.
Things I would have done differently
- I would have made the run bigger.
- I would have gotten windows that could open.
- I would have put windows on the east facing wall of the coop.
Cleaning the Coop
I use the deep litter method
-Every second day I change the poop board, stir up the wood shavings, and refill the water dish, feeder, nesting boxes when necessary.
-Twice a year I do a full clean and wash the coop.
I love my chickens and have learned so much from BYC these past few years.
Thanks for Reading!!!
--Zoë
