- Apr 23, 2019
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Hey, hey! Remember me? We started to build a chicken coop and it never got finished….. until now. 3 years, a baby, many weddings and funerals, and a whole lot of chaos later, my coop is finally done! The only thing left is filling in the dirt around the edge of the run and extending the skirting and chicken wire around the Bottom of the coop, so I’ll post pictures now. Here we go. I feel like my coop is very complex, but that’s due to the fact that my husband is a builder and really likes to go all out. He spent a lot of time designing this. Originally we were designing for 50+ chickens, but have significantly decrease the number in our flock. Three years in the making, but she’s finally DONE!
Here’s the grand tour of our long-awaited chicken coop:
You start on the front deck (yes, there’s a porch!)—perfect for coffee sipping in the rocking chair. From there, you walk into the human area, fully separated from the chickens. In this section, we’ve got a 3x 50 lb bag feed hopper, four doors to collect eggs from 12 nesting boxes, and shelves above and below for storing food and supplies. There’s also direct access to the brooder box via a door in this area for easy feeding and watering of chicks.
Walk through the hardware cloth door, and you’re in the chicken quarters—home to the roosting bars, feeder, and the rear access to the nesting boxes. Each nesting box has individual doors for easy cleaning, and the box frames slide out to quickly scrape out dirty shavings.
Ventilation? Covered. Nearly every window opens (except two), and the clerestory includes three sliding windows and a humidity/temp-triggered fan. There’s also a light-sensing automatic chicken door, and two extra access doors along the brooder box for easier cleanup. One of my favorite features: a viewing window aligned with the brooder box, perfect for my littles to peek in at the chicks from outside.
Speaking of outside—there’s a small barn door that opens directly to the ground, perfectly aligned so we can park a wheelbarrow or gorilla cart underneath to collect used bedding (the coop is fully raised on posts). In winter, the space under the coop gives the chickens a dry, sheltered area (under the coop has yet to be fenced in, right now its storing tools, but the goal this summer is to extend the skirting and chicken wire under the coop so its ready for winter.)
The covered run gets soft morning and evening sun. We debated covering the whole thing, but in the end went with metal roofing over the run to give the chickens a warm, snow-free space through our harsh winters.
It’s been a wild ride but the coop is finally finished. And I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!
Here’s the grand tour of our long-awaited chicken coop:
You start on the front deck (yes, there’s a porch!)—perfect for coffee sipping in the rocking chair. From there, you walk into the human area, fully separated from the chickens. In this section, we’ve got a 3x 50 lb bag feed hopper, four doors to collect eggs from 12 nesting boxes, and shelves above and below for storing food and supplies. There’s also direct access to the brooder box via a door in this area for easy feeding and watering of chicks.
Walk through the hardware cloth door, and you’re in the chicken quarters—home to the roosting bars, feeder, and the rear access to the nesting boxes. Each nesting box has individual doors for easy cleaning, and the box frames slide out to quickly scrape out dirty shavings.
Ventilation? Covered. Nearly every window opens (except two), and the clerestory includes three sliding windows and a humidity/temp-triggered fan. There’s also a light-sensing automatic chicken door, and two extra access doors along the brooder box for easier cleanup. One of my favorite features: a viewing window aligned with the brooder box, perfect for my littles to peek in at the chicks from outside.
Speaking of outside—there’s a small barn door that opens directly to the ground, perfectly aligned so we can park a wheelbarrow or gorilla cart underneath to collect used bedding (the coop is fully raised on posts). In winter, the space under the coop gives the chickens a dry, sheltered area (under the coop has yet to be fenced in, right now its storing tools, but the goal this summer is to extend the skirting and chicken wire under the coop so its ready for winter.)
The covered run gets soft morning and evening sun. We debated covering the whole thing, but in the end went with metal roofing over the run to give the chickens a warm, snow-free space through our harsh winters.
It’s been a wild ride but the coop is finally finished. And I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!
What do you mean by “Apron”? The metal Skirting? If so, you’re right, we do need to add that. It will be done before we fill in the dirt. 
