I bought 6 chickens on April Fools Day...then built a coop.

[Daniel Braun]

I had been interested in raising layers for a while and found the info on this site very useful. I'm sharing what I did to build a run and coop in case it might be useful to anyone else trying this for the first time like myself.

And of course, being a newbie, I welcome any suggestions and advise!

Parts of the coop design should look familiar if you've looked around this site. I lifted ideas from many of the members on this forum and am very appreciative for the help! I'll link to a PDF I created that contains notes about what I did. I also created a SketchUp model that I'll link to that's built to scale. I designed the coop entirely in SketchUp before cutting any wood.

Now for the show...

Brought the chicks home April 1st 2017 and promptly made a brooder box with "euca" board, wood strips, hardware cloth and a pair of heat lamps. Chicks were 4 days old. 3 australorps and 3 rhode island reds.

Work begins on a approx 12x8' base.



The little monsters are growing and pooping

This chicken reminds me of Thom Yorke


Frames assembled and primed


Walls and doors take shape in the garage



At about 6 weeks the chickens need to get out of my garage!

Thom Yorke wanted to see my kitchen.


Assembling the roof of the run was no joke.


I'd move the girls to my fenced garden near the coop to supervise my work. Didn't worry about them eating my veggies as the coop dominated my free time and there was no time to plant any.


This one needed to be on the ladder with me as I added some final hardware cloth under the rafters.


Some final images. Again, info about coop materials and building dimensions can be found linked below. Thanks again to everyone!


I offered 3 levels to this roost, but they always choose the top


It took only 2 nights before something, I suspect a raccoon, tried to breach the hardware cloth skirt around the base of the run.

I really think the color scheme looks nice in the sunlight....


I believe my girls are happy.

Links to coop assembly information documents:
(FYI, a dialog will pop up making it look like you have to start a Dropbox account. But you don't have to, just click the small link at the bottom that says "No thanks, continue to view" and you can download the files there.)

3D SketchUp model:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tro21k89dgfj3c9/Braun Coop cleaned.skp.zip?dl=0

PDF with plans, dimensions and screenshots from model:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/47ttw6krvutw75p/Braun_ChickenCoopNotes.pdf?dl=0

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.

Thanks for sharing your build.
Looks great!

What is Sketchup?

 

[Chickenrunlady]

Well

I had been interested in raising layers for a while and found the info on this site very useful. I'm sharing what I did to build a run and coop in case it might be useful to anyone else trying this for the first time like myself.

And of course, being a newbie, I welcome any suggestions and advise!

Parts of the coop design should look familiar if you've looked around this site. I lifted ideas from many of the members on this forum and am very appreciative for the help! I'll link to a PDF I created that contains notes about what I did. I also created a SketchUp model that I'll link to that's built to scale. I designed the coop entirely in SketchUp before cutting any wood.

Now for the show...

Brought the chicks home April 1st 2017 and promptly made a brooder box with "euca" board, wood strips, hardware cloth and a pair of heat lamps. Chicks were 4 days old. 3 australorps and 3 rhode island reds.

Work begins on a approx 12x8' base.



The little monsters are growing and pooping

This chicken reminds me of Thom Yorke


Frames assembled and primed


Walls and doors take shape in the garage



At about 6 weeks the chickens need to get out of my garage!

Thom Yorke wanted to see my kitchen.


Assembling the roof of the run was no joke.


I'd move the girls to my fenced garden near the coop to supervise my work. Didn't worry about them eating my veggies as the coop dominated my free time and there was no time to plant any.


This one needed to be on the ladder with me as I added some final hardware cloth under the rafters.


Some final images. Again, info about coop materials and building dimensions can be found linked below. Thanks again to everyone!


I offered 3 levels to this roost, but they always choose the top


It took only 2 nights before something, I suspect a raccoon, tried to breach the hardware cloth skirt around the base of the run.

I really think the color scheme looks nice in the sunlight....


I believe my girls are happy.

Links to coop assembly information documents:
(FYI, a dialog will pop up making it look like you have to start a Dropbox account. But you don't have to, just click the small link at the bottom that says "No thanks, continue to view" and you can download the files there.)

3D SketchUp model:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tro21k89dgfj3c9/Braun Coop cleaned.skp.zip?dl=0

PDF with plans, dimensions and screenshots from model:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/47ttw6krvutw75p/Braun_ChickenCoopNotes.pdf?dl=0

Well done, and lovely coop I would add some rungs to the ramp for the chickens to make it a bit easier for them walking up and down. Beatiful coop, congrats. Enjoy

 

[HenniePenny]

Love your color scheme!

 

[Daniel Braun]

The above image is what the coop looked like in 3D model created with SketchUp. Its a really basic (as far as 3D goes) modeling program. You can get a free version called "SketchUp Make" here: http://www.sketchup.com I found it invaluable for this project. I used to use it a lot at work so it was easy for me.

Yes, the rungs are a good idea. I see most coop ramps have them on here.

 

[RUNuts]

Very nice. I'm glad I'm not the only one rushing to get a coop complete. LOL Ours will be 4 weeks old this week and my dear bride has made several modifications. I had a plan. Then I got help...

I hope move in day comes this weekend, in spite of the rain.

Congratulations and yours looks well thought out.

 

[Kiki]

Thanks...looks like a cool program.
I'm going to check it out.

 

[CluckCityChick]

Ok, let me just say this. That coop is beautiful!! The colors are so bright and the structure looks very well built! Congrats on the awesome job!!!

 

[Kiki]

Aren't you super glad you starting your coop with a hardwire cloth skirt!
You did you research...I would like to give you a big thumbs up!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I come to check out your coop (which is beautiful) and got caught fly fishing !