Our coop, competed September 5, 2010
The coop is 6'x4', with the run extending an extra 12'. I'd show you plans, but my husband built it without any. (He's like that) We were lucky to have access to lots of scraps, and extras lying around, which kept our costs down. We used hardware cloth around the bottom, and on the windows of the coop, and welded wire on the top half of the run and door. The semi-opaque stuff on the windows and door is some kind of plexi-glass stuff my husband salvaged off of a construction job. The roof is Tuftex panels.
Here are some of the things that I wanted:
* Looks nice, so as not to bother the neighbors.
* A run tall enough to walk into, with a dummy proof door, so I won't lock myself in.
* Large clean-out doors on the coop.
* LOTS of ventilation...it can get mighty hot in the summer.
* Run completely covered.
* Predator proof.
* Nest box accessible from outside.
* Movable perches.
This is the pulley system for the pop door.
The big clean out doors. There's a removable kick board in front to keep the shavings in, and then I can take it out for cleaning. The metal food bins have feed in one, and grit in the other. They don't eat or drink much when they're in the coop overnight. The big feeder and waterer are in the run. The nest box is currently blocked off by a pizza box till they're ready to lay. The perches are free-standing so I can remove them for cleaning as well.
This shows the other side of the coop. The upper triangular window opens, too, but we haven't put hardware cloth over it yet.
The coop is 6'x4', with the run extending an extra 12'. I'd show you plans, but my husband built it without any. (He's like that) We were lucky to have access to lots of scraps, and extras lying around, which kept our costs down. We used hardware cloth around the bottom, and on the windows of the coop, and welded wire on the top half of the run and door. The semi-opaque stuff on the windows and door is some kind of plexi-glass stuff my husband salvaged off of a construction job. The roof is Tuftex panels.
Here are some of the things that I wanted:
* Looks nice, so as not to bother the neighbors.
* A run tall enough to walk into, with a dummy proof door, so I won't lock myself in.
* Large clean-out doors on the coop.
* LOTS of ventilation...it can get mighty hot in the summer.
* Run completely covered.
* Predator proof.
* Nest box accessible from outside.
* Movable perches.
This is the pulley system for the pop door.
The big clean out doors. There's a removable kick board in front to keep the shavings in, and then I can take it out for cleaning. The metal food bins have feed in one, and grit in the other. They don't eat or drink much when they're in the coop overnight. The big feeder and waterer are in the run. The nest box is currently blocked off by a pizza box till they're ready to lay. The perches are free-standing so I can remove them for cleaning as well.
This shows the other side of the coop. The upper triangular window opens, too, but we haven't put hardware cloth over it yet.
