Hi All,
We started keeping chickens about six years ago, and we built The Garden Coop then (http://www.thegardencoop.com/ & my post about it http://bit.ly/gardencoopraleigh). It has held us in good stead, but, as happens, we have caught the chicken bug and decided we wanted more hens—and a bigger coop. As it turns out, this was right when the same guy who designed our Garden Coop released the plans for his new, bigger Garden Loft so we went with those (http://bit.ly/gardenloft). We made quite a few changes stylistically, but the bones are all his. The plans were, as last time, awesome, easy-to-follow, and error-free. And….Ta-da!
We made several modifications to make our coop more flexible. Our ideal number of hens is 4-6, but it’s not easy to guess exactly when to get the new chicks to keep the numbers consistent, not to mention the headache of merging young pullets with older hens. To make that easier, we essentially divided the Garden Loft into two coops. One side is for the older hens and one for the new flock, until they’re used to each other and can be merged (we'll use temporary netting in the run to keep them separate until they get used to each other). The side for the new flock has removable roosts, so when we’re not merging flocks we can use it to store food/bedding in a perfectly pest-free place. Using it for storage is also why that side has two large doors instead of a pop door—easy access.
(removable roosts--the little latches come undone and the top board is on a hinge)
In the event some of our older hens hang on longer than expected, the interior wall is also removable so we can open it up for more space. The ladder on the chick side is attached with a quick-release hinge (http://bit.ly/Saghinge) so we can take it off when not in use. There are hooks under the hen house so we can store the ladder, unseen, when we don’t need it. It’s not usually cold in North Carolina, but a couple weeks a year it gets in the single-digits, so the chick side is also insulated and doesn’t have a window or an external nesting box, so if we’re worried about weather we can pop them into the chick side where they’ll be warmer.
As for the outside of the coop, I really liked the elevated look of the original Garden Coop, so we shortened the walls and did a faux board-and-batten just because I like it. We added a window with a plexiglass shutter because we like to peek in, and to add circulation in the summer. We also made the entire footing out of cinder blocks so we could fill the run with sand. We did this with our other coop and it worked awesome both for drainage and for keeping it clean, as we scoop it once a day with a kitty litter scoop.
Because we were cutting the interior coop space in half, I added exterior nesting boxes to free up some space. I have two tots, so I built on a ladder so they can get the eggs, and it stows away for when they’re not using it (and to make it harder for the 1 yo to get on there unsupervised). I added a gas lid support to the nesting box so little fingers won’t get smashed, and the nesting box opens up on the bottom for easy clean out.
We’re in the process of adding a hardware cloth skirt, then we’ll be done! I was able to do almost the entire coop on my own, with the exception of putting up the walls (you build them on the ground then pop them up and screw them together) and the roof (it was easier having someone available to pass things). I'd say I am moderately handy and I had practice by building the Garden Coop five years ago, but the plans are so easy to follow, a newbie could do it--I just made things tricky for myself by making all the changes. (As a side note, I have no affiliation, nor know the guy who makes the plans, I just think they're great).
As for our old coop—the neighbors are arguing over who gets to take it off our hands. Farewell old friend!
(our original garden coop)
We started keeping chickens about six years ago, and we built The Garden Coop then (http://www.thegardencoop.com/ & my post about it http://bit.ly/gardencoopraleigh). It has held us in good stead, but, as happens, we have caught the chicken bug and decided we wanted more hens—and a bigger coop. As it turns out, this was right when the same guy who designed our Garden Coop released the plans for his new, bigger Garden Loft so we went with those (http://bit.ly/gardenloft). We made quite a few changes stylistically, but the bones are all his. The plans were, as last time, awesome, easy-to-follow, and error-free. And….Ta-da!
We made several modifications to make our coop more flexible. Our ideal number of hens is 4-6, but it’s not easy to guess exactly when to get the new chicks to keep the numbers consistent, not to mention the headache of merging young pullets with older hens. To make that easier, we essentially divided the Garden Loft into two coops. One side is for the older hens and one for the new flock, until they’re used to each other and can be merged (we'll use temporary netting in the run to keep them separate until they get used to each other). The side for the new flock has removable roosts, so when we’re not merging flocks we can use it to store food/bedding in a perfectly pest-free place. Using it for storage is also why that side has two large doors instead of a pop door—easy access.
(removable roosts--the little latches come undone and the top board is on a hinge)
In the event some of our older hens hang on longer than expected, the interior wall is also removable so we can open it up for more space. The ladder on the chick side is attached with a quick-release hinge (http://bit.ly/Saghinge) so we can take it off when not in use. There are hooks under the hen house so we can store the ladder, unseen, when we don’t need it. It’s not usually cold in North Carolina, but a couple weeks a year it gets in the single-digits, so the chick side is also insulated and doesn’t have a window or an external nesting box, so if we’re worried about weather we can pop them into the chick side where they’ll be warmer.
As for the outside of the coop, I really liked the elevated look of the original Garden Coop, so we shortened the walls and did a faux board-and-batten just because I like it. We added a window with a plexiglass shutter because we like to peek in, and to add circulation in the summer. We also made the entire footing out of cinder blocks so we could fill the run with sand. We did this with our other coop and it worked awesome both for drainage and for keeping it clean, as we scoop it once a day with a kitty litter scoop.
Because we were cutting the interior coop space in half, I added exterior nesting boxes to free up some space. I have two tots, so I built on a ladder so they can get the eggs, and it stows away for when they’re not using it (and to make it harder for the 1 yo to get on there unsupervised). I added a gas lid support to the nesting box so little fingers won’t get smashed, and the nesting box opens up on the bottom for easy clean out.
We’re in the process of adding a hardware cloth skirt, then we’ll be done! I was able to do almost the entire coop on my own, with the exception of putting up the walls (you build them on the ground then pop them up and screw them together) and the roof (it was easier having someone available to pass things). I'd say I am moderately handy and I had practice by building the Garden Coop five years ago, but the plans are so easy to follow, a newbie could do it--I just made things tricky for myself by making all the changes. (As a side note, I have no affiliation, nor know the guy who makes the plans, I just think they're great).
As for our old coop—the neighbors are arguing over who gets to take it off our hands. Farewell old friend!
(our original garden coop)
How many birds will you keep?
