When my husband and I decided to start raising our own chickens, we decided we wanted a coop that would be affordable, modest, functional and NOT an eyesore. We decided to model it after our shed, which the coop and chicken yard are attached to.
You can see the coop is the smaller building to the left! We placed vents all around on all 4 walls to let out heat in the summer. We live in Louisiana so the winters are very mild, and the summers very hot and humid. So in addition to the vents we put the coop in the shady part of our yard. We enclosed the yard on all sides, even the top, to keep cats and possums out! Here's a closeup of the yard and the chicken door, which my husband put on a hinge. That way we can close them up on cool nights to keep out drafts.
All the exposed wood for the pen was pressure treated 2x4. The gate at left of the pen was actually made from recycled dog-eared fence pickets in 2 layers with wire in between. We have chicken wire above to discourage overhead predators.
The entire coop was made with 1 4x8 sheet of p.t. plywood for the floor, 3 4x8 sheets of T-111 plywood for the walls, 2x4s for the studs, and 1 4x8 sheet of waferboard for the roof. We covered the roof with 3 Tab shingles that we had leftover from a previous roofing project, and of course, 12 cinder blocks to build up the bottom. So the complete dimensions of the coop are 4'Wx8'Lx4'H. Big enough for our chickens to roost in at night, and big enough for us to squat inside to grab the eggs and feed. Our kids are small right now, too, so the coop is the perfect size for them to go in and out to tend to the chickens. Now to give you a look at the inside:
These are our roost "poles" made from attaching closet poles to sections of plywood. They work really well!
And abover are our nesting boxes. They were made from leftover plywood from a previous project. They measure about 12"Lx10"Wx12"H and are lifted on legs to be about 2 1/2 ft off the ground. We have hay under the nesting boxes as well, because we just got 2 Buff ducks in addition to our 6 chickens.
So this is our chickens' humble abode. Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. If you have a bad back, I would recommend you making the building and yard taller. But for us, it works great, is fully functional, and allowed us to build a safe and comfortable home for our birds without breaking the bank!
You can see the coop is the smaller building to the left! We placed vents all around on all 4 walls to let out heat in the summer. We live in Louisiana so the winters are very mild, and the summers very hot and humid. So in addition to the vents we put the coop in the shady part of our yard. We enclosed the yard on all sides, even the top, to keep cats and possums out! Here's a closeup of the yard and the chicken door, which my husband put on a hinge. That way we can close them up on cool nights to keep out drafts.
All the exposed wood for the pen was pressure treated 2x4. The gate at left of the pen was actually made from recycled dog-eared fence pickets in 2 layers with wire in between. We have chicken wire above to discourage overhead predators.
The entire coop was made with 1 4x8 sheet of p.t. plywood for the floor, 3 4x8 sheets of T-111 plywood for the walls, 2x4s for the studs, and 1 4x8 sheet of waferboard for the roof. We covered the roof with 3 Tab shingles that we had leftover from a previous roofing project, and of course, 12 cinder blocks to build up the bottom. So the complete dimensions of the coop are 4'Wx8'Lx4'H. Big enough for our chickens to roost in at night, and big enough for us to squat inside to grab the eggs and feed. Our kids are small right now, too, so the coop is the perfect size for them to go in and out to tend to the chickens. Now to give you a look at the inside:
These are our roost "poles" made from attaching closet poles to sections of plywood. They work really well!
And abover are our nesting boxes. They were made from leftover plywood from a previous project. They measure about 12"Lx10"Wx12"H and are lifted on legs to be about 2 1/2 ft off the ground. We have hay under the nesting boxes as well, because we just got 2 Buff ducks in addition to our 6 chickens.
So this is our chickens' humble abode. Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. If you have a bad back, I would recommend you making the building and yard taller. But for us, it works great, is fully functional, and allowed us to build a safe and comfortable home for our birds without breaking the bank!
