Made my own Coop, respectful critiques welcome!

[aart]

So using the power of this forum, youtube videos, and the fear of my wife, I made my own.

Bout spit my coffee all over the screen!

Nice job.

 

[Sally PB]

That looks great. You can be proud of that.

 

[topochico225]

You are my aspiration. Fantastic job!

 

[Krugerrand]

Are the nesting boxes closed off until they get older? I don't see chicken access to them.

 

[barsad0]

Are there ventilated closure strips between the roof and the purlins? That is the only potential predator access point I can see.

I put 2x4's between the rafters on top of the top plate so it is solid. There is a small opening between those 2x4s and the R-panel, but I think it is small enough I'm not super concerned.

I'd also add some perches to the run and some things to jump up on and hide under in the run.

I want to do that! Any suggestions? I was thinking a little swing?

PS: What's "Plain Jane" wood?
AND...did you lay down a hardware cloth barrier?
Whoops...here's another ??? What size pressure treated lumber did you use and ws the concrete footer poured, or were they 16x8x8?

"Plain Jane" is just the normal Home Depot 2x4x96 framing stud... I think it is spruce/pine/fir. I would have liked to use a nicer wood but it was cost prohibitive right now. I didn't lay a predator apron like most have. I had a lot of leftover concrete from another project so I overdid the concrete footer, its about 8 inches in the ground and
3-4 inches above. I have a 7 foot wood fence and an outdoor German Shepherd who should provide protection from most predators. As far as the pressure treated, I used normal 2x4 x8 ft. I would have went bigger maybe a 2x6 but again, cost was a factor. I would have went longer as well, I just don't have the vehicle to transport anything longer than the 8 ft. I just used concrete screws to secure them into the concrete, and screwed the coop to the pressure treated bottom plate. I can get you better pictures if you want.

You might end up wanting a deeper roof overhand on the access door end to keep rain out. Here's an article on how to do that:

After I built it I was thinking about doing that. Thank you for the link!


Thank everyone for your kind words

 

[barsad0]

Are the nesting boxes closed off until they get older? I don't see chicken access to them.

Yep, It blocked off with a piece of plywood for now. I heard you were supposed to block them off until they are of laying age, but I don't remember where I heard it/why I did it/or if it was even necessary.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Wow! That's impressive!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I want to do that! Any suggestions? I was thinking a little swing?

Realistically most birds won't use swings. Something more like a sawhorse, or chicken tree, or just an assortment of roosts, will see more use.

This is a commercially purchased jungle gym I have, to give you some ideas. The only part they don't use? The swing.

 

[sewingkitty1170]

Hello all!

So I have been lurking for about 2 years now and officially joined back in February of last year.

I originally called a coop company (the one named after a state) to buy one premade, but they were backordered until October. I had already made the cardinal sin of buying chickens before I had a coop so I was under a pretty serious time crunch, the chickens were getting big and my wife was getting impatient. I asked the coop company to sell me some plans but after some back and forth, Matt's wife told me no because I wasn't a carpenter or cabinet maker. So using the power of this forum, youtube videos, and the fear of my wife, I made my own. It's heavily influenced by Matt's coop and some of the members here that were kind enough to message me their plans (shoutout to @strattao and @crowber). I was going to make an open air coop because I'm in Texas, but my wife wanted something more aesthetically pleasing.

Everything was made out of plain jane framing studs due to lumber being so high minus the wood touching the concrete footer which is pressure treated. Still have a little touchup painting to do but it's otherwise done.

Total footprint: 20 ft x 8 ft
Henhouse 8 ft x 6 ft
6.5 ft tall plus 2 ft for the roof.

I know my chicken math is a little off, I ordered 15 chickens expecting a few not survive shipping and a few incorrectly sexed chickens that were going to make a tasty meal. But I'll be darn if they aren't all healthy as can be and I may have one rooster.

Thanks!
Barsad0

Ummmm, just WOW!
I need to make one too, and now I think I want to copy your!
It’s wonderful!!!!!!
I’m not a carpenter either, so perhaps you could write an article about how you made it and its dimensions?! I only know the very basics!!!!

 

[strattao]

What an amazing job you’ve done! Congratulations! Looks absolutely beautiful.