welcome to our coop. We are beginners and never had any kind of livestock before. I started by looking at several different designs on BYC and a took a little bit from many different designs. Our coop/run has 2 watering systems, 1 for inside the coop and 1 for the run and outside the run for when our girls are free ranging. Our girls are only 5 weeks old now and we are training them to use the pins while in the brooder and they are getting the idea of it slowly. The coop is 4x4 and the nesting boxes are 2x2. each. I used 4 inch PVC elbows to make a feeder and cut the top off of one of the elbows to make the feeder opening. there are 2 roosting bars made from 2 inch PVC pipe with grit/no slip tape on top. I made a coop door that is weighed down with lead fishing weights(about 5 pounds worth) with a rope that goes out to the front of the coop with a small boat cleat to tie it down in the up position. The weight from the lead will let the door fall when released. The run has a 4 and a half foot ramp from the coop door. The run is 4x10 plus the 4x4 area under the coop and has a 10x3 herb garden on top which also gives the run tons of shade (which they will need here in central Florida). The 3 doors in the front of the run open up for cleaning and to let the girls out to free range. I will be adding roosting bars to the run soon. The coop and run have cinder blocks buried in the ground under the perimeter to prevent digging predators from getting in. I hope you enjoy viewing our coop!!! I certainly enjoyed building it and I think our girls will love their new home once they are old enough to live in it full-time. All comments and suggestions are welcome. I will be happy to answer any questions you have as well.
