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

[justcelia]

Nice! And the same colors as ours!

Celia
3 Brahma hens and a Yorkie

 

[nazredhens]

I finally added my sign today!

 

[TheBrumstead]

I love mine! I have a covered cat litter box inside for a nest box. I was told "NO!" on the exterior nest box idea and that I was lucky I was getting what I was getting I have two right now, had three but one died, getting two more in the spring. The roof is a pallet. There is a window on the other side and I'm prepared to put in one on this side if needbe this summer. The front door can be held open for more ventilation too if needbe. (eta - click on the pic if it looks narrow... it looks funny on my screen.)

 

[mohillbilly]

that 4ft rule is a joke...I use to have 30 chickens and 5 ducks in a 3x6 coop they done fine a stayed healthy and laid every day

 

[marbles]

Hi Folks,

I am making my first ventures into chickenland and am going to build this design, but wanted to question the "4ft rule" too. The plans say it will "accommodate 8 full size chickens", but later mentions "the outside area should have a minimum of 4 sq foot per bird".

I am not going to enclose the underside but create a much larger run for them when they are awake during the day time

My question is, does the 4sq foot relate to the area inside the coop outside the coop or both?

Thanks,
Dez

 

[yakibert]

Worked on mine this weekend. Changed it a little, moved the nestbox and doors. Already added the roofing. Will be changing the people door from a drop door to a double door. Still quite a few little things to complete. Cost is just under $200 with all new materials. It was enjoyable to build, even with a few mistakes in the instructions (and those I made). My first large wood project.

 

[7acres]

I built this a while back. I did not put the clear panel on top as I was concerned about the hail we get here sometimes. I put the nest box on the front and centered it. I moved the door to the side. I also put tin on the top of the nest box lid. I also put tin on the chicken door to avoid the dogs or racoons from chewing in. I thought about dropping the back down as some have done, but thought that it might be messy or get in the way for cleaning out the inside. It might not. I was concerned about ventilation as it is very hot here in the summer and fall, so I built a frame and covered it with hardware cloth and mounted it to the inside under the back with hinges so that when I raise the lid the chicks cannot jump out. The frame opens up to the right. I did not put a latch on it, but took a log narrow piece of metal with holes in it and screwed it to the hardware cloth frame and bent it where it goes around the corner and drilled a hole in the 2by. I took a thick round piece of metal and bent it into an l shape. I then insert the pin into the hole to keep anything from opening the frame. I put a 6 inch board across the back inside and screwed it in behind the hardware cloth frame to keep the shavings from falling out. I put an eye screw in the middle of the back of the roof frame and and eye bolt down near the bottom of the back and ran a cord from the eye screw through the eye bolt and put a hook on the end. I can then hook it up high on the fence to get it out of the way to clean or hook it lower on the fence to allow for ventilation and let it have a slope if it rains while up. For a poop pan. I took the side off an old free standing range. Just a couple of screws on each side to remove. It has a lip on it. I turned it with the lip up and then put two pieces of 2x4's on their side and joined them together. I then drilled holes in the range side and screwed it to the 2 bys. I put a piece of wood across the front and back of the 2bys to keep the shavings out from under it. It fits perfectly under the roost and is coated like enamel ware so it should not rust as easy and be easy to clean as well.

 

[dkubarek]

I'm going to build this coop for my baby chicks coming in mid June. It's for my two daughters, 3 and 5. Thanks everyone for adding input and making these plans even better. I also found a building materials recycler in the area and bought everything except the treated lumber for about $50! I am using a rubber roofing to keep it simple (it can't be seen where I am installing it) or the shingles would have added another $50 to that price.

After looking at the plans and drinking a large dose of bourbon I figured out what isn't right about the original design. Many here have already fixed it but I wanted to chime in. Here's the flaw: You build a beautiful box with the egg basket on the front and then if you add a run to the existing design the ugly fencing covers it. Worse, it makes installing the run (and optional roof) more difficult and harder to seal.

My suggestion is to move the chicken ramp to one side and leave everything else as is. This way it looks better and you can access the eggs without entering the run. Also, if you build a run you can continue the roof over it easily if you side saddled the run to the box. All you do is attach two posts say 6 feet away from the side of the box and make them match the pitch of the box. Then frame out the run and enlarge the roof to cover the extra space.

Hope this suggestion helps. Will post pix when I'm done. This picture of another coop sorta explains what I mean by including the run to match the roof of the coop: https://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/5814264

 

[solaikd]

Thanks soooo much for the link.It is very close to what we want to make,so this will help alot..

 

[dkubarek]

I like that pictured design a lot too. But I like the egg box being in the front. It looks super cute. Someone here had pics where it said "eggs" on it and it was priceless.