FREE chicken coop plan (nice one too) on the Purina Mills Website

[RedPonyAcres]

Thanks (is it Patti?).  When you got your linoleum, did you get a scrap piece or did they just cut off some of a new roll?

On the deep litter vs sand or PDZ I'm in the same camp. Try both and see. I just need a floor covering like linoleum before I go to sand, I think. Your coop looks great!

Thanks! They didn't have a scrap the right size; I would have had to buy a bigger one and it would have been more expensive. I got a piece that was 4 1/2' by 12', and it was only 49 cents a square foot.

 

[mountainlover]

Here's our coop, we just put our chickens in it tonight for the first time ever. This has taken 3 weekends to build. It's 4x6 with the run another 8 ft long and they can go under the coop. We have 6 chickens. We also have a roof on the run now, I will take another pic tomorrow. My husband designed the pop door to open from in front of the coop, and the dowel locks it open and closed. It's neat! I don't have to go in the run to open,close or lock the pop door. Will be adding the nesting boxes towards the end of summer. Also we will be adding trim to cover the edges of hardware cloth.

 

[TallyTaxMan]

Here's my take on the Purina chicken coop. After looking through this entire thread I contacted user mark9199 and got some tips on how to do this thing. The largest construction project I've undertaken before this was the compost pile behind the coop (pictured) so his direction was well received. I took the basic 4x4 design and expanded to a 4x8 to accommodate all 9 of our chickys.

This was before I added the run.



Still need to add the hawk netting but otherwise I think I'm done. I had a 10ft x 20ft dog kennel that I re-purposed as a chicken run. I built this with the idea that during the day my trusty watchdog will protect the flock so the run isn't built to be 100% predator proof. At night when the chicks go inside the coop to roost they will be locked up tighter than Ft Knox.



See my profile for all the progress pics, start to finish.

 

[mark9199]

Great job, Tax Man! Nice looking coop!

 

[Highcotton]

Mine is based on these plans but I used a full sheet of plywood for the floor and made it 4X8. I hinged the doors at the top so they raise upward to get them out of the way for cleaning. I let the support post extend all of the way up the corners. That stabilizes it quite a bit.

 

[chisandchicks]

Hi everyone! Been a long time since I have written anything...
I have 23 chickens left - a few went to my mom and I had a dog problem that took a few. I'd say that 23 is way enough - Lol! They're kinda like Lays potato chips - can't eat just one. Oh - oops; I don't mean I ate my chickens! I love my chickens. Oh for Pete's sake! Lol.
Have found 1, possibly 2, roosters amongst them (I had several little babies so it was a crap shoot) Guess I will keep them. I love raising the chicks. I can see a huge difference in the ones I hand-raised and the adults I bought from a lady I know.
I was reading about the coop and I gotta tell y'all that I am soooo glad that we just put a gate on our old dog shelter! We also weather and water proofed it. Roof and all... (My husband had a pitbull, also the shelter was actually made for more than one dog so it is big)
We fenced all around - about 14'x18' and our girls just love it! My husband even fenced off the other side of the pen and made a little "doorway" for them to get over there to the other side yard! (He has never had chickens before and he is really starting to like them a lot)
They are pretty spoiled, they have their own mister -- I live in the Az. dessert and it is HOT! Dry heat my eye... Lol. I also got the idea to use some of my old dog kennels (plastic "flight" kennels) for nesting boxes. The girls seem to love them and they roost on top of the second tier ones at night. FYI ; at Walmart they have these heavy [black] plastic "stackable" containers ($7.00 ea.!) that work great to! The box has a "lip" on it so the eggs can't fall out and when you stack them they become a cozy, little private "apartment" - Lol.
For extra shade we went to Big Lots and got the $3.00 tarps they have and put a couple of them up/ We also went with some "wildlife mesh" that we found (totally by accident) at Lowe's - $13.67 for a 7'x100' roll. (the doves and little birds were eating more than the chickens!) We did the whole area with the wildlife mesh and had enough left for the small garden we have! We used regular fencing w/ chicken wire around the bottom 2' and it seems to work really well. I don't think we spent more than $80.00 (maybe upwards of a hundred $) on the whole thing. My friend came over and said my chickens live in luxury condos and are very spoiled.
Oh well, that's okay! They are still laying eggs everyday and I just love to hold them and watch their antics (especially when I call them for their daily treat! Yee-Haw@ Now that's a show! Lol.)
Thanks y'all for letting me share!
Your sister-in-chickens
chisandchicks (in Casa Grande, Az.)

 

[chisandchicks]

Your coop looks so nice! I love the color to!
I don't have a regular coop like y'all describe so it isn't off of the ground; wonder if I should figure out something to get the boxes all up and off of the ground?
As I posted in this thread, I am using some old flight kennels I have - stacked 2 high and 3 across - I have some pallets that are in very good shape, do you think that those would be a good idea? I really want to do what is best for the girls, but I gotta be careful with $ - you know...
Well, thank you for lending me your "ear" - so to speak - Lol. have a very blessed day!
Yours in chickens,
chisandchicks

 

[PharmDRanch]

I'm new here!

I'm looking to get chickens for the first time this spring. I have a makeshift coop that will work until winter, but I'd like to find some free plans for a decent looking coop. My husband and I are pretty handy so we can build one. I'm thinking I need space for at least 6 chickens, but too big is always better than too small. I love some of the extra features I've seen on coops on this page, but I'm a little overwhelmed with what I features I need.

So any free plans you'd be willing share I'd love to look at.

 

[mark9199]

I'm new here!

I'm looking to get chickens for the first time this spring. I have a makeshift coop that will work until winter, but I'd like to find some free plans for a decent looking coop. My husband and I are pretty handy so we can build one. I'm thinking I need space for at least 6 chickens, but too big is always better than too small. I love some of the extra features I've seen on coops on this page, but I'm a little overwhelmed with what I features I need.

So any free plans you'd be willing share I'd love to look at.

The Purina coop (4' x 4') is a good size for up to 6. That's my planned limit. There are some that made theirs 4' x 8'. TallyTaxMan built a nice one. Look back a few postings behind this one. Mine, I built entirely by myself so I have no doubt you're capable.

I can send you pdf and/or AutoCad files of the 4' x 4' plans that I drew up. Based on the Purina plans but with modifications. It's done good so far. I got my first 3 hens back in May last year.

Last I knew, the only way I could get the files to someone here was by personal email, so, send me a message if you're interested. No charge! But no guarantee of accuracy either ;-).

And the decision to do chickens was a good one. We've really enjoyed them. I hope you can get your flock going soon. Ask anything you're not sure about. Most here are eager to help out.

 

[bwr719]

Awesome plans. Thanks for the post!