Anyone used/know of "chickenkit.com" plans? Any good build resources?

[kiwiegg]

So far I have only heard bad things about these fancy websites selling plans - people often say there is no detail in plans. I live in Minnesota and still have not found a good plan to build a coop for 6-8 chix - been looking for months! Thanks for any help/suggestions.

 

[elmo]

How much detail do you need? I just had a pro build me a shed size coop, 8' by 8'. He gave me the drawings and a materials list that I've linked to on my BYC page:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=32217-the-just-right-coop

I love the design of this coop. It was efficient in terms of materials, and the ventilation is excellent.

 

[kiwiegg]

Thanks elmo. I really like the look of your coop and have already emailed Bob to see if he will sell me the detailed plans. I'm a pretty handy guy but need more than elevation measurements. I built a really nice playhouse for my kids last year but had very detailed plans. I'm hoping that he gets back to me! I reckon that there is a lot of money to be made out there by someone who can simply sell detailed plans - there sure are a lot of fancy looking but inferior plans out there.

 

[elmo]

I'm sure Bob will respond. He's a very conscientious and detail oriented guy. He's actually an architect, but he does these chicken projects on the side.

 

[kiwiegg]

Thanks elmo - appreciate your replies.

 

[harleyhappy]

i bought very good and very detailed plans at this site: http://www.thegardencoop.com/

i made some modifications and had a couple of questions and the author was very good about emailing me with further advice. i made the little tractor, but many on BYC have made the bigger garden coop. you can see my finished product on my BYC page, i had practically no building experience and i think it came but pretty well.

good luck!

 

[kiwiegg]

Thanks harleyhappy. Where are you from? I live in MN. Do you think the coops from that compnay would hold up in our winters? Thanks!

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I like those Garden Coops but they're way too small for what I was looking for. The "coop" part of the design is actually quite tiny. And I know from my own failed experiment with polycarbonate panel roofs that the inside of a coop roofed with those panels gets way too hot from the sun in someplace with hot summers.

Conversely, there's no really good way to insulate the roof of that kind of coop for the winter. You could add some kind of flat panel over the wire covered coop top, which is what I tried to do with mine, but it didn't work very well. The other issue is you'd have to figure out whether the corrugated roof could handle your snow load.

As I said, I've got a coop/run with a corrugated roof, but went with a conventional shingled roof for my new coop (and this time put the coop in the right part of my yard, where it is shaded from afternoon summer sun).