- Jul 7, 2009
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We were planning on 3 hens, but ended up with 6 to start. This coop worked out very well as a late brooder with a single heatlamp, and has been housing them at night for the last 3 months - as I scramble to build a much larger coop (with 12-24 hens in mind, down the road).
I know that this is *way* too small for six hens, and we're building a new 8x12 coop as I type this. But it is what it is, and for now they are all getting along just fine. We clean out the soiled litter frequently and I added a roosting pole to the lid - I have to take a picture of that. They all favor the higher roost and they will all sit on the pole while I open and close the lid. They are funny.
This was built almost entirely with scrap on-hand, except for the hardware, which happened to be about $35 for the hinges, latches, and all the screws and washers for the paneling.
The base was a pallet that our rototiller came on:
I had built some crates for shipping some delicate belongings cross-country, and saved all the scrap. Those pieces of scrap became the bulk of the frame of the coop:
Some old steel siding was in our out-building when we bought this house three years ago, and there was *just* enough to skin this coop (amazing luck, that):
My helper, demonstrating the lockable, sliding door:
The inside view of the main chicken door, locked in the up position with a large cotter pin:
More stuff left in the out-building, the translucent roofing material came in perfectly. View of NestBoxes 1.0 - I plan on adding a slanted top to them or another set stacked on top:
A door to access the nest boxes:
The coop as a brooder:
The four week old girls roosting on the removable roost bar:
As you all know, any old roost will do:
The current layout of their pen:
Our seemingly happy, free-ranging Common Goldens picking through our herb garden:
I know that this is *way* too small for six hens, and we're building a new 8x12 coop as I type this. But it is what it is, and for now they are all getting along just fine. We clean out the soiled litter frequently and I added a roosting pole to the lid - I have to take a picture of that. They all favor the higher roost and they will all sit on the pole while I open and close the lid. They are funny.
This was built almost entirely with scrap on-hand, except for the hardware, which happened to be about $35 for the hinges, latches, and all the screws and washers for the paneling.
The base was a pallet that our rototiller came on:
I had built some crates for shipping some delicate belongings cross-country, and saved all the scrap. Those pieces of scrap became the bulk of the frame of the coop:
Some old steel siding was in our out-building when we bought this house three years ago, and there was *just* enough to skin this coop (amazing luck, that):
My helper, demonstrating the lockable, sliding door:
The inside view of the main chicken door, locked in the up position with a large cotter pin:
More stuff left in the out-building, the translucent roofing material came in perfectly. View of NestBoxes 1.0 - I plan on adding a slanted top to them or another set stacked on top:
A door to access the nest boxes:
The coop as a brooder:
The four week old girls roosting on the removable roost bar:
As you all know, any old roost will do:
The current layout of their pen:
Our seemingly happy, free-ranging Common Goldens picking through our herb garden:
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