Sorry Danny, but the proper pronunciation is Hay-vn, not hah-gen.
Anyway, this coop was actually built in 2019, but although I did photograph its construction I never got around to posting it; my life has been rather busy lately, what with our marriage, the honeymoon, and all. So here it is, better late than never, I suppose. Although the Clover city ordinances do allow backyard chickening, they limit flocks to four hens max. (no roosters allowed), and even then your property has to meet certain criteria. Fortunately, Phoenix Haven just barely squeaks by.
Originally we had four hens, so I made the coop with that many in mind. Heather, unfortunately, never made it to adulthood so now it's actually a bit oversize. I also used some of what I learned from my old coop, the Eggcorn Chalet. Due to Koopenhavn's much smaller size (16 SqFt as opposed to 48), I was able to do much of the construction in the workshop, then bring the pieces out and assemble them onsite. This proved a lot easier than building the whole thing from scratch 100' down a hill. That said, here are the first few pieces:
This is the foundation. The coop will be raised so all the pen areas can be used.
Coop floor. The smaller section on the left holds a tray with a welded wire screen for ventilation; 1/4" mesh so the chickens can walk on it more comfortably. The tray is removable to allow for easier cleaning. The centerboard is also removable. So I just lay a sheet of plastic under the hole, and just rake the old bedding out.
Rather than extend a wall of welded wire 8" down underground below the pen walls to keep out burrowing vermin, I decided instead to make the entire floor of the pen out of WW. This will be covered with river rock so the chickens don't snag their talons on it. They can still scratch, and the rock provides excellent drainage, allowing the pen floor to be self-cleaning every time it rains (it does rain here in The South, climate change notwithstanding). It also doesn't get muddy, even during torrential downpours. It has worked out very well, even after almost three years the ground is still pretty much poop-free, and there is no smell.
Being able to use the shop to do a lot of the work made this a lot easier, as I was able to use all my bigger shop tools. This proved especially useful when cutting the frame pieces, as the barn roof design meant a lot of mitered cuts at weird angles. Here are all the pieces:
This is the total amount of scrap from cutting all the frame pieces.
Yeah, that's all of it. Can I cut, or can I?
They will be fastened together using a neat little device I found called a pocket hole jig. Again, this makes things much simpler, especially considering some of the odd angles.
First pieces bolted together,
Side and roof pieces. See what I mean about angles?
Once built, I take them out to the coop to assemble them. These are the side frame pieces. The smaller squares butting out are for sliding in the poop tray.
This was so much easier than trying to make all these weird cuts on site, even though the site was relatively flat. The plastic by the way was to keep rain from puddling on the floor, as at this point it is basically a tub.
I found some nice paneling for the sides of the coop, which not only looked like the side of a miniaturized barn wall but also holds up pretty well under exposure (assuming it is painted). I actually had a few raw scrap pieces in the bed of my truck and after a good rain, they sat in a puddle for three days without de-laminating.
This will be the open area of the roof directly under the cupola. This is the other half of the main ventilation of the coop. As warm air rises out through the cupola, cool air is drawn in through this grate in the floor (Visible in the next image) providing a passive ventilation.The grid is obviously to prevent animals from getting in.
Panels and roost in place, as is the tray with the 1/4" WW insert. The open area on the side is for a hinged panel which will provide access to the coop, allowing me to remove the poop tray for cleaning as well as rake out and replace the bedding.
Initially, I was going to use sand for the flooring, however, this proved unfeasible as the floor as constructed did not allow for good drainage. A poop tray is in place under the roosting bar. As can be seen, this also plays a part in the ventilation of the coop, as it sits directly over the bottom grate directing the airflow around the chickens so they aren't sitting in a draft.
The main coop is done, minus the nesting boxes and the ramp.
Pen added. Again, I used a regular prefabbed pet pen. The WW floor extends six inches beyond the bottom edge and extends 3 feet up the side (it's not fully wrapped in this pic). The round ring will be their dust bath.
Nesting boxes built and attached, ramp up, 2"x 3" welded wire roof for raptor prevention. As you can see the cupola extends above the 2x3 WW pen roof, this is why I added the 1/2" welded wire over the coop roof opening. I also moved the dust bin (the round thing) under the coop to keep it dry. However, I must not have sealed the edges of the coop roof panels sufficiently as after two+ years of exposure they started to de-laminate. I have since replaced them with plastic ones.
And of course, you know it had to have a barn quilt.
Plans for the coop as well as the newer plastic roofing panels are included. All are in PDF format and can be printed out on any home printer.
