We built our coop off of the ground so nothing could dig under, and it is metal so snakes can't slither up. The hatch has a lock on the inside, so the raccoons and possums can't raid the joint at night. Hubby used two pieces of clear corrugated fiberglass in the roof to let light in, and made Dutch doors so that we could check on the birds without letting them out. The floor is solid plywood, with some leftover linoleum from our old house on top of the plywood, so that it wouldn't rot.
The slanted roof allows for good ventilation, and we built it under the trees so it wouldn't heat up with direct sunlight during the summer.
The roost is made of a big crepe myrtle that had died, and left behind it's perfectly round, smooth branches and trunks. I have a couple more single rung roosts in two of the corners, as well as a row of nesting boxes.
The solar panels are a set we purchased from Harbor Freight; it cost around $150.00. We installed an overhead light as well as an outlet, and these panels are enough to run those. With one battery, we ran the light for a little over 24 hours straight (to see how long the battery would keep it on, not to keep our chickens up all night!), and hubby has used the outlet to run a drill while building the broody house next to the coop.
