Which came first? The chicken or the Coop?
It was early in 2023 that we felt it was urgent to have a backup plan for our food needs (eggs & maybe chicken). Food is one of the basics, right? We started researching chickens and have plenty of people in our area of the county that are experienced poultry and large animal keepers. We have good neighbors.
We settled on eight birds to start our flock - 20 if "push comes to shove!" After looking at YouTube University for hours on end, we found a relatively local coop designer (Carolina Coops) with a good plan that we could modify to our needs. We downloaded our plan, purchased the materials and supplies and got to work.
The toughest part is making a square foundation on a slightly sloping terrain. I did my best (I am not a carpenter by trade - retired 'jack of all trades') and came up with as square a foundation as possible, setup the vertical timbers, made some relatively level floor joists and installed the walls. Acquired metal roofing from a friend's demolition of his old metal building (you can get good deals when you take the time to look locally) and put on the roof. Again, the plot is not perfectly level, I do NOT own excavation equipment, but managed to setup walls that would work. With pressure treated lumber on the bottom, the run attached pretty quickly and my coop and run really took shape. Completely covered the run with the same metal (Red) and sealed up all the screw holes that the former installation caused. Added a 'boat load' of hardware cloth to make the run walls and cover the windows and coop's crawlspace. Found a little bit of extra galvanized steel for two sides of the coop's 'crawlspace' to act as a wind block / sun shade. It works great for the girls to have a place to hide from anything that scares them.
My windows and doors are all of my own design. Trying to pinch pennies, I had a bunch of panes of glass to make my own windows and plenty of wood for the doors. Even found some old spring-loaded hinges for the human door to the run.
A local company sells mulch in bulk form. You can pick it up by the pickup truck or dump-bed trailer. Purchased about $150 / two loads worth and had some left for the natural areas in our yard. Added the ramp to their entrance, a hollow log for a distraction and a small tree limb from a big oak we dropped to put in this coop. The coop has three 2" square roost bars. They all want to use the same bar! There are five nest boxes and a special storage area for odds and ends. Hung the feeder and waterer under the coop and off the ground about two inches. There's about 12" to 18" of hardware cloth underground (on all sides) to protect our girls.
We added our little flock at five weeks old and they loved it. They are loads of fun to watch. So far so good! (The answer to the question? The Coop came first!)
It was early in 2023 that we felt it was urgent to have a backup plan for our food needs (eggs & maybe chicken). Food is one of the basics, right? We started researching chickens and have plenty of people in our area of the county that are experienced poultry and large animal keepers. We have good neighbors.
We settled on eight birds to start our flock - 20 if "push comes to shove!" After looking at YouTube University for hours on end, we found a relatively local coop designer (Carolina Coops) with a good plan that we could modify to our needs. We downloaded our plan, purchased the materials and supplies and got to work.
The toughest part is making a square foundation on a slightly sloping terrain. I did my best (I am not a carpenter by trade - retired 'jack of all trades') and came up with as square a foundation as possible, setup the vertical timbers, made some relatively level floor joists and installed the walls. Acquired metal roofing from a friend's demolition of his old metal building (you can get good deals when you take the time to look locally) and put on the roof. Again, the plot is not perfectly level, I do NOT own excavation equipment, but managed to setup walls that would work. With pressure treated lumber on the bottom, the run attached pretty quickly and my coop and run really took shape. Completely covered the run with the same metal (Red) and sealed up all the screw holes that the former installation caused. Added a 'boat load' of hardware cloth to make the run walls and cover the windows and coop's crawlspace. Found a little bit of extra galvanized steel for two sides of the coop's 'crawlspace' to act as a wind block / sun shade. It works great for the girls to have a place to hide from anything that scares them.
My windows and doors are all of my own design. Trying to pinch pennies, I had a bunch of panes of glass to make my own windows and plenty of wood for the doors. Even found some old spring-loaded hinges for the human door to the run.
A local company sells mulch in bulk form. You can pick it up by the pickup truck or dump-bed trailer. Purchased about $150 / two loads worth and had some left for the natural areas in our yard. Added the ramp to their entrance, a hollow log for a distraction and a small tree limb from a big oak we dropped to put in this coop. The coop has three 2" square roost bars. They all want to use the same bar! There are five nest boxes and a special storage area for odds and ends. Hung the feeder and waterer under the coop and off the ground about two inches. There's about 12" to 18" of hardware cloth underground (on all sides) to protect our girls.
We added our little flock at five weeks old and they loved it. They are loads of fun to watch. So far so good! (The answer to the question? The Coop came first!)
