My Grand Chicken Coop

[berea]

I just wanted to share some pictures of my chicken coop here in New England. I came across a picture of a beautiful coop, which I think was posted on this site, which was called the Taj Mahal of chicken coops. I was very impressed by the design, and I wanted to create something just as beautiful and elaborate. I didn't have any dimensions to really go by, so I kinda winged it. About two months into this project I had a heart attack at work and was unable to work on my coop for over a year. When I was able to start working on it again, time, money, and physical limitations brought it to a snails pace. I finally finished it in March '20, and it is now the proud home of 12 beautiful Golden Comet Hens. The coop stands 14 feet tall at the center peak, has electricity, a center chandelier, smart bulb lighting, an 8' x 16' attached pen, a light sensored automatic Pullet-Shut Chicken Door, and 4 wifi Wansview Internet based security cameras. I hope you enjoy my pictures.

 

[berea]

Hot wire around your coop an run will keep predators away.

So far so good. We buried hardware cloth three feet out around the entire run. I'm glad we did because the Golden Comets dig like Labrador Retrievers. Someday they're gonna tunnel their way into the neighbors yard.

 

[berea]

You, my friend, have some mad skills!!!! Congratulations on the coop, and regaining your health!

PS, What did you use for run roof. Looks pretty sturdy.

Thank you for the kind words. That is Ondura Roof Panels from Lowes. They are made of asphalt. Had to put some plastic roof panels on the lower end of the run for winter. Snow was piling up on the 1/4 inch hardware cloth I covered the run roof with. I didn't think that part through in the summer.

 

[LaFleche]

Very impressive!

But what I like the most is the fact that you did not give up on it despite the setback of your ill health. Hope you get to enjoy it for many more years to come!

 

[berea]

So you can reach them from the ground?


Oh, and, BTW....... Welcome to BYC! @berea
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View attachment 2510630

Thanks for the tip, I just added my location. I'm in rural Connecticut. I do need to use a step stool to reach the windows. I realize that's not super practical, but we have a large coyote population out here. I had to really take that into consideration and decided it would be best to keep the coop raised up.

 

[LaFleche]

we have a large coyote population out here. I had to really take that into consideration and decided it would be best to keep the coop raised up.

Hot wire around your coop an run will keep predators away.

 

[black_cat]

That is an absolutely GORGEOUS coop! Well done!

 

[berea]

Thank you!

 

[berea]

You did an amazing job!

Thank you

 

[berea]

Pretty Spiffy!!

Love the top hinged windows up high.
How do they operate(open and close)?

Coop itself is 8' x 8'?
More pics of inside the coop?

Thank you. I really was frustrated trying to figure out what I was going to do for windows. It would have been a fortune to have windows made. I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted them to look like, and there wasn't any chance of finding any old windows that size to fit. I don't really have any special saws other than a regular table saw and a miter saw, but one day I just grabbed some wood and tried making them on my table saw. It took a little practice, but they came out really nice. They are hinged from the top and stay closed with strong cabinet magnets behind them. I have 1/4 inch hardware cloth behind the windows and wooden slats that prop the windows open to 90 degrees in the summer. The windows look really nice open that way in the summer, but they stick out a few inches past the roof edge when they're open and collect the rain a bit. This makes a mess of them and I had to do some serious cleaning and repainting in the fall. I'm considering removing the windows entirely this summer during the hottest months. I have some trim work left to do inside the coop. When I get to that I'll post some inside pics. Thanks for your interest.