Hi there! I've been a longtime lurker, but finally got a chicken a couple weeks ago--unexpectedly, unfortunately. My dad's coworker found her wandering around and was able to walk over and pick her up. They couldn't find the owner, and asked me if I'd take her, and, long story short, I have a chicken named Sadie. Living in my bathroom.
Anyways, so I figured why not just prepare to get the chickens I've always wanted and build a coop and run big enough to accommodate a small group! Two weekends later, and...
So, details on it: Coop is just a plastic storage shed I found at Home Depot for about $200, which is about what I was going to spend on building one, anyways, and for me, the simplicity was worth it. It's approximately 6'x4'.
The run is 10ft long x 8ft wide x 4ft tall. I have 2 doors on the top to allow me to get in, and it's got enough room that I can comfortably move around to clean and stuff. Half of the run is protected from rain by a 12ft long piece of corrugated plastic roofing. The top of the non-roofed half is protected by 4''x2'' horse fence to keep critters out, and the sides of the run have 1/2'' x 1/2'' wire mesh. Construction was all 2x4, except for the "doors" at the top--we used 2x2s and 1x2s for that area.
Because of where the coop is placed, we cannot dig down into the ground to run fence down underground to prevent digging, so instead, I chose to put the same 4''x2'' horse fence on the bottom of the run as well. It's very well tacked down, so nobody can get a foot or claw caught in the wire, and I walked over it until it laid completely flat to the ground, so they're walking on the ground with a layer of wire over it, not on top of suspended wire.
Since the coop is placed on a hill, I didn't bother putting a slant to the roof--the reason is because the water will run off following the line of the corrugated plastic away from the actual coop, and it has an overhang of 1 ft on each side, so I think it should be plenty dry.
And, finally, in order to give me easy access to the run, we have the handy-dandy step stairs! I got 2 sets of heavy plastic steps which will let you step into the coop more easily when you need to.
I haven't finished the inside of the coop itself yet, and the last coat of paint isn't on yet (We were in a hurry with this!) but it's habitable. And way better than the bathroom!!!
Anyhow, just thought I'd share.
Anyways, so I figured why not just prepare to get the chickens I've always wanted and build a coop and run big enough to accommodate a small group! Two weekends later, and...
So, details on it: Coop is just a plastic storage shed I found at Home Depot for about $200, which is about what I was going to spend on building one, anyways, and for me, the simplicity was worth it. It's approximately 6'x4'.
The run is 10ft long x 8ft wide x 4ft tall. I have 2 doors on the top to allow me to get in, and it's got enough room that I can comfortably move around to clean and stuff. Half of the run is protected from rain by a 12ft long piece of corrugated plastic roofing. The top of the non-roofed half is protected by 4''x2'' horse fence to keep critters out, and the sides of the run have 1/2'' x 1/2'' wire mesh. Construction was all 2x4, except for the "doors" at the top--we used 2x2s and 1x2s for that area.
Because of where the coop is placed, we cannot dig down into the ground to run fence down underground to prevent digging, so instead, I chose to put the same 4''x2'' horse fence on the bottom of the run as well. It's very well tacked down, so nobody can get a foot or claw caught in the wire, and I walked over it until it laid completely flat to the ground, so they're walking on the ground with a layer of wire over it, not on top of suspended wire.
Since the coop is placed on a hill, I didn't bother putting a slant to the roof--the reason is because the water will run off following the line of the corrugated plastic away from the actual coop, and it has an overhang of 1 ft on each side, so I think it should be plenty dry.
And, finally, in order to give me easy access to the run, we have the handy-dandy step stairs! I got 2 sets of heavy plastic steps which will let you step into the coop more easily when you need to.
I haven't finished the inside of the coop itself yet, and the last coat of paint isn't on yet (We were in a hurry with this!) but it's habitable. And way better than the bathroom!!!
Anyhow, just thought I'd share.
