This is our coop for our seven hens, duck and a goose. The coop is 6ft X 8ft so that all the birds will fit comfortably. We built the run behind the coop so that from the road it looks like a shed from the road. The run is made of green wire so that helps it to blend into the trees. We needed the coop to be functional but also fit into the landscape. Their are a lot of windows for good ventilation so that the inside doesn't get smelly and dusty. We tried to make the run as natural and interesting for the birds as possible. Their is a stock tank pond for swimming, a corner with sand for dust baths, branches for roosting and a lot of plants for scratching in. So far the plants have done well and are still growing nicely. Ive even been able to grow winter rye in the run wile the chickens use it without them eating all the seeds. Most of the time the chickens free range so that cuts back on the damage for the pants. Here it was at first when we started 
and then the walls went on 
And then before we painted it 
and here it is all finished 
we put in these sky lights for more light 
We use this suntuf corrugated plastic on the roof over the wood 
These are the three nest boxes with curtains over them. There is a roost over the nest boxes and some extra linoleum on top of the nest boxes which is used as the dropping boards. The dried plants that are hanging are lemon verbena, they help to keep the coop smelling fresh and lemony 
we also have linoleum glued down to the floor and in the nest boxes so it is super easy to clean. 
Finally the chickens begin to lay in the nest boxes 
These are metal rodent proof feed cans and a cabinet that holds supplies 
This is the feed station with their rubber water bucket, feed pan, and an oyster shell and grit feeder 
Then we built two ramps, 1 for the human door and one for the chicken door. That black box on the door is a Nite Guard which is a little red light that blinks at night to keep predators away, I doubts it really works though 
The human door ramp
These are the windows, we put on curtains to match the nest box curtains 
After we finished everything else we decided to build a automatic door for the coop. Its a lot less work for the neighbors while we are on vacation, and we dont always have to be home by dark. During winter when it gets cold the door stop working and we go back to the manual door. Another problem is during really humid days the wooden frame expands and the door can not slid down on its own. 
At first we were going to try to make the run very predator proof and it would have been a lot smaller and covered with hardware cloth. Instead we decided to build it big with large holed fencing and aviary netting on top. It basically only can keep the birds in and hawks out so the chickens need to be locked in the coop each night. Its hard to see were the run is but the back and sides of the coop is fully enclosed. This is the run during the winter. The birds refuse to come out unless they have a path shoveled out for them covered in bedding
This is a picture of the right side of the run 
And this is the left side (before the netting). 
We made these roosts out of logs and branches which they like to take afternoon naps on 
For the duck and goose we built a mini pond out of a stock tank. They love swimming in it and prefer it much better to their old kiddie pool because its bigger and deeper. Its good during winter, it looks better than a kiddie pool and I don't need to dump it each night. I just drain it a bit when its dirty and then clean it about once every few weeks. There are cinder blocks steps for the birds to climb out and preen on. 
We put up aviary netting to keep the hens in and hawks out 
Here are some decorations around the coop 
Here are a few pictures of the birds 
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The Coop 6
- Author sydney13
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