On-line chicken plans

[GopherBoyFarms]

WOW ducks4you, what a nice comment about our coop!
Thanks!

We see people selling coop plans on CL all the time (or at least trying to sell them). We find it funny when right here on BYC there are so many step by step coop building pages.

We kept that original coop cost down to under $400 by using recycled materials....the new coop we are working on now
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=100224
(that has taken FOREVER) is at a budget of $.00 so far!!!!


~Tiff~

 

[jafo]

Hey there! check out our coop in our website. I'll draw up and send you the plans for FREE ! Save yer money! Hendersonville,,,,,,,,,,,we are thinking of maybe relocating SOME DAY to the Ashville area,,,,,,,,,

 

[Quillgirl]

We used this free plan, mostly as a suggestion and general how-to. My dad is a retired homebuilder, so he wanted to make the thing perfect, even though I kept reminding him that it's a "chicken house."

http://www.1920-30.com/toys/things-to-make/poultry-house.html


We made it taller and more sturdy, using 2x4's instead of 1x4s, and a ridge that was 2x6. We also extended the length to 14' instead of that shown and put the nestbox outside the poultry house (tricky on a triangulated sloped wall.) I also laid paving brick for the floor of the house and set them with sand (and covered it with a layer of sand), and it drains really well (also the girls move the shavings out of the way and lay on the coolness of the brick.) The poultry house is 4x8x7, but we extended some of the siding (T-111) to overhang onto one of the run bays so that there was covering over the pop-door area. For ventilation we left(cut) the tops of the siding triangles off the eaves of the house over the people-door side and over the pop hole side, covered the opeings in hardware cloth, and then hinged the leftover boards and reattached so that they can swing up and cover the screened openings in the winter (you have to add a header there where you cut the boards and want to hinge it.) Cutting the angles was most tricky, but you get the hang of it.

At some point I'll post pictures, but I'll say that this is a very cozy, adorable, and sturdy set-up that looks great in the backyard. Very much like a nice little a-framed ski chalet tucked into the trees. The cost was around $400, and I really didn't get to recycle that much stuff cause I didn't have a lot of materials on hand.

 

[ducks4you]

Quote:
You're VERY welcome!!

Tell me, Gopher Boy, how do you spel sowel?

 

[elmo]

The coop plans I've looked at all seem to have some serious flaws, in my opinion. Typically, they will have way too little ventilation. The other problem is that not enough thought seems to go into how you're going to clean the thing.

I want a coop that opens up completely from the side so you can get in there and easily sweep/shovel it out, without stooping. The easier it is to clean your coop, the more frequently you'll do it, and the healthier your chickens will be as a result.

Rather than nails, use wood screws. Much easier to fix any mistakes, or make improvements if you find what you've built isn't working the way you thought it would.