MaeMom
In the Brooder
Hi all! I wanted to share pics of my under the deck stairs coop and run. When we were trying to decide what kind of coop to build for our 4 hens my dad suggested something under our deck. We have a tiny and very steep backyard and this really did seem like the best option. I had some concerns, mainly the smell being that close to the house and right below a deck we use almost daily. Luckily I haven't had any issues with that.
I looked for similar plans, but didn't find much out there. So without any further ado - here is our coop!
This is what the coop looks like under my deck. I prop the run door open so the girls can free range.
We had a small shed built and modified for our girls. It's 4x4x7 feet high. We placed that at the back of the stairs and then screwed some additional boards to the deck to give extra places to staple the hardware cloth. We also installed a screen door (replaced the screen with hardware cloth) that I can easily access under the deck. The entire area under the stairs has been covered in hardware cloth. We used one roll of 4x25 HC and 1 roll of 3x10 HC. We made sure to staple the HC to the actual shed and under every tread. We went through a lot of staples!
On this yard side of the coop I've added some decorative fencing that 'protects' my tomato plants. I think I need to paint the boards we added so it will better match the deck. The coop is painted to match our house - tan with dark green door.
Under the treads of the deck.
Closed door of the coop.
Inside the shed (which has 4 ventilation windows) I have 2 perches. One 2 feet off the ground and another 4 feet off the ground. They only use the high one. I also store my big Rubbermaid bin of chicken feed in the coop. I keep their food dish in there as well as a small waterer. These sit on top of the bin. The big waterer I keep in the run. I'm using pine shavings as flooring. I have about 5-6 inches of pine shavings in there. I keep a garden rake in there too and every morning when I go to let them out I rake the shavings a bit, so all the poop goes under a layer of shavings. Once a week to 2 weeks I rake all the shavings from the coop out into the run and give the whole thing a good raking to mix it up. We've had a lot of rain recently so I'm trying to keep dry shavings for them in the run.
The girls free-range our yard most of the day. Today I had to scrub all the poop off my patio, but it really didn't take that long. It's been really hot and humid here, but even with that we haven't had any smell issues. I think the pine shaving is really helping with that. That and I try to stay really on top of maintenance.
Anyway, this has been a great solution for us. My 4 hens have plenty of space and it isn't taking up any space in my yard.
If you are thinking about building this kind of coop for a small flock, I highly suggest it. Let me know if you have any questions!
Here are my sweet girls who have taken over my porch swing. I have 2 Australorps (Lego Batman & Matilda) and 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks (Sweetie & Chippie) and a big black goldendoodle who is so good with the girls.
I looked for similar plans, but didn't find much out there. So without any further ado - here is our coop!
This is what the coop looks like under my deck. I prop the run door open so the girls can free range.
We had a small shed built and modified for our girls. It's 4x4x7 feet high. We placed that at the back of the stairs and then screwed some additional boards to the deck to give extra places to staple the hardware cloth. We also installed a screen door (replaced the screen with hardware cloth) that I can easily access under the deck. The entire area under the stairs has been covered in hardware cloth. We used one roll of 4x25 HC and 1 roll of 3x10 HC. We made sure to staple the HC to the actual shed and under every tread. We went through a lot of staples!
On this yard side of the coop I've added some decorative fencing that 'protects' my tomato plants. I think I need to paint the boards we added so it will better match the deck. The coop is painted to match our house - tan with dark green door.
Under the treads of the deck.
Closed door of the coop.
Inside the shed (which has 4 ventilation windows) I have 2 perches. One 2 feet off the ground and another 4 feet off the ground. They only use the high one. I also store my big Rubbermaid bin of chicken feed in the coop. I keep their food dish in there as well as a small waterer. These sit on top of the bin. The big waterer I keep in the run. I'm using pine shavings as flooring. I have about 5-6 inches of pine shavings in there. I keep a garden rake in there too and every morning when I go to let them out I rake the shavings a bit, so all the poop goes under a layer of shavings. Once a week to 2 weeks I rake all the shavings from the coop out into the run and give the whole thing a good raking to mix it up. We've had a lot of rain recently so I'm trying to keep dry shavings for them in the run.
The girls free-range our yard most of the day. Today I had to scrub all the poop off my patio, but it really didn't take that long. It's been really hot and humid here, but even with that we haven't had any smell issues. I think the pine shaving is really helping with that. That and I try to stay really on top of maintenance.
Anyway, this has been a great solution for us. My 4 hens have plenty of space and it isn't taking up any space in my yard.
If you are thinking about building this kind of coop for a small flock, I highly suggest it. Let me know if you have any questions!
Here are my sweet girls who have taken over my porch swing. I have 2 Australorps (Lego Batman & Matilda) and 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks (Sweetie & Chippie) and a big black goldendoodle who is so good with the girls.
