DH & I had never built anything more complex than a garden bed. I researched all over to find the perfect coop for my dream flock of chickens. That’s when I found this website. We live in the PNW tip of Oregon, our weather consists of rain, sidways rain, & occasionally rain on a sunny day.
We decided on an elevated coop with a covered run attached. We started by measuring out where we wanted our coop. We had a pre-existing potting shed/wood shed on the property and decided to make the coop the same width and height to match. The coop is 8’W x 10’L. With a height of 10’ in the front & 8’ in the back. Each post has an additional two feet cemented into the ground. The floor of the coop is 2’ above the ground. We wanted it large enough to access for easy cleaning.
I didn’t take any pictures from the last to this one. Let’s just say DH & I are lucky to be alive and still married at this point in the build.
The run is 8’W x 30’L including the space under the coop. We used old windows that we found in the potting shed. T1-11 siding, no insulation(as it doesn’t get too cold here). 4x4 as posts, 2x4 for all of the framework. As far as tools we used a drill, a staple gun, circular saw, hammer, measuring tape, & a level.
It rains a lot here as posted above, so I did any painting I could indoors. We used the cheapest outdoor trim we could find.
We put up a few hundred feet of hardware cloth and created an apron a foot down and foot out to keep out digging predators. We then attached 2x4 & 2x6 to the outside of the framework of both the coop and run.
We had five tons of pea gravel delivered for the run portion. The roof is made from multiple pieces of metal roofing overlapped. We sealed all screws with a metal sealant to keep rain out.
All of our doors can be locked open or closed.
We purchased a large chicken fountain instead of building our own pvc drinker.
The chicken fountain doesn’t get algae as it’s made from an extremely thick pvc.
We made pvc feeders for their feed, grit, & oyster shells
We added ventilation on three of the four sides of the coop.
The roosts are local fallen trees. We also made a dust bath with rounds. (Can you tell that we have enough trees here?)
The portion of the run underneath the coop provides shelter from sideways rain and will be a great source of shade during the summer months.
Nesting boxes that can be accessed from outside.
Lock to hold it open for egg collecting.
Inside the coop we went with sand. Two tons of it to be exact. I can’t tell you how nice it is scooping poop once a day for five minutes to keep it clean. At night we spray down the gravel and it’s good as new.
We built in a chicken jail/broody breaker. It’s convenient for introducing new birds or separating naughty ones. We also added a droppings board, to make cleaning that much easier.
I sprinkle sweet pdz underneath the roosts every couple days to absorb and excess moisture.
We have an angled nesting box, and also made the nesting boxes lower than all the roosts to keep everyone in the right place at night.
Hope you all enjoy the coop as much as we do.
