So, I love lurking and seeing everyone else's coops, so thought I'd post ours. It might come in handy for anyone else considering "The Garden Coop" plans.
About Us
So I've wanted chickens ever since a neighbor in college had them. I had to wait a few years since I was missing a few minor-but-necessary components like, you know, a house and a job. Fortunately, I got both those things about a year ago, so when the Tractor Supply Chick Days flyer showed up in the mail I managed to talk hubby around. We're in a neighborhood with a normal-size yard, so we only picked up four chicks.
We picked The Garden Coop plans (http://www.thegardencoop.com/) because we have zero tools/materials and even less experience, so wanted thorough step-by-step plans that listed all the materials/tools we would need (and I also thought it was pretty). That being said we're making several modifications. This is probably more detail than most people are interested in, but might help other newbies who are thinking of using this plan:
Here's the original:
*** UPDATE***HERE'S OUR FINAL:
The rest of the new pictures are at the end.
Our Modifications:
1. We're adding external nesting boxes to give the girls more room.
2. We live in NC, where its warm, so we're adding two big windows on either side (with shutters for winter) to increase ventilation (and because we love watching them!).
3. The original plan only has one clean-out door, inside the run, in the middle (here's a pic of someone's--you can kind of see it behind the screen):
But I'm short and would have to practically climb inside to reach the corners, so we're moving that clean-out door to the right, and putting another one on the back, on the opposite side, so both halves can be easily reached.
4. The design has the chicken door on the bottom, but I would like to use Sweet PDZ as a floor material (which is expensive) so am using a pop door on the side so the girls can't kick the pdz out.
5. The design recommends cedar boards ($$$$$) so we switched that for plywood with some trim to make it pretty.
6. The design recommends translucent polycarbonate roofing. We switched to tin because our backyard is full of trees that would just cover the roof with leaves, and tin is a lot cheaper.
7. The design has the foundation resting on 8 12-inch cinder blocks close to the ground. The best spot for our coop is in a lower area (it doesn't flood or anything, but it's not on a hill) and our backyard doesn't get a lot of sun, so we wanted a raised run filled with sand so we wouldn't have a drainage/moisture issue. We used cinder blocks all around to raise the coop and hold the sand. We left gaps in between to let water run out, and lined that with landscaping cloth so the water doesn't drain too fast and erode around the pilings.
We've worked on it for three weekends, (for one weekend the husband was in a wedding, so we had so little time it barely counted), and below's what we've accomplished so far. Most people could probably build it much faster, but we've spent time learning things most people already know--like how to use a saw.
That big hole is where our rear clean-out door is going to go. the other one is going to go on the front, opposite the nesting boxes.
Cost:
This is the first time we've built anything, so we literally had no materials lying around had to buy everything new. I did some serious price comparing before we began, and all in it's going to cost us between $550 and $600 (and I'm counting everything--every nail, every hinge, every piece of board--all tracked on a spreadsheet). The biggest boon was being able to pick up the plywood for $8 a sheet at the habitat restore (they usually cost ~$30 at home depot). I think (hope!) that when we stain it all, it will match better.
Thing's I'd Do Differently:
Since I haven't even finished, let alone moved the girls in yet, this is a short list! Already though, I wish that I had doubled the size of the run. We had planned to let the chickens free-range some during the day, but now we're too attached to risk them getting eaten by predators, so will only let them out when we're there to supervise. It's going to be an easy fix, though. We're either going to:
(1) build a short, uncovered (wire, but no roof) extension back into the woods and make a compost pile for them to play in. That compost pile won't be where we dump their feces, that will go in another compost pile they can't reach. I predict that costing another $150 to build in 2x4's and hardware cloth; OR
(2) build a movable, daytime-only run made with hinges so we can fold it up when its not in use. It won't be as predator-proof since the wire won't be buried, but it will be safe enough during the day. That way we can let them check out new areas.
We're still deciding. If you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!
WARNING:
The Garden Coop plans say that it fits "Up to 8 hens," but from what I've read (on BYC and elsewhere), that seems to be a severe overstatement. The actual coop is only 5 x 3, and the run is only 9.6 x 5. I think it's fine for four chickens in NC where they won't have to spend a lot of time cooped up, but I don't think I'd do any more than that. That being said, these are my first chickens, so I'm only going off what I've read--no experience whatsoever! Just make sure you do your research beforehand!
