First Built Coop

[RohwerRoosts]

New to BYC and 2 years into raising our first dozen Golden Comets. Started with a pre-built coop from a well known farm store but after our first year, that coop rotted more than I had expected and had some predator issues so....the wife and I decided to build our first coop! I tried to find and recycle materials as much as possible!

We love it, I hope you enjoy the design and pics!

Base is 8’ x 12’ (less plywood cutting!)

Framing is 2”x4” lumber (new). Original design was a lean-too but my wife had other plans....so these walls are 7’.

Her idea was to make the roof line more like a steep church roof. She got what she wanted.

All siding was from a local mill and are their culled planks left over from lumber. They call it ‘thick-n-thins’. The left over pieces which were mostly less than 1” thick. The bundle we bought was 4’high x5’ wide x10’-16’ lengths....all for $100!!
The rear window was a buy off a social network app for $5.

The door is something we’ve been holding onto for many years and survived a move but never found a use for it till now! It’s 36”x94”! I had to redesign the roof height to install this door. The gable side walls are 12’ high to accommodate the door!

A neighbor just had a new roof installed and gave me these old metal roofing panels. After installing them, just cut to rough edges.
And there’s the Mrs. cleaning the pen!

Mrs. RohwerRoosts did the entire interior herself with left over ‘thick-n-thins’ as I built the cupola. Amazing job!

Added a cupola for venting and looks...and that church steeple look the Mrs wanted.

Door for hens to go into the pen area. Repurposed the ladder from old coop.

Finished interior. Nesting boxes are from my family farm. My grandfather used them! Roost for the hens and storage shelf. A few garbage cans to hold feed, scratch and other.

Finished coop:

$350 in lumber (then an additional $70 for new roof design), $5 window, $100 siding and interior walls...plus enough left over to build another structure over my mower), $30 metal ridge vent, and $20 hardware.

We had so much fun building it last month and I think our hens love it more! And now they are better protected and we can sleep better at night!

Hope you enjoy!

 

[trumpeting_angel]

It’s certainly gorgeous!

I have a question about ventilation. Does the cupola vent or is it only beautiful? Does the window open?

Beautiful work.

 

[RohwerRoosts]

It’s certainly gorgeous!

I have a question about ventilation. Does the cupola vent or is it only beautiful? Does the window open?

Beautiful work.

Thank you! Yes it does vent.
Here’s a shot of it from the interior:

And yes, the window is 18”x24” and opens outward so anyone of us can open or close it at anytime without going into the coop.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I ask because I’ve been quoting ventilation stats to DH as he builds. He is astonished at the 1 sq. ft. per bird standard.

We have only 4 chickens so our coop is small. He wants to keep the chicken math in check!

 

[RohwerRoosts]

I ask because I’ve been quoting ventilation stats to DH as he builds. He is astonished at the 1 sq. ft. per bird standard.

We have only 4 chickens so our coop is small. He wants to keep the chicken math in check!

Yes! With screen in the window of that size, screen in the large windows of the door and the cupola....the cupola remains very cool on some of the hottest/humid TN days so far! In the winter I’ll probably close the window, cover the door openings and partially close the cupola hole with rigid insulation.

 

[Mimi13]

You have a gorgeous, gorgeous coop. For whatever reason, I love the rough wood, rusted tin look, which is why I made mine out of those materials too. There’s just something about it that always catches my eye. Just beautiful.

 

[Futuregreenefarm]

I agree. Beautiful coop! Great job!

 

[Ghosty]

I love the design! Very nice work. A couple small points. I would keep the ventilation open in the winter. You want fresh air pushing through during all seasons. I would raise your roosts higher than your nest boxes and take advantage of those tall ceilings. How many chickens are you going to have? It looks like the roosting area is dwarfed by the bank of nesting boxes. 1 nest box to 4 or 5 chickens, I think. 8" to 12" roost space per bird.

 

[Alaskan]

Yes! With screen in the window of that size, screen in the large windows of the door and the cupola....the cupola remains very cool on some of the hottest/humid TN days so far! In the winter I’ll probably close the window, cover the door openings and partially close the cupola hole with rigid insulation.

I would actually keep it all open in the winter.... doesn't look like it will blow on the perches.

If it does blow... then I would close EITHER the door venting, or the window, but not both.

Great looking coop.

 

[RohwerRoosts]

I love the design! Very nice work. A couple small points. I would keep the ventilation open in the winter. You want fresh air pushing through during all seasons. I would raise your roosts higher than your nest boxes and take advantage of those tall ceilings. How many chickens are you going to have? It looks like the roosting area is dwarfed by the bank of nesting boxes. 1 nest box to 4 or 5 chickens, I think. 8" to 12" roost space per bird.

I agree. Just had 3 nesting boxes, salvaged two of them knowing I had more than needed but giving the girls some choices to which box they wanted to use. The roosts are 6’ long (x3). And I have another 6’ I can add more if need be. Right now I have 10 hens. I want to get 14 more by fall. And then reevaluate if we want more after that.
I totally hear what you are saying on ventilation.....the weather here in Mid-TN can change so drastically day to day so nothing is permanent....I misspoke, just saying I can do all that if needs be based on weather. But totally agree with you on ventilation.