The Backacre Coop

When the chicks were 7 weeks old, my husband started work on the coop for them. He had to buy some pressure treated lumber, OSB for the walls and floor, vinyl flooring, hinges and latches. He already had 2x4s and tin for the roof. He also bought some wheels, so the coop can be moved.

Here's a pic of the floor and beginning frame.

He started framing with the chicken door.

He used OSB for the floor and sides.

Once the sides were on, I started painting with gray primer. And the vinyl flooring was installed.

Dave working on the roof joists.

The roof is installed and the nest box dividers put in place.

Some interior shots:
Nest Boxes Roost Feeder & Waterer

Finishing touches:
Chicken door Maintenance door Nest box cover

After finishing painting with primer, the coop is moved to the back yard.

Straw is put down and the chicks are moved into their new digs.

Here's the rough floor plan. (1 sq=1/4 sq ft.)

And the exterior drawings. (1 sq=1/2 sq.ft.)

It took another week to build the run/tractor (only 3 days construction, but other things got in the way.

The coop and run are completed and the nine week old chicks have a permanent home.

The loquat tree and the shade cloth were installed because of unseasonably hot temps this June.

Paint for the coop has been purchased. Its going to be barn red with white trim (if it ever gets cool enough again to paint!

Chicken Tractor Plans (rough sketch) 1 sq=1/2 ft.

Problems we ran into:

Coop related -

We didn't allow for the slope of the roof originally, so the end joists stick up above the OSB.
Also roof related, the maintenance door had to be lowered so that it didn't run into the roof joists.

Tractor related -

The access door wasn't in the plans originally and was added after the frame was built.
The chicken door had to be made a dutch style door to allow for the slant of the ramp.

What we would change:

Coop related -

Add a hitch of some kind on the side opposite the wheels so we can pull it with a tractor.
We added an electrical box with 2 outlets and a light socket (with a dimmer switch). Fan is plugged in for cooling.

Tractor related -

Put the access door on the end, not the side.
Make the tractor rectangular rather than a triangle. Triangles look easy but a very hard to construct.