**UPDATE** The creator of the Garden Coop plans addresses the space/flock size on his website here.
Overall I am really happy with the Garden Coop plans. They are REALLY thorough and clear and well-laid out. We have had zero-problems following them (we've had other problems--but totally all of our own doing! Rookies--sheesh). Also helpful, the Garden Coop also has an accompanying blog with supplemental info and pictures of people's modifications. I would highly recommend these plans for someone with no building experience.
I'll update when I get a chance to build more!
UPDATE!! ALL FINISHED AND HERE ARE THE NEW PICS!
We have our chicken-watching chairs.
We're looking for a metal chicken silhouette (or similar art) to hang on that blank wall beneath the window, so it won't look so empty soon.
View from the back.
I really liked some of the cool vintage signs you can find online, but instead of buying one, I decided to make my own. I created a stencil on Microsoft word, then just cut it out with my craft knife and painted.
Another stencil I made:
I painted the inside of the nesting box dark since chickens like dark, private places for egg laying. I haven't put any bedding in it yet because I don't want to get them in the habit of sleeping in there. I also think that I might end up shingling the roof, or at least covering it in a plastic cloth to make sure no rain gets in at the hinge (my jig-sawing skills leave something to be desired!)
Probably overkill, but decided to make a drop door too, to make it easy to clean.
Heat is more of a problem than cold in NC, so we added windows with shutters on either side of the coop. Plus we really like looking in and seeing what they're up to!
Closed window.
Here's from inside the run. I rigged a pulley system so I don't have to go in the sandy run in my work-heels to let the chickpeas out in the morning.
I still need to touch up the stain job from where I had to sand the door!
A cleat to tie off the pop-door rope. You can also see our barrel bolt with our lynch-pin lock. As a side note--does anyone know if a lynch pin is secure enough to keep out raccoons? Or do you think I need to use carabiners instead?
View inside. I painted the floor, roost, and lower walls to make them poo-resistant. Right now we're using pine shreddings mixed with sweet pdz, but later (once they start sleeping on the roost) we might switch to all sweet pdz.
So far the girls seem to like it!
But they're wusses, and will only come out of the coop and into the run if my husband and I are present. We're hoping that'll change once they get more used to it.
Thanks to everyone who answered my 9 million questions during this process, and especially to jasonsamko (here's his backwoods playpen coop) for tips on the pop-door.
About Us
So I've wanted chickens ever since a neighbor in college had them. I had to wait a few years since I was missing a few minor-but-necessary components like, you know, a house and a job. Fortunately, I got both those things about a year ago, so when the Tractor Supply Chick Days flyer showed up in the mail I managed to talk hubby around. We're in a neighborhood with a normal-size yard, so we only picked up four chicks.
We picked The Garden Coop plans (http://www.thegardencoop.com/) because we have zero tools/materials and even less experience, so wanted thorough step-by-step plans that listed all the materials/tools we would need (and I also thought it was pretty). That being said we're making several modifications. This is probably more detail than most people are interested in, but might help other newbies who are thinking of using this plan:
Here's the original:
*** UPDATE***HERE'S OUR FINAL:
The rest of the new pictures are at the end.
Our Modifications:
1. We're adding external nesting boxes to give the girls more room.
2. We live in NC, where its warm, so we're adding two big windows on either side (with shutters for winter) to increase ventilation (and because we love watching them!).
3. The original plan only has one clean-out door, inside the run, in the middle (here's a pic of someone's--you can kind of see it behind the screen):
But I'm short and would have to practically climb inside to reach the corners, so we're moving that clean-out door to the right, and putting another one on the back, on the opposite side, so both halves can be easily reached.
4. The design has the chicken door on the bottom, but I would like to use Sweet PDZ as a floor material (which is expensive) so am using a pop door on the side so the girls can't kick the pdz out.
5. The design recommends cedar boards ($$$$$) so we switched that for plywood with some trim to make it pretty.
6. The design recommends translucent polycarbonate roofing. We switched to tin because our backyard is full of trees that would just cover the roof with leaves, and tin is a lot cheaper.
7. The design has the foundation resting on 8 12-inch cinder blocks close to the ground. The best spot for our coop is in a lower area (it doesn't flood or anything, but it's not on a hill) and our backyard doesn't get a lot of sun, so we wanted a raised run filled with sand so we wouldn't have a drainage/moisture issue. We used cinder blocks all around to raise the coop and hold the sand. We left gaps in between to let water run out, and lined that with landscaping cloth so the water doesn't drain too fast and erode around the pilings.
