Before and after coop build

[fatsGREENgarden]

We bought a small coop from tractor supply with the intentions of building our own down the road. Basically if we enjoyed having chickens, then we would build them a more permanent one.
Eight months of chicken keeping and we were ready to build the coop of our chickens’ dreams.
*We are blessed that the majority of wood came free from friends -always ask before buying-you never know who has a shed full of unused wood!
*Color choice wasn’t ours, but we couldn’t pass up that clearance paint! We actually like the colors and have named our coop “The Clucking Cabana”
What does everyone think?

 

[CluckerFamily]

That looks amazing!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Nice job. I also started small with the thought that we'd scale up if we decided to expand, but took us 2 years to get to that point.

 

[fatsGREENgarden]

Nice job. I also started small with the thought that we'd scale up if we decided to expand, but took us 2 years to get to that point.

We were getting really nervous thinking of our girls in the winter being cooped up in small coop and cleaning the old one was a pain!

 

[RebelEgger]

Love it, so cute! And the name is great!

 

[rosemarythyme]

cleaning the old one was a pain!

I admit for me this was the biggest factor (well that, and we needed more space for more birds lol). It was such a pain bending down/stooping to cleaning the old coop, my back always hurt afterwards.

 

[fatsGREENgarden]

I admit for me this was the biggest factor (well that, and we needed more space for more birds lol). It was such a pain bending down/stooping to cleaning the old coop, my back always hurt afterwards.

Totally agree. It’s back breaking leaning down to scoop poop. The small coop has a pull out drawer for “easy cleaning.” Good thought, but the drawer is a pain to get in and out. And when we switched to sand, the drawer was then impossible to move.
New coop is taller and has a large door that opens to the roost. We put a lot of thought into this coop. I researched BYC (and pinterest) for weeks before building and got a ton of good tips

 

[rosemarythyme]

The small coop has a pull out drawer for “easy cleaning.” Good thought, but the drawer is a pain to get in and out. And when we switched to sand, the drawer was then impossible to move.

This is why I always warn people about the poop "drawers" - they sound great, but rarely work in actuality.

 

[fatsGREENgarden]

I added an article here on BYC explaing our coop build and added lots of photos also. You can find it here The Clucking Cabana 🏝