RamonaRay
Chirping
- Mar 23, 2018
- 20
- 63
- 69
As it's Father's Day, I thought it might be a good time to show what a great dad I have! I've long wanted to raise chickens as pets and as a bonus, collect their eggs. The time was right this spring to roll up my sleeves and wade into the water. I bought 10 one or two day old chicks at the local Farm and Home store - "one of these, one of those, oh, two of those yellow ones . . ." and thus it began. Baby chicks are so sweet and relatively easy to care for and contain, but then, dang! They grow so quickly!
This is where my dad comes in. We began building my coop and run on April 26th, 2018. He drove 60 miles roundtrip nearly every day to come and help me build this thing. We made countless trips to the box stores for lumber and supplies and we worked 8 to 10 hour days for 6 weeks to get it done. I think we took off about 9 or 10 days throughout the whole time -- Tuesday is his golf day, after all. Many of these days were HOT! Ugh -- Midwest soup! My dad was a county politician, not a carpenter, and we looked at soooo many of the coops on this site, hoping to find just the right one. But nah -- we ended up picking and choosing this look, that function, this aspect . . . I now find myself chuckling at the people who ask "do you have any blueprints / plans for this coop?" Now I get it! I wanted the same thing; looked high and low and got to the last page on the internet, but alas, there were few "real" blueprints for constructing a chicken coop. You do it as you go! You look at pictures of people who are kind enough to post pictures of their framing and try to apply it to your own structure.
Here is my own pictorial:
So sweet -- ten baby chicks -- all they need is a little food, a little water, a lot of sleep, and a heat lamp. That changes quickly! Must start building a coop!
Our inspiration coop from this site, by Coop De La Villes:
A blank slate -- the backside of our garage:
First, you must figure out what you need -- I have ten chickens -- I need 40 square feet in a coop. I determined I'd go 5' x 8' to get that and then build my run off to the edge of the garage, giving plenty of room for roaming during the daylight hours. But the guys at Lowe's made a good argument for me to adjust my plans to a 4 x 8 to make everything easier as a building project since sheets of plywood come in 4 x 8. Now that I've lived with it awhile, I believe I'd go back to my original plan and maybe even go 6 x 8 -- it's awfully narrow in there. As the people here always say, "go as big as you can." It's sage advice. I honestly didn't think I'd still have ten chicks at the end of the project. I thought I might lose a couple - at least I didn't think it was out of the question.
The next thing you do is mark out where you need to bury your poles; start with a hole and measure from there. Dig, dig, dig; 22" - 24" is the right depth for poles in our frost zone. OMG - it was so hard! It took a full day to dig four holes between the two of us. There was so much rock and hard ground. I did wisen up a little later and put the hose to the soil; we didn't want mud, but it helped for us to dig out the rocks. Later, when we did the run poles we rented a gas auger. It helped but the water to the soil trick was the best help. Setting the poles was a huge deal really. Everything plays off that foundation - all measurements. You have to have them level up and down and to each other. Thank goodness for my dad on all this; he used to be a telephone pole lineman so he knew about making chalk lines, aligning the poles, leveling them with stakes and string, and finally setting them in Quickcrete. I assume there is a good Youtube video on the process but ours was already done by the time I even knew I needed to know how to do that. Thanks, Dad!
Okay next we built our base -- 4 x 8 remember -- the poles need to be set so that the corner of each edge is flush with the edges of a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. And it needs to be level so you have to cut each of your poles height to level with one another.
And please! If you're using a 40 year old Craftsman electric hand saw, just stop. Spring for $150 and get a proper table saw. You'll need it. You just can't get the cuts and angles you'll need throughout your project. My dad and I limped along for two weeks before I threw in the towel and bought an entry level compound miter saw. Game changer. You need two or three drills too. You'll see. One for a drill bit for pilot holes, one for the three inch star bit screws, and the other for the two inch star bit screws or the regular Phillips screw heads. Saves so much time.
And then we had walls! That was quick!
And a roof form!
Going well! Stop, smile for the camera but then keep moving! It's heating up out here and your chicks are growing!
Really? Meanwhile in the garage, the cage walls are just a suggestion to them that they stay contained. Chickens don't care!
Ten chicks in a one foot square box - their choice - they had more room!
Add siding, paint, fascia board, and put your 74 year old dad on the roof to shingle!
But hey, I did alot myself too! This wasn't easy!
