My wife and I wanted chickens because we both eat eggs on a regular basis. We settled on a small flock of four out of respect for our neighbors. We have 3.5 acres, but wanted the coop/run up near the house for easy access and security. Our lot is narrow, but deep, therefore putting us close to the neighbors.
Most of the materials were purchased at a big box store. I struggled the whole time with substandard materials. The 2X4's were twisted. The hardware cloth was defective. It was longer on one side than the other. Even the wire staples I used were malformed when they were made, making it impossible to hammer them in. I returned them and learned that there were no more available.
The second issue I had was availability of material. Between the shortage of imported items from the far east, and the renewed interest in backyard chickens, i constantly found myself going store to store to get what I needed. Luckily I live in an area where I can go to 10 different stores within a 50 mile drive. It was frustrating nonetheless. Especially when I ended up getting junk.
Anyway, the coop/run ended up being ten feet wide and six feet deep. The coop is elevated 24" off the ground and measures 40"X 72." I know it's small, but remember there will only be four birds. I picked the wrong time of the year (for me) to build the structure; heat indexes were over 100 most days. But it was a blessing in disguise because the extreme heat gave me a better idea of how much ventilation I would need.
I tried to incorporate all the security tips that I'd read about. We routinely see a family of raccoons on the trail cam. I've also seen a fox on the pics. There is a family of red tailed hawks living in our woods. We also have many opossums. With all that in mind, I tried as best as possible to isolate the coop and make it totally secured, even from the run itself. There is 1X2 galvanized fence wire buried 18" out from the edge of the run/coop. There are slide bolts and hasps secured with Carabiners on each door. The ventilation doors that open out to the run are secured with hardware cloth.
This journey is just beginning. I'm still learning as I go. The help I've received on this site just by reading articles has been immense. I thank all who have contributed here. It is truly a gold mine of information.
Here's a video of the coop and chicks going into it for the first time.
Most of the materials were purchased at a big box store. I struggled the whole time with substandard materials. The 2X4's were twisted. The hardware cloth was defective. It was longer on one side than the other. Even the wire staples I used were malformed when they were made, making it impossible to hammer them in. I returned them and learned that there were no more available.
The second issue I had was availability of material. Between the shortage of imported items from the far east, and the renewed interest in backyard chickens, i constantly found myself going store to store to get what I needed. Luckily I live in an area where I can go to 10 different stores within a 50 mile drive. It was frustrating nonetheless. Especially when I ended up getting junk.
Anyway, the coop/run ended up being ten feet wide and six feet deep. The coop is elevated 24" off the ground and measures 40"X 72." I know it's small, but remember there will only be four birds. I picked the wrong time of the year (for me) to build the structure; heat indexes were over 100 most days. But it was a blessing in disguise because the extreme heat gave me a better idea of how much ventilation I would need.
I tried to incorporate all the security tips that I'd read about. We routinely see a family of raccoons on the trail cam. I've also seen a fox on the pics. There is a family of red tailed hawks living in our woods. We also have many opossums. With all that in mind, I tried as best as possible to isolate the coop and make it totally secured, even from the run itself. There is 1X2 galvanized fence wire buried 18" out from the edge of the run/coop. There are slide bolts and hasps secured with Carabiners on each door. The ventilation doors that open out to the run are secured with hardware cloth.
This journey is just beginning. I'm still learning as I go. The help I've received on this site just by reading articles has been immense. I thank all who have contributed here. It is truly a gold mine of information.
Here's a video of the coop and chicks going into it for the first time.
