When we first got chickens, I bought a small -coop. We only had 3 hens, so the size was more than enough. Cue to 2 years later, we have a total of 8 chickens. Since the coop was too small and it was difficult to clean it, I decided to get a new one.
After looking at other pre-made coops, my budget, and browsing for DIY designs, I decided to follow the example of another BYC member and use a Rubbermaid 4.5 by 6ft horizontal shed as a coop. I found one that was big enough for my chickens, and the funny thing is that its color matches our house's.
We had a lot of bricks we weren't using in the backyard, so I used them to make the base for the shed's floor.
After that, we cut some holes on the side panels for ventilation. Because the panels are about 1 inch wide and hollow, I covered the borders with duct tape so no bugs or spiders would try and get inside there.
I screwed a ventilation panel on each opening, and sealed the edges with caulk.
Aaaaaand the first three side panels are installed!
I got an extra large pet door for a very good price, and it fits perfectly!
Of course, I can't forget to mention the extra help the hens were giving me. And by help I mean them trying to eat the screws I had in my hand while I was trying to screw the panels in place.
After sending the assistants on a break (locked them out of the run), I managed to installed the other side panels and the roof.
After I put the doors in place, I took a picture from the inside to see how dark it would be. I live in Southern California, so it doesn't rain often in here. Because of that, I can slide the roof a bit for extra ventilation and light during the day, but I wanted to check whether I'd need to put a window for extra light in the fall and winter. So far, it isn't that dark with the roof closed.
The coop is almost done now. I still need to make a bigger perch, but so far the hens have been sleeping on the nest boxes an using their old perch with no problems.
I think it looks pretty well, and since it's resin I can hose it down and even bleach it with no problems. Once I don't have chickens anymore, I can use it for storage, so I'll get a lot of use from it
.
UPDATE:
The coop has been working great and my chickens love it. I added a new roost I made from an old branch I had in the backyard. I sawed some minor branches to just leave the main part. Still, it was too long to fit in the coop well, so after some minor cuts, it looks pretty good now.
I let my old roost there too. I had made it low for a hen i had that was too lazy to bother and climb onto the roosting area of my old coop. I have 8 chickens now, so that should be more than enough roosting space for them. Silly birds also like to sleep on top of their nests, so there shouldn't be too much drama at sleep time
Update 2: I got rid of the wooden nests because the wood was peeling off and it was hard to scrap the poop off them, and I'm using buckets now. the hens seem to like them!
After looking at other pre-made coops, my budget, and browsing for DIY designs, I decided to follow the example of another BYC member and use a Rubbermaid 4.5 by 6ft horizontal shed as a coop. I found one that was big enough for my chickens, and the funny thing is that its color matches our house's.
We had a lot of bricks we weren't using in the backyard, so I used them to make the base for the shed's floor.
After that, we cut some holes on the side panels for ventilation. Because the panels are about 1 inch wide and hollow, I covered the borders with duct tape so no bugs or spiders would try and get inside there.
I screwed a ventilation panel on each opening, and sealed the edges with caulk.
Aaaaaand the first three side panels are installed!
I got an extra large pet door for a very good price, and it fits perfectly!
Of course, I can't forget to mention the extra help the hens were giving me. And by help I mean them trying to eat the screws I had in my hand while I was trying to screw the panels in place.
After sending the assistants on a break (locked them out of the run), I managed to installed the other side panels and the roof.
After I put the doors in place, I took a picture from the inside to see how dark it would be. I live in Southern California, so it doesn't rain often in here. Because of that, I can slide the roof a bit for extra ventilation and light during the day, but I wanted to check whether I'd need to put a window for extra light in the fall and winter. So far, it isn't that dark with the roof closed.
The coop is almost done now. I still need to make a bigger perch, but so far the hens have been sleeping on the nest boxes an using their old perch with no problems.
I think it looks pretty well, and since it's resin I can hose it down and even bleach it with no problems. Once I don't have chickens anymore, I can use it for storage, so I'll get a lot of use from it
.
UPDATE:
The coop has been working great and my chickens love it. I added a new roost I made from an old branch I had in the backyard. I sawed some minor branches to just leave the main part. Still, it was too long to fit in the coop well, so after some minor cuts, it looks pretty good now.
I let my old roost there too. I had made it low for a hen i had that was too lazy to bother and climb onto the roosting area of my old coop. I have 8 chickens now, so that should be more than enough roosting space for them. Silly birds also like to sleep on top of their nests, so there shouldn't be too much drama at sleep time
Update 2: I got rid of the wooden nests because the wood was peeling off and it was hard to scrap the poop off them, and I'm using buckets now. the hens seem to like them!
