My Small Coop Design

[Mr. Peepers]

Here are a few shots of the 4 to 6 hen coop (4'X4' floor) I designed and built for a friend this summer. The design is in a Google Sketchup 7 file (freeware) if anyone is interested. Cost of materials is between $100 and $200, depending on the hardware you choose and how much lumber you can scrounge.

 

[M To The Maxx]

 

[teach1rusl]

I like the nice big window! Is the nest box(es) mounted on the inside? It's a very attractive design...

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

I like this. I like it a lot. I may be interested in doing something very similar. Nice. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Mr. Peepers]

Quote:
Yes, the nest boxes are inside and can be reached from the main door. For a small coop, this solves a lot of construction problems since there are fewer parts to build, Leaks at the hinges on external nest boxes are also avoided..

 

[Mr. Peepers]

Here's what the finished coop looked like. The small run/tractor attached is portable, for day use only, and NOT predator proof. The chicken ladder is shown in an alternative configuration which allows the chickens to go under the coop.

 

[crazyhen]

That is really nice. How many chicks are you going to put in it? I found mine are happiest at about 1/2 what is suggested. I love that you can move your run. That way an area can be regrassed or sown with greens before it is used again. If needed you can lime and till to get rid of odor too. Yeah! wonderful idea. Gloria Jean

 

[jenjscott]

beautiful coop, great program, gonna have to investigate. Is it hard to use?

 

[Mr. Peepers]

Quote:
Sketchup has two things going for it: It's free, and it's really easy to learn and use.

The Sketchup download from Google is very fast. Give it a try, it can't hurt. I'll try to upload the coop design to the Google Sketchup 3D library so that anyone can access it. Once you have the design and the software, you can rotate the coop, view from all angles and get dimensions for all parts.

 

[elmo]

I built something similar, but I put two doors opening in the middle as one complete wall so it would be easy for me to clean out the coop. I stole the idea from:

http://www.ezcleancoops.com/

Then, I put the pop door on the wall adjacent to the people door so I could open and close it up from the inside of the coop without having to go into the run.

And I put vents under the roof overhangs on both the front and rear of the coop, with flaps so I can control the amount of ventilation.