My uncle in Lodi CA, asked me to help him throw a bunch of old barn wood into his swimming pool he was planning on filling in. Once I saw the wood I immediately wanted to take it home and build a coop. I have been wanting chickens for a while but didn't have the money for a coop. Once I got the wood home I drew up some plans on Windows Paint and started construction the next day at my parent's house in Fair Oaks, CA. I only wanted 4 chickens so I designed the coop to be 4 ft. x 6 ft. with an enclosed run underneath. Because it's old barn wood I wanted to incorporate some of the barn style so I put a barn door in front that hinges open from the top. Underneath is a big opening that I made to look like a french window. This will provide great protection from the cold and great ventilation for the hot summer days. I put a gravity fed feeder inside that I can access from the outside by a hatch. This makes it easy to keep up with their food. Just open the hatch and pour it in. There are two nesting boxes inside as well. Both have a door that I can open from the outside to retrieve the eggs. To make it easy to clean I covered the entire floor with linoleum and designed isothatI can remove the entire backof the coop (as well as the back panel of the run). The run has a little hatch so I can let the chickens out as well as throw our food scraps in.
