We started with a dog kennel that had a dirt floor and posts that were firmly planted in the ground. It is 8x12 feet and 5.5 feet tall when we started. These pictures were taken right before we started putting on the current roof. (The chickens calmly roamed the yard the whole time we worked.)
The yard was built for the dogs. Before we got the chickens, we thought we'd use the kennel for the dogs when we had to mow the inside of the yard, but we never needed to... as you can tell.
The coop has had 3 rooves. The first was a silver commercial grade tarp that hung over the North side of the coop to provide a wind break as well. The second roof was just plywood sheets that we screwed onto the top rails. It started sagging and it always leaked atleast a little when we got any kind of good rain.
This is the new roof. As you can see, it is well supported. No more leaks!!! Even in really hard rains there has been no more sagging and no more leaking. Everyone seems to be happier!
The inside of the coop is wrapped with hardware cloth that is wired to the fence; all the way around, top to bottom, and "wall to wall" across the floor. The yard was built around 3 sides of the coop, so they are protected from enemy critters on those 3 sides by my dogs.
This is the inside of the coop. As you can see, I don't use typical fountains. I use shallow feed troughs, because in the heat, the water stays cooler with the air blowing across it. In winter, a heat lamp is pointed at the water to keep it from freezing. Yes, those are cat litter boxes that I have used for nest boxes. This picture was taken before I decided to tie the boxes to the back "wall" of the coop so they couldn't knock off the silver one at the end. The rabbit hutch is also wired to the back wall to keep it stable. It is usually a nesting area, but can be used as isolation for injured birds. If you look closely, you can see the bowls mounted to the inside of the front. I actually have 4 bowls mounted now. One for feed, one for oyster shell or grit, and two for water.
This is the inside of the "Bachelor Pad". Originally it was used to raise quail. My father in-law modified it for use as a small coop. He gave it to me when he decided he no longer wanted to keep the few chickens he had. You can't see the water pan, but it is almost as deep as the troughs in "Pullet Together" It is round though and sits on top of a turned-over rubber horse feed bowl to keep debris out. There is also a board angled over part of the top so that Poop doesn't drop in from the top when someone is roosting above. The plywood sheet angled against the "Bachelor Pad" was one of the 3 sheets used for the temporary roof of "Pullet Together". It is now being used as a wind break for the North side of the "Bachelor Pad". Eventually this miniature coop will be used for isolation of sick birds or new birds that are being quarentined upon adoption. Right now, it is still the "Bachelor Pad" for the extra rooster I have.
