Caveman's Chook Addiction
Welcome to my BYC page!! This page will be a constant work in progress as my chicken raising hobby ADDICTION is quite dynamic due to my profession as an officer in the military. For obvious reasons, my flock must be highly mobile and adaptable to many climates. I will do my best to document my various "expeditionary" coops and of course upload plenty of photos of my beautiful chooks. Thanks for visiting, come back soon!!
Layer's Coop
This coop is designed to house my (6) Rhode Island Red hens. I believe this would be classified as an "open air" type coop where the coop and run are one in the same. Living in Hawaii, our temperatures rarely drop below 60 degrees so I have no concerns with cold weather modifications or artificial heat sources. This coop measures 10'x12', providing 120 square feet of total ground space or 20 square feet per hen. My math is slightly high due to the fact that the feeder, waterer, and nesting boxes take up some space, but only a few feet. The peak of the structure is 8' tall and the top bar of the roost rests a little over 5' off the ground. I also allow the hens plenty of time out in the yard when I am home to supervise them. The entire coop is designed to be taken down and packed for movement in less than an hour.
The primary materials are:
canopy tent - $89, 10'x12' tarp cut in half - $18, (8) 5' t-posts - $24, 50' of 4' fence that has 2"x4" openings - $39, and 50' of 1/2" chicken wire - $14. Total : $184
Notice the two plastic storage bins in the back. Those are the nesting boxes and they have a dual hinged lid that can be opened from inside or outside the coop to retrieve the eggs. The girls prefer the box closest to the camera, but I usually get at least one egg in the far box each day.
Layer's Coop
This coop is designed to house my (6) Rhode Island Red hens. I believe this would be classified as an "open air" type coop where the coop and run are one in the same. Living in Hawaii, our temperatures rarely drop below 60 degrees so I have no concerns with cold weather modifications or artificial heat sources. This coop measures 10'x12', providing 120 square feet of total ground space or 20 square feet per hen. My math is slightly high due to the fact that the feeder, waterer, and nesting boxes take up some space, but only a few feet. The peak of the structure is 8' tall and the top bar of the roost rests a little over 5' off the ground. I also allow the hens plenty of time out in the yard when I am home to supervise them. The entire coop is designed to be taken down and packed for movement in less than an hour.
The primary materials are:
canopy tent - $89, 10'x12' tarp cut in half - $18, (8) 5' t-posts - $24, 50' of 4' fence that has 2"x4" openings - $39, and 50' of 1/2" chicken wire - $14. Total : $184
Notice the two plastic storage bins in the back. Those are the nesting boxes and they have a dual hinged lid that can be opened from inside or outside the coop to retrieve the eggs. The girls prefer the box closest to the camera, but I usually get at least one egg in the far box each day.
