I made this post (as an article) originally in the coop section in hopes of it being considered by the site administration to be included permanently, but I figured since the forums get so much more traffic I would copy it here as well. Thank you!
Our coop was heavily influenced by SittyChick's Urban Coop https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/urban-coop which my wife and I found perfect for our needs within the confines of the city. A big thank you to them for the inspiration. You know what they say about imitation being the purest form of flattery!? I figured, why reinvent the wheel? Their design was tweaked and modified slightly to meet our particular needs. I hope you find my step by step helpful:
First let's start with my chicks-
Altogether we've got 14 New Hampshires. Fingers crossed that we've got 4-6 pullets in there somewhere!
Shortly after being put into the incubator, it was build time. I removed some raised beds along our backyard fence, moved more dirt than I care to remember and mocked out the construction site for my better half's approval. The green light was given and here is a photo progression of the work that ensued:
Day One:
You can see the piles of dirt removed from where the raised beds once ran along our fence (upper right of photo). I began by digging out the base between 4" and 6" in preparation for the sand / pavers that will become our foundation.
Once the fun of digging and transporting the dirt to the rear of the yard was through, I used a hand tamper to flatten the soil.
I installed multiple layers of chicken wire screening into the base, up the sides and over the lip and onto the grass. We'll eventually border the entire coop with decorative boulders or maybe even small planter boxes, but for now...I'm not worried about predator infiltration!
Many bags of sand were deposited and then tamped with a motorized vibration plate. So much easier than hand tamping!
The framing was completely constructed from 2X4's using a Kreg pocket hole jig. This tool is really the best thing since slice bread and made the construction job of joinery so much more accurate and easy!
After putting the sides where they need to go I screwed them all together into a nice rectangle box. Our coop was modified in height and length. The total inside area of the run is 4' X 10' with a height of 6 1/2' and the coop itself is 4' X 4' inside and is off the ground by about 28" (or so).
You should be able to spot the pocket holes made by the Kreg jig where there is a meeting of 2X4's.
Now that the frame is "completed", it is a perfect time to apply some stain to those areas that won't be easy to reach once more progress is made.
At this point, the coop was moved into place and rested on level stone pavers. The chicken wire extends up and underneath the perimeter of pavers and onto the grass...I'm guessing that might good insurance against predators getting to my girls? I mocked up a rafter from a 2"X6"X8ft-er and then used it as a model to be repeated multiple times. These rafters were set in place to ensure a good fit and the look we were after and then removed.
Here you can see they are removed. While my wife stained them on the lawn, I began to install the hardware cloth. This stuff is razor sharp once cut and I believe the galvanized coating is not good in the open wounds the metal creates either, it burns like you wouldn't believe!
With just enough time before a passing rainstorm unleashed its fury, I got the rafters in place, installed and tarped.
Installation of the hardware cloth involved a liberal quantity of screws and washers. An added benefit of using screws is the cloth can be removed in the event we decide a future addition is needed on the adjacent wall.
Here you can see how I extended the roof rafters out a foot on either side and created an overhang. I did this for two reasons, one was protection from the elements and shade, but the other was to meet the required width for metal roofing panels which come in 3'. With the extensions on either end I have a perfect 12' of roof decking.
In goes the framing for the walls and the coop's floor joists. I created a sliding chicken door by using the router and channeling out grooves for the panel to follow vertically.
As I built, the wifey followed behind and stained. As a team, we're pretty unstoppable!
A nice shot of the dado that was routered into the wood to accept the sliding door.
We're probably a few days into construction at this point and you can see that the door has been framed and stained. Also, the underside access door is laying in the bottom of the coop across the floor joists.
Instead of tacking many small strips of board to create ramp for the girls, I used the router again and notched the grooves for them to get a grip. It is a bit steep, so I'm interested in seeing if this incline will cause a problem. If it does, I'll change the angle slightly and create a landing with an additional ramp leading up at a 90 angle at the bottom end. The entry door is now on its hinges in this photo.
In this shot you can see that I've added the interior walls to the coup made from 1/2" plywood and they've been painted. The router did a great job of cutting out the vent holes that can be found on all four walls. After reading the article about providing adequate ventilation, we're not going to have a problem in our coop!
You can see the router cuts clearly in this photo. They produce a fairly uniform edge and the decorative notch in the corners is a result of the bit and base following a square template on the opposite side.
The 2X4 framing surrounding the vents provided a guide for the router to follow. It also produced an interior frame stop for the windows that will be placed on their hinges and closed securely without gaps of any kind.
