Im a 14 year old boy and i really wanted chickens. Why would a teenager want to have chickens you might ask? Just over a year ago my family went to my uncle's house in remote northern michigan. Two months before we came he had gotten 12 chickens from his local tractor supply and built a coop for them. I walked into the pen area and sat in a garden chair watching listening and holding the chickens. They were so relaxing to me and interesting that I wanted some of my own. As soon as i got home from my uncle's house(I live in southern michigan) I started looking for any laws in are city on chickens. it turned out the city just pased an ordinance on keeping chickens. The regulations were
1. Up to six hen chickens are permitted. Roosters are prohibited. 2. Chickens are for personal use only. Commercial sales are prohibited.
3. Chickens must be kept in a completely enclosed coop and attached pen in the back (rear) yard.
4. The coop/pen must be setback at least 10 feet from all property lines and 30 feet from any adjacent home.
5. Collectively, the coop/pen cannot exceed 80 square feet in area and 6 feet in height.
6. The coop/pen cannot be made from corrugated metal/fiberglass, sheet metal, plastic tarps, scrap lumber or similar materials.
7. The coop/pen must be designed and maintained to provide a safe and healthy living condition.
8. During daylight hours, chickens may be allowed to roam within the rear yard of the site if supervised and enclosed by at least a 4-foot high fence.
9. Feed and other items must be secured from rats, mice or other rodents.
10. Outdoor slaughter of chickens is prohibited.
This long list seemed dawnting but i was ready to take on the challenge. My parents OKed the idea for getting chickens so i started making a plan. I wanted to get 5-6 chickens so I needed to build a coop with about 20 square feet and two exterior nesting boxes. I needed i raised for rodent and predator protection and i wanted a tray under the roost for quick cleaning. I made some written plans on graph paper but i got lost during construction. sorry. The location of the coop would be behind our garage and between our shed and house. This would make the coop not visible to any of our neighbors.
DAY #1
Not much work done here, just the base framed
DAY #2
Got some work done here. Walls framed with 2 by 2s and base completely done
DAY #3 & #4