Keep going! Those chicks can't get in here until this thing is CLOSED up! Next up, nesting boxes; here are our "blueprints" -> printed pics off someone else's coop. In the end, you do what works for your set up.
And on the inside, 3 inch styrofoam insulation.
When your help is free roaming . . . they're a constant reminder you need to keep pushing to get this done! Better yet -- do all this BEFORE you buy chicks!
I finally got it so they could move in to their new home. Had to coax them to come out of their tiny cabin I'd bought online; I'm sure this place seemed enormous to them. See the poop shelves? Yeah, they lasted one night. I came in the next morning and saw all that slop on those boards - some goo, some dried and I knew that was a shortcut that wasn't going to work. IMO, the only way to go is poop trays with sand or kitty litter. When dad showed up that morning, I told him we had a big job for that day. Undo the shelves we'd just put in and start building sturdy boxes to catch droppings from their roosts.
There. MUCH better!
And it's finished on a Friday night! But, I still have ten chickens; the coop is smaller than it should be for ten though they free roam during the day. And that's the problem. Their boundaries are growing ever larger. They're walking right through my fence, running around into the front yard, pooping everywhere - "please watch where you step," is an embarrassing thing to have to tell guests, so . . . no, the run can't wait. "See you Monday morning, Dad! We'll start the run!"
More hole digging, poles set; I have 15 feet from the chicken door to the end of the garage so I elect to make the run 14' x 7' AND I'll incorporate everything underneath the coop AND extend it on over to the other side by adding a "porch" to the people door side. In all, I've got 156 square foot of run.
But oh my gosh, will we EVER get this finished? It's so hot!
And our inspectors are relentless!
And then, just like that -- it's contained! It's not finished; there's still some staining to do, the railing and banisters need to be set on the porch to give it a more finished look and I've called our landscaper to put in professional beds around the whole structure and up this right side of the house. Furthermore, when it's not 99* any longer -- like this fall -- Dad will come back to help me build a real roof over the run. I've got chicken wire over the top and hardware cloth everywhere below, secured by large head screws and washers. I've got double locks on both the run and the coop doors. It is a maximum security enclosure. No coons allowed! Or hawks, or fox, or opossum, or anything else that wants chicken dinner.
I hope this post has been helpful for y'all. I know I so appreciated seeing hundreds and hundreds of coops and their insides on this site and have zealously read those stories for tidbits where they were given. If I have helped the community at all with this, I'm absolutely thrilled for it!
Thanks for reading!
This is where my dad comes in. We began building my coop and run on April 26th, 2018. He drove 60 miles roundtrip nearly every day to come and help me build this thing. We made countless trips to the box stores for lumber and supplies and we worked 8 to 10 hour days for 6 weeks to get it done. I think we took off about 9 or 10 days throughout the whole time -- Tuesday is his golf day, after all. Many of these days were HOT! Ugh -- Midwest soup! My dad was a county politician, not a carpenter, and we looked at soooo many of the coops on this site, hoping to find just the right one. But nah -- we ended up picking and choosing this look, that function, this aspect . . . I now find myself chuckling at the people who ask "do you have any blueprints / plans for this coop?" Now I get it! I wanted the same thing; looked high and low and got to the last page on the internet, but alas, there were few "real" blueprints for constructing a chicken coop. You do it as you go! You look at pictures of people who are kind enough to post pictures of their framing and try to apply it to your own structure.
Here is my own pictorial:
So sweet -- ten baby chicks -- all they need is a little food, a little water, a lot of sleep, and a heat lamp. That changes quickly! Must start building a coop!
Our inspiration coop from this site, by Coop De La Villes:
A blank slate -- the backside of our garage:
First, you must figure out what you need -- I have ten chickens -- I need 40 square feet in a coop. I determined I'd go 5' x 8' to get that and then build my run off to the edge of the garage, giving plenty of room for roaming during the daylight hours. But the guys at Lowe's made a good argument for me to adjust my plans to a 4 x 8 to make everything easier as a building project since sheets of plywood come in 4 x 8. Now that I've lived with it awhile, I believe I'd go back to my original plan and maybe even go 6 x 8 -- it's awfully narrow in there. As the people here always say, "go as big as you can." It's sage advice. I honestly didn't think I'd still have ten chicks at the end of the project. I thought I might lose a couple - at least I didn't think it was out of the question.
