Coop Designer!

[CorinneP]

Your pretty creative ! what I want and what I get probably wont be one in the same as that mean Money thing always jumps in ! I am raising meat Birds I cant let my self play with them or name them .. But I have to be able to justify my costs to support all .. I treat them like Gold but I try not to get attatched its a hard thing : ) Thank you for your ideas on my my Coop !

 

[Chrispack45]

Hi! I have been surfing for days trying to find a chicken coop plan. What I want seems to be a needle in a haystack. We have nine chicks that are going to be laying hens. What I want is a nice coop that is pretty on the outside but not a fortune to build. It needs to be off the ground three or four feet and with a ten to twelve foot run. I would like to use a tin roof on it. We have strong wind that comes off a ravine so we want to make it high on the backside and slope it down in the front. I do not want an ugly coop due to our neighbors so some character would be nice. A window or two would be great for ventilation and we would like to somehow slide in a tray to catch droppings so it is easier to clean. What do you think of this? Is it doable? Thanks! Christa

 

[BullardBarnyard]

It's doable, but like I said, my b'prints just show a rough draft. It's a: look at it, now build it. Situation. I'm happy that after so long of searching you come to ask me! It's an honor. I'll get to it right away, it may not show a lot, but I'll make an effort. I promise. I'll PM you when it's done if you don't see it after awhile. Check back often! And if your satisfied, spread the word of this thread!

 

[BullardBarnyard]

Ok. Quick descrpitons on each part. The Front: As you can see, there is the coop, a door, and a window. But there is also a chicken-sized door built into the human door! (Just use a doggie door that you can slide up and down to lock it and whatnot. Therer is also a planter box underneath the window. This adds to appearl and fun. Make sure it's sealed on the bottom and won't dribble. Chickens get sick due to watery conditions. Don't put your chicken poop in the planter thinking your making them happy. It kills them. Wait 6 months to a year for the nitrates in the poop to disolve or whatever. Sorry if that came off to frank, just a warning. But use flowers that match and don't match the color of you coop to add varitey. Like, say your coop is green. Blue flowers. if your coop is blue, red flowers. Make it match and have fun!
The Side: Ok. There is your sloped roof, as promised. If you look closely, you see a box sticking out of the back. What the cluck? We'll get to that later. There is a vent on the top. You should make it slideable, or just keep it open during hot seasons and closed during cold seasons by nailing up tarp. Go down some more and you see another window with another planter. Just the remeber the tips from last time. Put a vent and window on each side, but put only one flower planter on one side. I'll explain later. (A note on windows, I know some people with window-less windows in their coop. Put a window in... just incase you were like those people. Haha.)

The Back: This is where the nesting boxes go, and they should have a liftable flap so you can collect eggs without all the hassle of entering the coop, shutting the gate, blah blah blah blah BLEH. Haha. Anyway, there should be one box for every 4 chickens. That's about only 2 boxes, which doesn't make sence to be so I reccomend 5-7 nesting boxes. I image a small flock being more territorial and not sharing.. y'know?

The Yard: Ok. You see the basics of the coop, and you see a little box by the door. No? That's the ramp. I reccomend it big enough and sturdy enough for human weight and chicken weight. (Yep, man those chickens are fatties.) Or, and I didn't sketch this, you can make a deck like we have and just walk up and around. I reccomend that. The yard does't just go on the front of the coop, it goes to the side. The flower-potless side. Why? Because imagine chasing a chicken for ANY reason, and you bump into the flower planter when it goes into that corner. Ouch. I'd image you could, but it's up to you.
POOP!: Kso, poop and stuff. You'd want a very compact one if not one at all.I read that chickens who grow up on these tend to.. (shiver) eat other chickens and attack easier. While it's not reccomeded for the whole coop, maybe just put one under the roosts. (Where they sleep when their adolecents and up, it's like a ladder. Just look it up) We don't have one, we just do a through sweeping about once a month. It only takes about an hour, and poop accumulating for a month doesn't stink as much as you'd think. Especially with 12 chickens.
It's just whatever floats your boat. You could just make this bottomless and into a tractor (Moveable coop) and move it when poop accumulates. It's up to the person.

Well, I hope you build it and have fun while you do. Send me pics of it if you do!
P.S.: Anyone who liked this blueprint besides the customer intended is more than welcome to use it. No notification is required. Just pics of how it turned out! ))))))))

P.S.S.: Enjoy your coop, my friend!

BULLARD BARNYARD 2012

 

[GhislaineDel]

I love the wheelbarrow idea!

 

[robby]

The number of chickens 4 - 8
The purpose of the coop (Meat birds, layers, etc)- laying
If you want a run/yard with the plans - Run
If it's hens or roosters or both, and if you want them in the same coop but separate - Hens
The kind of coop. Coop with a yard, a yardless coop, a tracter, etc etc. Coop with yard, also its a metal shed that im building it out of

 

[JayWhit]

# of chickens= 8-10
I will have a 10X20' run that it will be going into. And on that run I will have my own personal door for them to free range.
Need a pop door, no windows needed, a vent, a big poop door in rear, and a nest box please.
Thinking of like 6X5 or 6X6?
Thanks.