Introducing, "Coop, there it is." The name was picked by a contest I ran on Facebook giving away 1 dozen fresh eggs to whoever came up with the most creative name. This is what I chose.




The story behind building this coop:
My wife decided she wanted to paint our house, but didn't want to invest the money to paint it and not like the color. Thinking out loud, she said, "I wish there was some mini version of our house that I could see the color on first." Enter me, always looking for a project. I told her, "What if I build a miniature version of the house (similar siding, trim, roof angles, etc) and we paint it the color you want? If you are not happy with the color choice, it will be an easy redo, and a whole lot less expensive." She agreed. Then I proceeded to tell her that miniature version would be a chicken coop.

The next two weeks I hardly caught a wink of sleep. All I could think of is design layout, cost, where to get scrap/cull lumber, what to upcycle/recycle. Finally after collecting some cull lumber, I decided to build it off the cuff and let it go from there. No plans, no drawings, I just knew that I wanted it 8x12, and I would start from the foundation and make it up as I go. I also wanted to keep everything dimensional to lumber standards to create less waste. After the whole project was complete, I had enough waste to fill up a 55 gal burn barrel. That was all.

I wanted my foundation raised, because as you can see, we have no trees on our property and they need to get some shade somehow.




The height of the walls were determined by a truck load of cull wood I bought a HD on clearance.



Th pitch of the roof turned out to be a little steeper than I had planned, but I wanted to be able to walk upright in the coop.






I am on the right, I am 6 ft. tall. This gives you and idea of the height of the coop.
















Custom built, insulated door.



My wife decided the chicks needed a swing. This was built ENTIRELY out of scrap/cull wood.



Nesting boxes to go in the coop.



Nesting boxes painted with leftover paint I had laying around.










Interior walls and ceiling going in. The entire coop was insulated.











Siding and trim installed.



First look at the color choice. My wife loves it and wants the house painted NOW!



Had to hang the swing to look at it.









The first look at it with the stairs on it. The one part I was dreading. I had never installed stairs.





















The roost. I wasn't happy with it. It looked unsightly with the rest of the coop. That is the reason it was left unpainted. I will go back to the drawing board with this.



The roost and window. Notice the tile floors. These were clearanced at HD. They didn't have enough of either color, so I had to do a design. White around the edge; brown in the middle.



Ceiling vents, three in all, with an eave vent on each end.



Nest boxes sitting in the coop.



PVC self-feeders mounted to the interior wall.



Finally, a sign that my wife surprised me with to hang on the coop.






What's left:
- Redesign roost.
- Landscaping (shrubs and flowers)
- Gutters to collect rain water and fill the water feature I am building in the run
- Fence off an area for a run, letting the only free range while we are around.
- Hanging pictures, dishes, and various decor my wife has bought at thrift stores/ second hand stores.

This whole project was extremely fun. I am not a carpenter or in the construction business by trade, so anyone can do this.

If I could figure out how to make a living building these, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Now to the cost. A lot. Double my budget (eeck). I will not discuss the price tag, but I can give you an idea of cost per square ft, materials only. All the work was done by me and a friend that would come over and help. I paid him in fresh eggs and beer.

If you have any questions about any part of the construction, I will gladly answer them. I have many more pictures and I might not have included something that you need an answer for.