Hi Bruce Poertner,
When we first started raising chickens, we purchased a cute movable red barn coop, It worked great but we quickly grew tired of cleaning it out, spraying it down, etc. After a lot of research, we decided to build our own coop. To the onlooker it looks like a cedar shed. It is about 8 feet long X 5 feet wide and 8 feet high. It has a hardware cloth floor to protect from digging predators, otherwise, it's considered a dirt floor. Locking full size double doors. We built lift out shelves under the roosting bars. We created the shelves in order to keep cleaning the coop to a minimum. We added a removable six egg nesting cabinet and placed to one side of the shed/coop. The use a moveable ladder to walk up and down from the roosts. If we ever move, the new owner could use it for storing tools, mowers, etc. and it compliments the backyard nicely. Our flock free range during the day. If you plan to keep your flock in a covered run, you might consider looking on BYC or online for more ideas. My neighbor built a small coop near the side of her house. She used horse fencing to surround the area as the run. The brush and tress along the fence line creates the perfect camouflage. One would never know she had chickens, so it can be done.
