Anyone tried building their own coop similiar to Carolina Coops

[sierrambee]

Hi everyone. I really like the American and Carolina Coops by Carolina Coops, but they are so expensive. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried building their own coop similar to Carolina Coops. I really like how Carolina Coops has their nesting boxes on the side with the door on the side to get the eggs. And how the back has three doors, two which are windows and one the drops all the way down to clean the coop.Just wondering if anyone has any blue prints or plans that are similar to the coops found on https://carolinacoops.com/chicken-coops/

 

[cavemanrich]

I am handy enough that I could duplicate that coop without plans. I would just view and look at pictures, and determine sizes on my own. Not everyone is able to do this,,,, so that is why there are detailed plans.
I searches for Carolina plans, and did not come up with any. Most likely the company likes to sell coops, and not plans. I did find something that may interest you though. A site that does offer plans, and many styles to choose from. Some may appeal to you as better than Carolina's.
https://morningchores.com/chicken-coop-plans/WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[woodworm]

That's what I'm hoping to do. I've just watched most of their videos on YouTube and you do pick up little things on each one (even if most of their videos repeat themselves a lot they often mention something in each one they haven't said before).

I did find this guy on YouTube who has build videos for his version of their coops.

YouTube - BlueLine Woodworking

Also there is someone on here (adirondak5) that recently built a similar coop

adirondak5's Build thread

 

[sierrambee]

Hey woodworm. Would you by any chance help me figure out plans from Blueline Woodworks? I had messaged him but he said he didn't save his plans. I've watched the video over and over again and started writing out plans, but I only wrote down the numbers the guy shows on his paper.i actually did do it based off of the Carolina Coops.

That's what I'm hoping to do. I've just watched most of their videos on YouTube and you do pick up little things on each one (even if most of their videos repeat themselves a lot they often mention something in each one they haven't said before).

I did find this guy on YouTube who has build videos for his version of their coops.

YouTube - BlueLine Woodworking

Also there is someone on here (adirondak5) that recently built a similar coop

adirondak5's Build thread

 

[woodworm]

Hi

I'm not sure how much help I can be - I have plans (to a point) but I'm not sure anyone could follow them exactly as a lot of it is in my head if that makes sense (there are a few 'notches' here and there that I know will help but aren't drawn).

I facepalm myself when I say this, but I actually drew them in Excel rather than SketchUp / Visio - this has problems because I can't draw the roof on because you can't do diagonals in Excel so no roof!

Here is an example ...

(ignore the colours - I was just trying different things, but the red / grey bits are plywood)

My coop / run is going to be 18ft x 8ft just because I know my weld mesh is 3ft wide (hence 6 widths) and my plywood is 8ft x 4ft, so for my coop which is 8x6 I'm going to have to chop one full piece in half. I'm on probably my 3rd or 4th full redraw with this as some of my earlier plans had too many cuts, etc.

I don't have any experience with building stuff like this, my DIY is limited to IKEA and shelves so this is a big project for me and at the moment I've only done a part of it so I wouldn't want you following this when everyone else on the forum is thinking that's wrong.

The above pics for example I've printed and scribbled over lots whilst building, but it does give me a starting point, so for example I know each upright is 68" long and I know I need x amount of them so I cut them all already, but some of it I'm not so confident about so I've built the run and will go and measure up the space left for the coop tomorrow.

This is where I am today ...

I've learned more watching basic woodworking / roofing videos than I have from people that have a 'build a chicken coop' sort of thing, so I've watched videos on woodworking joints and decided that pocket screws is what I need, etc ... edit - and by looking at the amazing coops on here - this wasn't my original plan ...

The one thing I would say is that Carolina Coops are obviously great woodworkers and if I had the money I would be buying their coop and having them build it here in the UK, however I also accept it's a chicken run and therefore I am happy with a more 'rustic' look ...

Yesterday I realised that the door isn't wide enough to get my 250 litre wheelbarrow through and then spent an hour trying to work out how to change it (after I'd assembled the panels) so that I'd be happy with it - after an hour I decided to buy a smaller wheel barrow.

I'm more than happy to help where I can, but as you can see I'm not finished, you might be better off contacting adirondak5 (hope he doesn't mind me mentioning him) as he's finished his coop and run.

 

[crowber]

I am doing this, I've got it all drawn out in sketchup, and the construction is actually really simple and modular, 6x6 sections fastened together with pocket screws. I'm just waiting on lumber to be delivered and I can start putting it together!

 

[Tedd444]

We based ours off of a Carolina Coop. No plans, but here’s some pics that might help.

We used cement board for the coop part. This was built on an existing concrete slab.

 

[davehob]

Hi sierrambee

I am looking for the same thing. Even asked my younger brother that is an architect if he is willing to draw me some plans for a carolina chicken coop like. Also came across this site with a lot of plans:

http://www.homegardendesignplan.com/2017/11/m104-chicken-coop-plans-construction.html
I still like a lot of the details from the Carolina Coops.

Maybe we can figure this one out together.

Thank you

 

[woodworm]

The one thing I'd planned on doing differently from CC is to put doors on the front and back, it always looks a little limiting not being able to access the coop from inside the run?

 

[adirondak5]

I liked the looks of the Carolina Coops and the overall design fit my needs pretty good . I didn't go with their door style on the back or their windows , a single door in the back works fine for me. I use poop boards under the roosts that get scooped clean every day so its not a big deal to keep the coop clean with a single back door . I did not use any plans , I knew what size I wanted and just started building . My coop I guess you could say is stick built versus Carolina Coops more modular design/assembly . I've done work like this for a long time so it wasn't much trouble but I do understand where plans could be a big help to folks with less experience . I do think there are some youtube videos showing similar builds with links for plans but cant remember which ones they are . I would say keep looking , here , youtube , online , etc , you'll get a good idea what you want , and what you need to build it . You can always come back here to get advise if you get stuck along the way .