Hello all and welcome to the article about my Coop!
We hadn't bought our coop—it was given to us by a neighbor who didn’t want his chickens anymore, so he gave it to us after getting rid of them. It’s really sturdily built, and he made it himself. We had no break-ins, and it kept the girls warm in the winter. We had some fatalities one Summer, but the temperature that year had spiked to the high 80s. We had an excellent feeder system using pvc pipes that my dad rigged up, as well as boards for the windows to keep out predators and the chill.
As seen in the picture below!
(Top to Bottom: Peep, Ore, Griffin)
This run was built by my dad, and was not a part of the coop when it was given to us, but he built it very sturdily, as well as a door on the side of the coop to let the birds in and out. We hadn’t had any break-ins in here either, and the large waterer kept our birds hydrated for up to a week or longer (depending on how hot it was, or if the water froze).
Unfortunately, before we moved, the wood on the door had begun rotting due to weather, rain, and constant use. It most likely would’ve broken off its hinges had it stayed without repair. We kept it closed with two latches, but as the security wore down, we just replaced them with bungee cords which worked just as well.
(Top to Bottom: Silver (poor mistreated girl), Charlie, Patton, Echo, Blue, Delta)
This is our secondary coop (given to us by the same neighbor as well, and refurbished by us). We usd it for our pullets after they moved out of the brooder while integrating them into the main flock. If you turn your head left, you can see that the ‘nesting boxes’ are actually just a wooden pulpit.
The feeder is also a pvc pipe, and that broken-down old chair in there was originally for me when I sat with the young ‘uns at sunset to pet them, but succumbed to poop and wear. 
There was a space above the nesting boxes where some pullets would try to lay eggs, so we’d shoved logs up there so they’d stop.
This was our yard and field surrounding it (very dangerous when the grass grew tall on account of foxes sneaking right up to the yard
). I was so thankful when the field was mowed so that we could see the danger coming. Grape vines grow on the back fence, and the girls enjoyed snacking on Japanese beetles (tip: knock them into cold water, which will shock them) in the late Spring, and grapes in the late Summer.
The deck stairs was the ‘Preening Zone’, loved by all the old ladies.
That was our (right) neighbor’s yard. We had to watch our chickens all the time because they flew over the fence and dug in his mulch and birdseed.
I’d clipped all the troublemaker’s wings and that helped. The Easter Eggers were all especially naughty.
That was Hiro the Speckled Sussex on top of our coop. Only the most fearless flew to the coop rooftop (Hiro, Feather, and Hazel)! The windows were made from mesh, but we had boards that came down at night on the inside like previously mentioned. The run was made from fencing, and my dad had sealed up the meatal roof and made it watertight.
My family got stationed overseas by the army, so we no longer own our chickens, but I hope you enjoyed the run-down of the Coop!
You can see the chickens we’ve owned over the years on the next page!
We hadn't bought our coop—it was given to us by a neighbor who didn’t want his chickens anymore, so he gave it to us after getting rid of them. It’s really sturdily built, and he made it himself. We had no break-ins, and it kept the girls warm in the winter. We had some fatalities one Summer, but the temperature that year had spiked to the high 80s. We had an excellent feeder system using pvc pipes that my dad rigged up, as well as boards for the windows to keep out predators and the chill.
As seen in the picture below!
(Top to Bottom: Peep, Ore, Griffin)
This run was built by my dad, and was not a part of the coop when it was given to us, but he built it very sturdily, as well as a door on the side of the coop to let the birds in and out. We hadn’t had any break-ins in here either, and the large waterer kept our birds hydrated for up to a week or longer (depending on how hot it was, or if the water froze).
Unfortunately, before we moved, the wood on the door had begun rotting due to weather, rain, and constant use. It most likely would’ve broken off its hinges had it stayed without repair. We kept it closed with two latches, but as the security wore down, we just replaced them with bungee cords which worked just as well.
(Top to Bottom: Silver (poor mistreated girl), Charlie, Patton, Echo, Blue, Delta)
This is our secondary coop (given to us by the same neighbor as well, and refurbished by us). We usd it for our pullets after they moved out of the brooder while integrating them into the main flock. If you turn your head left, you can see that the ‘nesting boxes’ are actually just a wooden pulpit.
The feeder is also a pvc pipe, and that broken-down old chair in there was originally for me when I sat with the young ‘uns at sunset to pet them, but succumbed to poop and wear. There was a space above the nesting boxes where some pullets would try to lay eggs, so we’d shoved logs up there so they’d stop.
This was our yard and field surrounding it (very dangerous when the grass grew tall on account of foxes sneaking right up to the yard
). I was so thankful when the field was mowed so that we could see the danger coming. Grape vines grow on the back fence, and the girls enjoyed snacking on Japanese beetles (tip: knock them into cold water, which will shock them) in the late Spring, and grapes in the late Summer.The deck stairs was the ‘Preening Zone’, loved by all the old ladies.
That was our (right) neighbor’s yard. We had to watch our chickens all the time because they flew over the fence and dug in his mulch and birdseed.
I’d clipped all the troublemaker’s wings and that helped. The Easter Eggers were all especially naughty.
That was Hiro the Speckled Sussex on top of our coop. Only the most fearless flew to the coop rooftop (Hiro, Feather, and Hazel)! The windows were made from mesh, but we had boards that came down at night on the inside like previously mentioned. The run was made from fencing, and my dad had sealed up the meatal roof and made it watertight.
My family got stationed overseas by the army, so we no longer own our chickens, but I hope you enjoyed the run-down of the Coop!
You can see the chickens we’ve owned over the years on the next page!
- Next page: The Girls! (And Dudes 😎 )
