Schnizzo's Deluxe Chicken Extravaganza

[ChickenExtravaganza]

I have been lurking in these forums for a few months now trying to figure out how to build a coop and run for our newly acquired 1/2 dozen chickens, whilst simultaneously attempting to demonstrate continuing value to my Lovely Bride. Put another way, I had a strong desire to build an at-minimum decent coop and run in order to show off and essentially flirt with my wife. I'm not above it.

So, now that I'm nearly done with the project, I figured I'd post the results in the forum and say thank you (thank you!). I had not built anything much more substantial than a workbench prior to this project - I certainly hadn't framed anything. A sincere thank you to each of you for sharing your pictures and plans - it helped immensely.

Pardon the mess around the coop, we had 60-ish cedars cut down two summers ago and are only just finishing up the process of dispensing with the resulting several cords of wood and reclaiming the garden. I'll try to put the pictures in reverse order - from finish to start, but I'm afraid I didn't catch a picture of everything in the process.

I heard tell chickens need a swing - I don't get it, but happily it turns out they seem to!

I just tossed together a chicken ramp using a few spare boards (former shelves) and a couple of limbs we kept from the trees we cut down.

This picture turned out a little choppy, but you get the idea. The roost is removable for cleaning, as is the blue bar across the bottom edge. I was going to put in a clean-out drawer at one point, and had also considered creating a drop-floor to ease the cleaning process, but ended up just covering the floor in a plastic sheet and creating a removable barrier board to keep the bedding in when the doors open; we hope this will allow us to remove the barrier board, slide a wheelbarrow under the edge, and sweep out the bedding when we want to clean the coop. Turns out it's pretty slick and was MUCH cheaper than building in a drop wall, drop floor or drawer.

I only have access to a Subaru Outback for hauling purposes, so I had Home Depot quarter 4x8 sheets of siding for the walls and plywood for the floor, and then reassembled them as I went to create the walls, floor and nesting boxes of the coop. It was a bit of a challenge to build each wall and the floor/ base modular-fashion in the garage and then assemble it all a piece at a time in the backyard, but by some miracle everything lined up in the end and the whole thing ended up being square and level.

 

[cavemanrich]

All looks very good. Only suggestion I would make is,,, I think coop needs some windows for natural light, and I would provide more ventilation at roof line..
What is your Location.??? It helps to give additional suggestions based on weather/climate in your area. You do not put in your address, just general, like State, Province, Country, or Territory.
WISHING YOU BEST............................. and

 

[ChickenExtravaganza]

Thank you! Advice and ideas are surely welcome... we live in Salem, OR. The temperature doesn’t often hit either extreme here.

I was thinking about attaching a little apartment on the blank-wall side (opposite the nesting box) of the coop for injured or newly added chickens so they can remain near the brood/ flock, but physically separate from them for safety, and have an enclosed mini-run for them under the coop itself. I haven’t seen any coops with something like that, but it seemed like a reasonable use for the small amount of extra material remaining from the build.

In terms of additional ventilation, would circular vents along the roofline work? I thought about pocketing hinged windows in the rear door frames for extra ventilation and light, but my Lovely Bride thought it may be unnecessary... sounds like we might want to go ahead with it after all

 

[cavemanrich]

Light (especially natural) inside coop is important since chickens hesitate going into a dark place. At dusk they will go inside and see where they are going. The small apartment on the side is a good IDEA for integration and ISOLATION purposes.
One easy way to add the ventilation at the roof line would be to remove roof panels. Install 2 x 4 joists. Secure the roof panels to the 2 x 4s. This way you would have a 3 1/2 inch gap in the low end and the high end. This creates an IDEAL convection air flow. Secure the openings with some hardware cloth from predators.