Above is the before and below is the after of the frames that will house the tinted windows being sized up and installed. There are several more on the ground on the left with stain drying in the sun.
Hardware cloth covers all vent openings and was secured in the interior of the coop by screw and washer.
I decided that reaching the rear of the coop was a stretch so I fabricated a door to facilitate easier cleaning. It wasn't in the original plans, but no one will ever guess. Inside the coop, laying down, you can see the window frames with their tinted lucite "glass" installed in them.
The large front door got a vent as well.
Using the table saw, after the frames were mocked into place to ensure a good fit, I cut small grooves to accept the thickness of the plexiglass and then reassembled them.
Coming along now. See the interior door jam? I made sure that I built the bottom edge quite a bit taller than the rest of the border. One of a thousand helpful tips that I picked up through other's submissions. Isn't this site awesome!?
The windows are now installed in place and with 3.5" hinges. I needed to trim a bit of the bottom edge on a few because the fit ended up being just a tad too tight!
A lot of work up to this point and much more to go!
At this point, I'm just going to show a couple different angles. The metal roofing is on order and within a couple weeks I'll have no use for the tarp!
I couldn't forget the hanging flower baskets. Well, truthfully...my wife wouldn't let me forget! I'm thinking that I might surprise her with some planter boxes along the base. I bet that will really dress it up.
At the bottom left, you will notice the square door. This has a function. I will be building and attaching a tunnel that will connect the run to a "chicken playground" AKA the yard clipping's compost pile.
I created these garden planter boxes this past holiday weekend. A few feet away from the Chicken Coop Mahal is a horse shoe shaped subterranean irrigation planter box arrangement (another gift to the wife) that has a 7' X 12' play area in the interior for the chickens to scratch and pick through when free ranging. The metal stakes are for eventual chicken wire and opening between the two long planters will have a 2"X4" framed wall with hardware cloth. Once the chickens proceed through the tunnel and make their way to this area, we'll have the ability to lock them inside for safety and security. Are these birds spoiled or what?! If you're not familiar with subterranean irrigation, Google it. It makes watering your garden a thing of the past or at least it may seem that way.
So what's left to do?
For fall:
Our coop was heavily influenced by SittyChick's Urban Coop https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/urban-coop which my wife and I found perfect for our needs within the confines of the city. A big thank you to them for the inspiration. You know what they say about imitation being the purest form of flattery!? I figured, why reinvent the wheel? Their design was tweaked and modified slightly to meet our particular needs. I hope you find my step by step helpful:
First let's start with my chicks-
Altogether we've got 14 New Hampshires. Fingers crossed that we've got 4-6 pullets in there somewhere!
Shortly after being put into the incubator, it was build time. I removed some raised beds along our backyard fence, moved more dirt than I care to remember and mocked out the construction site for my better half's approval. The green light was given and here is a photo progression of the work that ensued:
Day One:
You can see the piles of dirt removed from where the raised beds once ran along our fence (upper right of photo). I began by digging out the base between 4" and 6" in preparation for the sand / pavers that will become our foundation.
Once the fun of digging and transporting the dirt to the rear of the yard was through, I used a hand tamper to flatten the soil.
I installed multiple layers of chicken wire screening into the base, up the sides and over the lip and onto the grass. We'll eventually border the entire coop with decorative boulders or maybe even small planter boxes, but for now...I'm not worried about predator infiltration!
Many bags of sand were deposited and then tamped with a motorized vibration plate. So much easier than hand tamping!
The framing was completely constructed from 2X4's using a Kreg pocket hole jig. This tool is really the best thing since slice bread and made the construction job of joinery so much more accurate and easy!
After putting the sides where they need to go I screwed them all together into a nice rectangle box. Our coop was modified in height and length. The total inside area of the run is 4' X 10' with a height of 6 1/2' and the coop itself is 4' X 4' inside and is off the ground by about 28" (or so).
You should be able to spot the pocket holes made by the Kreg jig where there is a meeting of 2X4's.
Now that the frame is "completed", it is a perfect time to apply some stain to those areas that won't be easy to reach once more progress is made.
At this point, the coop was moved into place and rested on level stone pavers. The chicken wire extends up and underneath the perimeter of pavers and onto the grass...I'm guessing that might good insurance against predators getting to my girls? I mocked up a rafter from a 2"X6"X8ft-er and then used it as a model to be repeated multiple times. These rafters were set in place to ensure a good fit and the look we were after and then removed.
