Hi there! 1st time Chicken Owner - looking for easy step by step chicken coop plans

[Peep Peeper]

Hello,

We just got our chicks today! 3 RI reds and 3 Buff Orpingtons. So CUTE!!! I'm in love already. Their little peeping is adorable, but I know these girls are going to grow up fast so I need to build a coop for them fairly quickly.

I'm looking for coop plans that give step by step instructions that a dummy could follow. Me being the dummy when it comes to coop building (or really building anything).

I would just like the satisfaction that I built it myself. It doesn't have to be fancy. Efficient, comfortable for the girls, and safe from predators.

I've browsed the coop section of BYC, but most only list the supplies used. I would like more detailed instructions that tell me step by step what to do from start to finish. Links would be greatly appreciated if you have them.

I'd like to construct the coop and them attach a run that is moveable. I'd like the run to be 6 feet tall so we can go inside as we have a 7 year old son that is sure to want to spend time in the pen with the ladies.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to raising our girls and creating a happy home for them.

Thanks so much!

 

[Chicken Girls]

Welcome to BYC! I have a very good, ugly, old coop that I would not trade for any new "beauty". Whoever built this coop knew what they were doing and why. I live next to a wilderness area and have lots of wildlife around including Red Tail Hawks (chicken hawks), coyotes, foxes, raccoons etc. My big dogs, I have 2 Rotts, 1 Great Dane, a Cocker Spaniel (and a partridge in a pear tree) Sorry. The dogs have run off the foxes and the raccoons. The dogs are good at keeping the coyotes at bay. The floor of my coop is build on a slant with a concrete foundation. The foundation is up high enough off he ground, (about 3 to 4 feet) to keep any predators from digging under the coop. The roosts are high enough up (about 7 feet) that the predators cannot get to them. The hens climb up the open beams on the side of the coop to get to the roosts. My husband build a ledge to put the laying boxes on so nothing except food and water is on the concrete floor. We also buy huge bags of wood shaving to place on the floor especially in winter to keep in some of the heat and soak up the chicken poo. There is no chicken wire in the coop except across the iron bars that are in the windows. The coop is easy to clean. All you have to do is make sure all the chickens are outside and hose the coop down. The concrete floor is on a slant and all of the "stuff" flows out to a small trench alongside the coop.

since you want to build it yourself, I would look on line for a Do It Yourself Store, Home Depot, Lowes or some other hardware store which also has building supplies. I also have a friend that uses an old camper as the chicken coop. He just went out and bought an old pickup camper, set it up in his back yard, took the door off the camper, put up a fence for a run and he has a very serviceable chicken coop. I thought it was very ingenious. Enjoy your adventure.

chicken girls, sue:yiipchick

 

[nikki1]

Have you checked on Craigslist? Sometimes used coops are listed, or doghouses or other modifiable structures.

There are also coop kits, but unfortunately the less pricey ones are usually on the small side. Also, check out the sheds at the Home Despot...Occasionally you can pick up a floor or discontinued model relatively inexpensively.

You might also want to check out the library/feed store for books. I know I saw one at the local feed store about building structures for livestock. We checked out library books when getting ideas for our coop, and one had everything from super easy to really complicated.

For what it's worth, DH are dummies when it comes to building, but we managed. Best of luck to you!

--Nikki

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Peep Peeper, and

! Pleased you joined us! Good luck to you and your coop!

 

[drumstick diva]