The next thing you do is mark out where you need to bury your poles; start with a hole and measure from there. Dig, dig, dig; 22" - 24" is the right depth for poles in our frost zone. OMG - it was so hard! It took a full day to dig four holes between the two of us. There was so much rock and hard ground. I did wisen up a little later and put the hose to the soil; we didn't want mud, but it helped for us to dig out the rocks. Later, when we did the run poles we rented a gas auger. It helped but the water to the soil trick was the best help. Setting the poles was a huge deal really. Everything plays off that foundation - all measurements. You have to have them level up and down and to each other. Thank goodness for my dad on all this; he used to be a telephone pole lineman so he knew about making chalk lines, aligning the poles, leveling them with stakes and string, and finally setting them in Quickcrete. I assume there is a good Youtube video on the process but ours was already done by the time I even knew I needed to know how to do that. Thanks, Dad!
Okay next we built our base -- 4 x 8 remember -- the poles need to be set so that the corner of each edge is flush with the edges of a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. And it needs to be level so you have to cut each of your poles height to level with one another.
And please! If you're using a 40 year old Craftsman electric hand saw, just stop. Spring for $150 and get a proper table saw. You'll need it. You just can't get the cuts and angles you'll need throughout your project. My dad and I limped along for two weeks before I threw in the towel and bought an entry level compound miter saw. Game changer. You need two or three drills too. You'll see. One for a drill bit for pilot holes, one for the three inch star bit screws, and the other for the two inch star bit screws or the regular Phillips screw heads. Saves so much time.
And then we had walls! That was quick!
And a roof form!
Going well! Stop, smile for the camera but then keep moving! It's heating up out here and your chicks are growing!
Really? Meanwhile in the garage, the cage walls are just a suggestion to them that they stay contained. Chickens don't care!
Ten chicks in a one foot square box - their choice - they had more room!
Add siding, paint, fascia board, and put your 74 year old dad on the roof to shingle!
But hey, I did alot myself too! This wasn't easy!
Keep going! Those chicks can't get in here until this thing is CLOSED up! Next up, nesting boxes; here are our "blueprints" -> printed pics off someone else's coop. In the end, you do what works for your set up.
And on the inside, 3 inch styrofoam insulation.
When your help is free roaming . . . they're a constant reminder you need to keep pushing to get this done! Better yet -- do all this BEFORE you buy chicks!
I finally got it so they could move in to their new home. Had to coax them to come out of their tiny cabin I'd bought online; I'm sure this place seemed enormous to them. See the poop shelves? Yeah, they lasted one night. I came in the next morning and saw all that slop on those boards - some goo, some dried and I knew that was a shortcut that wasn't going to work. IMO, the only way to go is poop trays with sand or kitty litter. When dad showed up that morning, I told him we had a big job for that day. Undo the shelves we'd just put in and start building sturdy boxes to catch droppings from their roosts.
There. MUCH better!
And it's finished on a Friday night! But, I still have ten chickens; the coop is smaller than it should be for ten though they free roam during the day. And that's the problem. Their boundaries are growing ever larger. They're walking right through my fence, running around into the front yard, pooping everywhere - "please watch where you step," is an embarrassing thing to have to tell guests, so . . . no, the run can't wait. "See you Monday morning, Dad! We'll start the run!"
More hole digging, poles set; I have 15 feet from the chicken door to the end of the garage so I elect to make the run 14' x 7' AND I'll incorporate everything underneath the coop AND extend it on over to the other side by adding a "porch" to the people door side. In all, I've got 156 square foot of run.
But oh my gosh, will we EVER get this finished? It's so hot!
And our inspectors are relentless!
And then, just like that -- it's contained! It's not finished; there's still some staining to do, the railing and banisters need to be set on the porch to give it a more finished look and I've called our landscaper to put in professional beds around the whole structure and up this right side of the house. Furthermore, when it's not 99* any longer -- like this fall -- Dad will come back to help me build a real roof over the run. I've got chicken wire over the top and hardware cloth everywhere below, secured by large head screws and washers. I've got double locks on both the run and the coop doors. It is a maximum security enclosure. No coons allowed! Or hawks, or fox, or opossum, or anything else that wants chicken dinner.
I hope this post has been helpful for y'all. I know I so appreciated seeing hundreds and hundreds of coops and their insides on this site and have zealously read those stories for tidbits where they were given. If I have helped the community at all with this, I'm absolutely thrilled for it!
Thanks for reading!
Last edited:
WOW that's an AWESOME Coop/Run 
when I read the part, build BEFORE the 
I learned that too 
. I recall that I had studied your page for some time one night a couple months back. 
Wasn't funny 'til later, but still is.