Here you can see they are removed. While my wife stained them on the lawn, I began to install the hardware cloth. This stuff is razor sharp once cut and I believe the galvanized coating is not good in the open wounds the metal creates either, it burns like you wouldn't believe!
With just enough time before a passing rainstorm unleashed its fury, I got the rafters in place, installed and tarped.
Installation of the hardware cloth involved a liberal quantity of screws and washers. An added benefit of using screws is the cloth can be removed in the event we decide a future addition is needed on the adjacent wall.
Here you can see how I extended the roof rafters out a foot on either side and created an overhang. I did this for two reasons, one was protection from the elements and shade, but the other was to meet the required width for metal roofing panels which come in 3'. With the extensions on either end I have a perfect 12' of roof decking.
In goes the framing for the walls and the coop's floor joists. I created a sliding chicken door by using the router and channeling out grooves for the panel to follow vertically.
As I built, the wifey followed behind and stained. As a team, we're pretty unstoppable!
A nice shot of the dado that was routered into the wood to accept the sliding door.
We're probably a few days into construction at this point and you can see that the door has been framed and stained. Also, the underside access door is laying in the bottom of the coop across the floor joists.
Instead of tacking many small strips of board to create ramp for the girls, I used the router again and notched the grooves for them to get a grip. It is a bit steep, so I'm interested in seeing if this incline will cause a problem. If it does, I'll change the angle slightly and create a landing with an additional ramp leading up at a 90 angle at the bottom end. The entry door is now on its hinges in this photo.
In this shot you can see that I've added the interior walls to the coup made from 1/2" plywood and they've been painted. The router did a great job of cutting out the vent holes that can be found on all four walls. After reading the article about providing adequate ventilation, we're not going to have a problem in our coop!
You can see the router cuts clearly in this photo. They produce a fairly uniform edge and the decorative notch in the corners is a result of the bit and base following a square template on the opposite side.
The 2X4 framing surrounding the vents provided a guide for the router to follow. It also produced an interior frame stop for the windows that will be placed on their hinges and closed securely without gaps of any kind.
Above is the before and below is the after of the frames that will house the tinted windows being sized up and installed. There are several more on the ground on the left with stain drying in the sun.
Hardware cloth covers all vent openings and was secured in the interior of the coop by screw and washer.
I decided that reaching the rear of the coop was a stretch so I fabricated a door to facilitate easier cleaning. It wasn't in the original plans, but no one will ever guess. Inside the coop, laying down, you can see the window frames with their tinted lucite "glass" installed in them.
The large front door got a vent as well.
Using the table saw, after the frames were mocked into place to ensure a good fit, I cut small grooves to accept the thickness of the plexiglass and then reassembled them.
Coming along now. See the interior door jam? I made sure that I built the bottom edge quite a bit taller than the rest of the border. One of a thousand helpful tips that I picked up through other's submissions. Isn't this site awesome!?
The windows are now installed in place and with 3.5" hinges. I needed to trim a bit of the bottom edge on a few because the fit ended up being just a tad too tight!
A lot of work up to this point and much more to go!
At this point, I'm just going to show a couple different angles. The metal roofing is on order and within a couple weeks I'll have no use for the tarp!
I couldn't forget the hanging flower baskets. Well, truthfully...my wife wouldn't let me forget! I'm thinking that I might surprise her with some planter boxes along the base. I bet that will really dress it up.
At the bottom left, you will notice the square door. This has a function. I will be building and attaching a tunnel that will connect the run to a "chicken playground" AKA the yard clipping's compost pile.
I created these garden planter boxes this past holiday weekend. A few feet away from the Chicken Coop Mahal is a horse shoe shaped subterranean irrigation planter box arrangement (another gift to the wife) that has a 7' X 12' play area in the interior for the chickens to scratch and pick through when free ranging. The metal stakes are for eventual chicken wire and opening between the two long planters will have a 2"X4" framed wall with hardware cloth. Once the chickens proceed through the tunnel and make their way to this area, we'll have the ability to lock them inside for safety and security. Are these birds spoiled or what?! If you're not familiar with subterranean irrigation, Google it. It makes watering your garden a thing of the past or at least it may seem that way.
So what's left to do?
- Fabricate up the "play area's" walls, door and connecting tunnel
- Install the metal roof
- Install the roosting pole
- Install the poop tray
- Install the rope and pulley door setup
- Fabricate and install nipple feeder watering system
- Fabricate and install gravity fed chicken feed system
For fall:
- Dig trench for electrical feed.
- Wire up an outlet inside the coop
