By Rebecca Nickols
This month’s Cool Coop is a great example of a coop that has easy access – to clean the coop and monitor the flock. I particularly admire the full size door. I think a lot of chicken keepers wish their coop had this feature – especially when removing and replacing coop bedding. Continue reading as Bill shares the specs of his functional coop.
- 8′ x 12′ floor, 3/4″ plywood on 2 x 4 joists 2′ o.c.
- Trusses are 2 x 4 with 1/2″ plywood for mending plates.
- 20 nest boxes, 16 approximately 1′ x 1′ and 4 approximately 1′ x 2′
- Walls are T-111, 4″ o.c. on 2 x 4 studs 2′ o.c.
Windows are approximately 2′ x 2′ plexiglass with hardware cloth for screens, they close and have wood latches to secure them. - 4″ opening under soffit – also has hardware cloth for ventilation.
- Ridge of roof also has 4″ opening for ventilation.
- Door is recycled piece of board on board privacy fence with wood vault style locking system (kind of overkill but fun to make)
- Automatic chicken door is from Titan Incubators.
- Nest box doors open from outside for easy access to eggs and lock in place with wood latches.
- The wood around the exterior base is a temp fix to keep one stubborn hen from going under the coop instead of inside at night.
- The coop originally housed 6 New Hampshire red hens, an ISA rooster and one Pekin duck. – We have recently added eight Leghorns, seven Wyandottes and huge unidentified type of rooster.
Total cost $1200
Thanks Bill for sharing your functional and roomy coop with the Community. I’m sure your project will inspire future chicken keepers add some of these features to their own DIY coop.
Click on the link below for previous entries in the “Cool Coops!” series…
To view what else is happening at our Southwest Missouri property visit: the garden-roof coop
If you enjoy bird-watching (in addition to chicken-watching), I invite you to follow my Facebook page: Rebecca’s Bird Gardens