HGTV Coop Design

[ExpiredMayo]

I had this one built for my backyard. Similar to your HGTV plans but better designed. The rough plans -- with lots of in process pix -- are free. For $10 you can get detailed ones.

I added a bale of hay under the coop door on the back side so I could climb in to clean. I think I paid about $7 for it. I've been using it for a year and I've been very happy with it.

Here's mine:

View attachment 1445299

I love that coop! We live in central NC, so we get both hot humid summers and cold (to me) winters with occasional snow. Coop will go in a 60'X60' fenced in backyard; 6' wood privacy fence. The corner of the yard it will go will have about 22' from one fence to the gate, and about 16' from the corner to a drain. I was wanting to keep a decent amount of room around the coop for walking around, weed-eating etc. also i dont want to crowd the gate because i want to be able to pull my truck in to mulch the garden and anything else i may need the truck for. is there a list of materials or an estimate to build? Did you use treated pine?

 

[lifeonblueberryhill]

We used the HGTV coop plans for a little bit of our coop, but since the framing has been done, I honestly haven't picked up the plans since. We decided to make ours a 12x6, I didn't like the stacked nesting boxes so we are doing different boxes, we proved some roof overhang, and changed the layout of some of the doors.

I think the coop plans are good overall if you are a complete newbie (like me) that didn't know the slightest about framing. The diagrams were nice in my opinion. Here is our coop so far.

 

[IamRainey]

is there a list of materials or an estimate to build? Did you use treated pine?

The $10 plans are very complete with the list of materials (and possibly even what he paid for it at his local lumber yard).

Mine is pine -- I believe what they call "common". But I wasn't the builder simply the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

 

[cmom]

We used the HGTV coop plans for a little bit of our coop, but since the framing has been done, I honestly haven't picked up the plans since. We decided to make ours a 12x6, I didn't like the stacked nesting boxes so we are doing different boxes, we proved some roof overhang, and changed the layout of some of the doors.

I think the coop plans are good overall if you are a complete newbie (like me) that didn't know the slightest about framing. The diagrams were nice in my opinion. Here is our coop so far.

View attachment 1446345

That is a very nice coop. Are you going to add a run to it? Just curious.

 

[cmom]

One suggestion, make your roosts higher than your nest boxes. The birds like to roost high and if they are the same level as the nest boxes they may start sleeping in the nest boxes instead of the roosts and when they lay their eggs then you may get some poopy eggs. They poop a lot when roosting. I made that mistake in the past I had some nest boxes that were roost level and a couple of the girls wanted to sleep in the nest boxes. I modified the coop and moved the nest boxes lower and to another place in the coop.

 

[JDN]

I love that coop! We live in central NC, so we get both hot humid summers and cold (to me) winters with occasional snow. Coop will go in a 60'X60' fenced in backyard; 6' wood privacy fence. The corner of the yard it will go will have about 22' from one fence to the gate, and about 16' from the corner to a drain. I was wanting to keep a decent amount of room around the coop for walking around, weed-eating etc. also i dont want to crowd the gate because i want to be able to pull my truck in to mulch the garden and anything else i may need the truck for. is there a list of materials or an estimate to build? Did you use treated pine?

Drive around the country, and what do you see people housing chickens in around here? Dog pens with a roof. Our winters aren't cold enough to bother chickens, its our summers that are really more of a concern.

I know you want something nice looking, but think a bit outside the box. I'd look for a small carport plan like this, http://w87bifa.com/small-wood-frame...rport-building-plans-free-wood-carport-plans/ and put lattice work or siding and a door on three sides, and leave it open to the South/Southeast with hardware cloth covering it, and maybe extend the run if you want.

There's a thread called "The Victory House" here that makes a similarly sized coop that's nice looking and maybe more functional.

Also, I recommend putting it right up on into a corner. The birds will eat anything in the coop and weed whack whatever they can reach near the side.

 

[jthornton]

@JDN That's a real good start for a coop and run just need to add more overhang to the roof on that carport. Kinda similar to my run which I've threatened myself with extending it over the so called "coop" I built before joining here. I've added overhang to the far side... another mistake not putting the overhang from the get go but I was under pressure to get-er-done before the chicks ran me out of the garage lol.

JT

 

[JDN]

Thinking again about the design, I'd probably use it and only modify it to be a floor to ceiling height setup, and a few feet longer run. That way you can walk into the coop. And add more ventilation at the eaves.

 

[IamRainey]

Adding a window or 2 couldn't hurt either. Positioning them on opposite walls will ensure cross ventilation. And if you're in a warm dry area like I am just the openings would do. I have lucite hinged windows held open with cord and tie downs but I've only dropped them a couple times in the last year.

Just be sure whatever ventilation openings you have are lined with hardware cloth that's secured with screws and washers to make them predator safe.

 

[ExpiredMayo]

So going back to the original plans, would it be sufficient if I extend the coop to the ground, and extend the run to maybe 8ft long? Of course I would add some ventilation. How does that sound for 4 birds?