Finished our coop tonight and wanted to start sharing the details. I have a friend who was tearing down part of his barn so I was able to get my siding and rough cut 2x4 material from him. I really liked the look and functionality of the salt box amish style coops out there but the $1500 price tag was just not an option. I will say though after spending 16 days working on ours that the price is not too far off from what they are probably worth. This project was about twice the man hours I thought would take and I had to stop, design, think, stop some more, etc. I am a software engineer so I sometimes can fall victim to analysis paralysis.
Anyway, here we go. The base design has a 4x6 foot print and I elevated the coop up by 18 inches to help with ventilation and give our birds a place to have some extra shade during our Hot Carolina days:
I went for a salt box style roof as you can see below. The back is roughly 4 feet tall, apex is around 6ft and the front is around 5 feet. Those dimensions do not include the stilt height so add another 18 inches. The angle from the front to the apex is 30 degrees:
I wanted to have external nest boxes to conserve space but was a little worried about the strength of the wood hanging out and having too much weight. This is the area I really suffered from analysis paralysis. I think i viewed about every coop and bay window images on the internet to come up with what I have. Fortunately our nest boxes are solid as a tank. We have three nest boxes which I thought is plenty for a 4x6 coop. We are only keeping 6 RIRs although I see coops of this size advertised at 12+ birds and 3 nest boxes should still be sufficient for 12 birds. I used 2x4's that are attached to the wall studs in four spots. I used lag screws instead of nails to secure the 2x4's :
I opted to use a single roosting bar at 2ft high for 6 birds. The bar is 6ft long and is a true 2x4 rough cut. I do have a temporary shorter bar for our 3 week old pullets:
Here is a shot of the external nest boxes from the inside, they are approximately 14 inches deep, 12 inches wide and 12 inches tall towards the rear:
Chicken door is 12inches square. The chicken ramp is about 3 1/2 feet long. The run has 180sq ft and is 6 ft tall. This is the coop and run from the chicken door side:
This is the finished project from the access door side:
Other build notes:
- I used Timberline shingles with the architectural style to match our house. A layer of tar paper was applied before shingles. Two bundles of shingles were used to shingle the roof and nest box lid. A bundle of shingles roughly covers a 4x8 sheet of plywood for those taking notes on future construction. Plan 10-15% for waste when you cut the edges.
- for the nest box lid i first placed tar paper down, then screwed in the hinges, then placed shingles on top of the hinge. i plan on adding a strip of pond liner or garage door weather stripping on top of the crack where the nest lid meets the front wall to help repel blowing rain.
- drip edges are used on front and back at roof line, flashing is on the sides. 1 foot overhang on front and back.
- 4 foot ridge vent. About 3ft is used for ventilation allow 6 inches on each side to compensate for blowing rain.
- I have a ventilation door in the back that is about 4 foot long and 6 inches tall that closes for the winter. Hardware cloth is attached to the inside.
- Windows are 18x27 and turned on their sides. I opted for the larger windows to increase ventilation. Hardware cloth protects the screens. 1/4 inch flat galvanized washers are used with #10 one inch wood screws to secure hardware cloth.
- OSB plywood is used for the floor and roof sheathing.
- Southern Pine was used for the framing and cut from my friends farm.
- Siding came from friends barn and is 30 year old Southern Pine.
- Skids are 4x4 treated pine from Home Depot. Trusses are 2x4 treated pine. Door trim is also treated pine.
Hope this helps others that are in coop planning stages.
Anyway, here we go. The base design has a 4x6 foot print and I elevated the coop up by 18 inches to help with ventilation and give our birds a place to have some extra shade during our Hot Carolina days:
I went for a salt box style roof as you can see below. The back is roughly 4 feet tall, apex is around 6ft and the front is around 5 feet. Those dimensions do not include the stilt height so add another 18 inches. The angle from the front to the apex is 30 degrees:
I wanted to have external nest boxes to conserve space but was a little worried about the strength of the wood hanging out and having too much weight. This is the area I really suffered from analysis paralysis. I think i viewed about every coop and bay window images on the internet to come up with what I have. Fortunately our nest boxes are solid as a tank. We have three nest boxes which I thought is plenty for a 4x6 coop. We are only keeping 6 RIRs although I see coops of this size advertised at 12+ birds and 3 nest boxes should still be sufficient for 12 birds. I used 2x4's that are attached to the wall studs in four spots. I used lag screws instead of nails to secure the 2x4's :
I opted to use a single roosting bar at 2ft high for 6 birds. The bar is 6ft long and is a true 2x4 rough cut. I do have a temporary shorter bar for our 3 week old pullets:
Here is a shot of the external nest boxes from the inside, they are approximately 14 inches deep, 12 inches wide and 12 inches tall towards the rear:
Chicken door is 12inches square. The chicken ramp is about 3 1/2 feet long. The run has 180sq ft and is 6 ft tall. This is the coop and run from the chicken door side:
This is the finished project from the access door side:
Other build notes:
- I used Timberline shingles with the architectural style to match our house. A layer of tar paper was applied before shingles. Two bundles of shingles were used to shingle the roof and nest box lid. A bundle of shingles roughly covers a 4x8 sheet of plywood for those taking notes on future construction. Plan 10-15% for waste when you cut the edges.
- for the nest box lid i first placed tar paper down, then screwed in the hinges, then placed shingles on top of the hinge. i plan on adding a strip of pond liner or garage door weather stripping on top of the crack where the nest lid meets the front wall to help repel blowing rain.
- drip edges are used on front and back at roof line, flashing is on the sides. 1 foot overhang on front and back.
- 4 foot ridge vent. About 3ft is used for ventilation allow 6 inches on each side to compensate for blowing rain.
- I have a ventilation door in the back that is about 4 foot long and 6 inches tall that closes for the winter. Hardware cloth is attached to the inside.
- Windows are 18x27 and turned on their sides. I opted for the larger windows to increase ventilation. Hardware cloth protects the screens. 1/4 inch flat galvanized washers are used with #10 one inch wood screws to secure hardware cloth.
- OSB plywood is used for the floor and roof sheathing.
- Southern Pine was used for the framing and cut from my friends farm.
- Siding came from friends barn and is 30 year old Southern Pine.
- Skids are 4x4 treated pine from Home Depot. Trusses are 2x4 treated pine. Door trim is also treated pine.
Hope this helps others that are in coop planning stages.
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