Anyway, this coop was actually built in 2019, but although I did photograph its construction I never got around to posting it; my life has been rather busy lately, what with our marriage, the honeymoon, and all. So here it is, better late than never, I suppose. Although the Clover city ordinances do allow backyard chickening, they limit flocks to four hens max. (no roosters allowed), and even then your property has to meet certain criteria. Fortunately, Phoenix Haven just barely squeaks by.
Originally we had four hens, so I made the coop with that many in mind. Heather, unfortunately, never made it to adulthood so now it's actually a bit oversize. I also used some of what I learned from my old coop, the Eggcorn Chalet. Due to Koopenhavn's much smaller size (16 SqFt as opposed to 48), I was able to do much of the construction in the workshop, then bring the pieces out and assemble them onsite. This proved a lot easier than building the whole thing from scratch 100' down a hill. That said, here are the first few pieces:
This is the foundation. The coop will be raised so all the pen areas can be used.
Coop floor. The smaller section on the left holds a tray with a welded wire screen for ventilation; 1/4" mesh so the chickens can walk on it more comfortably. The tray is removable to allow for easier cleaning. The centerboard is also removable. So I just lay a sheet of plastic under the hole, and just rake the old bedding out.
Rather than extend a wall of welded wire 8" down underground below the pen walls to keep out burrowing vermin, I decided instead to make the entire floor of the pen out of WW. This will be covered with river rock so the chickens don't snag their talons on it. They can still scratch, and the rock provides excellent drainage, allowing the pen floor to be self-cleaning every time it rains (it does rain here in The South, climate change notwithstanding). It also doesn't get muddy, even during torrential downpours. It has worked out very well, even after almost three years the ground is still pretty much poop-free, and there is no smell.
Being able to use the shop to do a lot of the work made this a lot easier, as I was able to use all my bigger shop tools. This proved especially useful when cutting the frame pieces, as the barn roof design meant a lot of mitered cuts at weird angles. Here are all the pieces:
This is the total amount of scrap from cutting all the frame pieces.
Yeah, that's all of it. Can I cut, or can I?
They will be fastened together using a neat little device I found called a pocket hole jig. Again, this makes things much simpler, especially considering some of the odd angles.
First pieces bolted together,
Side and roof pieces. See what I mean about angles?
Once built, I take them out to the coop to assemble them. These are the side frame pieces. The smaller squares butting out are for sliding in the poop tray.
This was so much easier than trying to make all these weird cuts on site, even though the site was relatively flat. The plastic by the way was to keep rain from puddling on the floor, as at this point it is basically a tub.
I found some nice paneling for the sides of the coop, which not only looked like the side of a miniaturized barn wall but also holds up pretty well under exposure (assuming it is painted). I actually had a few raw scrap pieces in the bed of my truck and after a good rain, they sat in a puddle for three days without de-laminating.
This will be the open area of the roof directly under the cupola. This is the other half of the main ventilation of the coop. As warm air rises out through the cupola, cool air is drawn in through this grate in the floor (Visible in the next image) providing a passive ventilation.The grid is obviously to prevent animals from getting in.
Panels and roost in place, as is the tray with the 1/4" WW insert. The open area on the side is for a hinged panel which will provide access to the coop, allowing me to remove the poop tray for cleaning as well as rake out and replace the bedding.
Initially, I was going to use sand for the flooring, however, this proved unfeasible as the floor as constructed did not allow for good drainage. A poop tray is in place under the roosting bar. As can be seen, this also plays a part in the ventilation of the coop, as it sits directly over the bottom grate directing the airflow around the chickens so they aren't sitting in a draft.
The main coop is done, minus the nesting boxes and the ramp.
Pen added. Again, I used a regular prefabbed pet pen. The WW floor extends six inches beyond the bottom edge and extends 3 feet up the side (it's not fully wrapped in this pic). The round ring will be their dust bath.
Nesting boxes built and attached, ramp up, 2"x 3" welded wire roof for raptor prevention. As you can see the cupola extends above the 2x3 WW pen roof, this is why I added the 1/2" welded wire over the coop roof opening. I also moved the dust bin (the round thing) under the coop to keep it dry. However, I must not have sealed the edges of the coop roof panels sufficiently as after two+ years of exposure they started to de-laminate. I have since replaced them with plastic ones.
And of course, you know it had to have a barn quilt.
Plans for the coop as well as the newer plastic roofing panels are included. All are in PDF format and can be printed out on any home printer.
