I asked for a Chicken Coop for my birthday last November. I am excited to announce that the chicken house was finished just in time for my son's birthday in March. We finally got some chickens just in time for Easter. It didn't actually take that long to build, the project just stalled out due to Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter horseshows, so on and so forth.
This is part 1 of a 3 part series of posts documenting the entire building process, right up to the arrival of our first chickens.
First we built the outside pen part of the chicken coop. Jason decided to go with a modular design that could be disassembled, expanded or rearranged if needed so all panels are the same size.
Measuring out the frame.
Squaring it up.
Adding the chicken wire and putting it all together.
Everything was welded so it would be very secure against predators.
The final pen, 10 x 10 with a roof to keep out any hawks that decide to snoop around for a chicken dinner.
My father in law James was the chief builder of the chicken house itself.
I picked out the design I liked and he got to work.
The house has 8 nesting boxes, which are enough for ALOT of chickens since they can share a nesting box. The house itself is 4' x 8'.
Adding the roof and frame.
Walls. The nesting boxes are accessible from the outside of the house.
Windows are added for ventilation and a door to the pen.
Paint and trim added.
The house was built at wheel barrow level with doors on either end for easy cleaning.
Adding the finishing touches.
The roof over the nesting boxes is hinged for access to the eggs.
Putting the house together with the pen. A walkway was also made to get into the pen from the door of the house and a step was added to the back so the kids can reach the eggs.
James is open to making these for anyone who would be interested. Just let me know and I will get you in touch with him. These would make great "Urban Chicken" houses.Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of this series, "Hen Party"
Cute chicken coup! My husband built us one and finished it last month. Its not nearly as stylish as yours, but it'll do the job! We are getting 80 chicks at the end of the month! :O I know. A lot of them will be sold, but we're keeping quite a few for the eggs and meat. This is my first experience with chickens, so I'm really excited!
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