We've worked on it for three weekends, (for one weekend the husband was in a wedding, so we had so little time it barely counted), and below's what we've accomplished so far. Most people could probably build it much faster, but we've spent time learning things most people already know--like how to use a saw.
That big hole is where our rear clean-out door is going to go. the other one is going to go on the front, opposite the nesting boxes.
Cost:
This is the first time we've built anything, so we literally had no materials lying around had to buy everything new. I did some serious price comparing before we began, and all in it's going to cost us between $550 and $600 (and I'm counting everything--every nail, every hinge, every piece of board--all tracked on a spreadsheet). The biggest boon was being able to pick up the plywood for $8 a sheet at the habitat restore (they usually cost ~$30 at home depot). I think (hope!) that when we stain it all, it will match better.
Thing's I'd Do Differently:
Since I haven't even finished, let alone moved the girls in yet, this is a short list! Already though, I wish that I had doubled the size of the run. We had planned to let the chickens free-range some during the day, but now we're too attached to risk them getting eaten by predators, so will only let them out when we're there to supervise. It's going to be an easy fix, though. We're either going to:
(1) build a short, uncovered (wire, but no roof) extension back into the woods and make a compost pile for them to play in. That compost pile won't be where we dump their feces, that will go in another compost pile they can't reach. I predict that costing another $150 to build in 2x4's and hardware cloth; OR
(2) build a movable, daytime-only run made with hinges so we can fold it up when its not in use. It won't be as predator-proof since the wire won't be buried, but it will be safe enough during the day. That way we can let them check out new areas.
We're still deciding. If you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!
WARNING:
The Garden Coop plans say that it fits "Up to 8 hens," but from what I've read (on BYC and elsewhere), that seems to be a severe overstatement. The actual coop is only 5 x 3, and the run is only 9.6 x 5. I think it's fine for four chickens in NC where they won't have to spend a lot of time cooped up, but I don't think I'd do any more than that. That being said, these are my first chickens, so I'm only going off what I've read--no experience whatsoever! Just make sure you do your research beforehand!
**UPDATE** The creator of the Garden Coop plans addresses the space/flock size on his website here.
Overall I am really happy with the Garden Coop plans. They are REALLY thorough and clear and well-laid out. We have had zero-problems following them (we've had other problems--but totally all of our own doing! Rookies--sheesh). Also helpful, the Garden Coop also has an accompanying blog with supplemental info and pictures of people's modifications. I would highly recommend these plans for someone with no building experience.
I'll update when I get a chance to build more!
UPDATE!! ALL FINISHED AND HERE ARE THE NEW PICS!
We have our chicken-watching chairs.
We're looking for a metal chicken silhouette (or similar art) to hang on that blank wall beneath the window, so it won't look so empty soon.
View from the back.
I really liked some of the cool vintage signs you can find online, but instead of buying one, I decided to make my own. I created a stencil on Microsoft word, then just cut it out with my craft knife and painted.
Another stencil I made:
I painted the inside of the nesting box dark since chickens like dark, private places for egg laying. I haven't put any bedding in it yet because I don't want to get them in the habit of sleeping in there. I also think that I might end up shingling the roof, or at least covering it in a plastic cloth to make sure no rain gets in at the hinge (my jig-sawing skills leave something to be desired!)
Probably overkill, but decided to make a drop door too, to make it easy to clean.
Heat is more of a problem than cold in NC, so we added windows with shutters on either side of the coop. Plus we really like looking in and seeing what they're up to!
Closed window.
Here's from inside the run. I rigged a pulley system so I don't have to go in the sandy run in my work-heels to let the chickpeas out in the morning.
I still need to touch up the stain job from where I had to sand the door!
A cleat to tie off the pop-door rope. You can also see our barrel bolt with our lynch-pin lock. As a side note--does anyone know if a lynch pin is secure enough to keep out raccoons? Or do you think I need to use carabiners instead?
View inside. I painted the floor, roost, and lower walls to make them poo-resistant. Right now we're using pine shreddings mixed with sweet pdz, but later (once they start sleeping on the roost) we might switch to all sweet pdz.
So far the girls seem to like it!
But they're wusses, and will only come out of the coop and into the run if my husband and I are present. We're hoping that'll change once they get more used to it.
Thanks to everyone who answered my 9 million questions during this process, and especially to jasonsamko (here's his backwoods playpen coop) for tips on the pop-door.
Last edited:
..your coop looks great!
