Here is our new Urban coop. We had a very small space, difficult winds and MANY predators. It is a labor of love, I tell you to raise chickens on the CO prairie!
We used 2 sheets of plywood, 3 2x4, some additional scraps and hardware.
Because we have such a predator problem, we extended the sides in solid wood. There is a moveable screen door on the front and just hardware cloth on the back. We also have a high wind problem so I made a planter box on the top of it. The soil helps insulate the coop and gives it added weight. I also have a place to grow some chicken treats.
I only have 4 hens so this box is 3'x4'
I made a trap door (on right) for them to go down to the run area. However, it was too small, so i cut another door on the left and hinged it so it folds back, thus creating a larger opening without compromising the integrity of the floor too much.
Two big doors for easy cleaning, a drop down window on the right and a vent on the left. I have a nest box that sits in the far left corner but the girls are still too young for it yet. I don't want them thinking it is a latrine so I will put it in later. I also have to add perches yet.
I am pretty happy how this turned out. We made it for under $200.
I am adding that we bought all the hinges from Habitat for Humanity Re-store for a fraction of the cost! I also bought the window frame there and added plexi to it, hinged it at the bottom so it can drop down out of the wind.
We used 2 sheets of plywood, 3 2x4, some additional scraps and hardware.
Because we have such a predator problem, we extended the sides in solid wood. There is a moveable screen door on the front and just hardware cloth on the back. We also have a high wind problem so I made a planter box on the top of it. The soil helps insulate the coop and gives it added weight. I also have a place to grow some chicken treats.
I only have 4 hens so this box is 3'x4'
I made a trap door (on right) for them to go down to the run area. However, it was too small, so i cut another door on the left and hinged it so it folds back, thus creating a larger opening without compromising the integrity of the floor too much.
Two big doors for easy cleaning, a drop down window on the right and a vent on the left. I have a nest box that sits in the far left corner but the girls are still too young for it yet. I don't want them thinking it is a latrine so I will put it in later. I also have to add perches yet.
I am pretty happy how this turned out. We made it for under $200.
I am adding that we bought all the hinges from Habitat for Humanity Re-store for a fraction of the cost! I also bought the window frame there and added plexi to it, hinged it at the bottom so it can drop down out of the wind.
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It reminds me of a circus tent, lmao! It was originally a pot bellied pig shed, then it was a make shift coop, then it turned into a goat shed, and now I transformed it back into a coop. The slanted white wooden pieces are keeping the walk in door locked, and no outside nesting box access (yet). It is surrounded by giant stock panels that must weigh about 100lbs each. They are secured by t-posts, and then welded wire fencing locks in their outer run. The whole thing is enclosed with deer netting to keep aerial predators out.
