Project by Hoosier Beaver Woodworking | posted 01-09-2013 03:35 PM | 2421 views | 6 times favorited | 17 comments | ![]() |
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It has been awhile since my last project. Needless to say I am getting wood worker fever – if there is such a thing? So, to get back in the mix I decided it was time to tackle a new project. This year we decided that we are going to raise chickens for eggs and poultry. So, I decided to build a chicken coop that would be large enough to hold 30-40 chickens. I researched the internet quite a bit and saw some pretty fancy designs, but in the end I decided to just go with this layout. I did not use any plans or drawings, pretty much just drew something up according to the yard and where the sun rose & set with regards to the windows. My wife was able to round up all of the recycled lumber from a haunted house that no longer wanted the wood, which is why you see the various colors & blood splatter…haha! The structure was pretty much free, which would have probably cost $500-600 in lumber & windows alone. The only added costs were the roofing materials, siding and 1×4’s used to frame out the nesting boxes and storage doors. Other hidden costs fell under chicken wire for the inside windows, block and pulley for the door to let chickens out and the 4×4 posts and wire that I will use to make their run (not seen in photo yet because ground is frozen). All in all, a very fun and exciting project to watch come to life, but very glad I am pretty much done. Thankfully the only thing I have left is to install some metal fascia and of course install the posts and wire. Oh & I am going to put a cupola on the roof as well, which you can see the start of it already. Thanks for looking. Happy woord working.
-- Woodworking minus patience equals firewood
17 comments so far
a1Jim
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118155 posts in 4553 days
#1 posted 01-09-2013 05:20 PM
Wow you should only allow prize winning chickens in there.This is the fanciest chicken coop I’ve ever seen.
-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos
Jamie Speirs
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4168 posts in 3833 days
#2 posted 01-09-2013 06:58 PM
That is a great looking coop
You can expect some happy hens
jamie
-- Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
bubbs
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111 posts in 3053 days
#3 posted 01-09-2013 08:42 PM
Bub…Love the whole concept and it’s a great-looking build. Couple of questions to satisfy my curiosity: (1) How is the coup orientated with regards to the sun? Are the windows east-west or the other way around? (2) Are the doors on the one side for cleaning, or some other function? Having never raised chickens, I’m just curious. Who knows, might happen someday…
-- Cats, beer and wood...perfect.
Julian
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1618 posts in 3666 days
#4 posted 01-09-2013 08:55 PM
Those chickens are going to be living “high on the hog”.
-- Julian
Hoosier Beaver Woodworking
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#5 posted 01-09-2013 09:13 PM
Bubbs – Thank you for viewing and your comments. To answer your questions: (1) I designed the coop to catch the rising sun in the morning and setting sun in the afternoon. I almost went with a more “greenhouse” design to ensure that I utilized the most sun as possible to heat the coop, but I was over-ruled by the building committee (my wife). Hahaha! (2) The three doors on the right of the coop (if facing the front door) are for storage. They will hold straw, pine shavings, feed, etc. The two doors on the left are the nesting box doors. This eliminates the need to enter the coop each day and battle chickens just to pick eggs. Each morning my wife will be able to just drop each door and access the nests, which hold 3 nests per door – 6 total nests. Also, the door that will lead to the outdoor run, this will be operational from the outside as well. It will basically be similiar to a guillotine, but when outside of the coop (probably near the nesting box doors) you will be able to pull the rope and the door will raise open allowing the chickens access to the fenced in run. The run is going to be as wide as the coop (10ft.) and about 30 ft. long. On occassion we will allow them to roam the yard with the gate open and in the fall I will unleash them into the garden. Hope I answered your questions. Again, thanks for looking and commenting. It was a fun project.
-- Woodworking minus patience equals firewood
Surfside
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3389 posts in 3150 days
#6 posted 01-09-2013 09:58 PM
I am very impressed with your work! Wonderful!
www.bandsawparts.com
-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"
dpow
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#7 posted 01-09-2013 10:08 PM
Nice job on the coop. Chickens are fun to have around.
-- Doug
HorizontalMike
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#8 posted 01-09-2013 10:47 PM
Do NOT let J. Michael FOX have a key… right?
-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."
gfadvm
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#9 posted 01-10-2013 01:51 AM
I’ve gotta agree with Jim: That’s the fanciest chicken house I’ve ever seen! And the fact you did it with recycled materials makes it even sweeter! Snakes are our biggest problem here as they really seem to go for the eggs. If your wife ever reaches under a hen and finds a big snake, you will probably get to take over the egg gathering duty.
-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm
BentheViking
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1782 posts in 3540 days
#10 posted 01-10-2013 02:58 AM
there is no such thing as getting the woodworking fever…ya just have it!
nice coop
-- It's made of wood. Real sturdy.--Chubbs Peterson
redryder
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2393 posts in 4078 days
#11 posted 01-10-2013 06:33 AM
That is a great looking coop. That should last.
I have chickens also. 30-40 chickens with only six nest boxes?? You may want to do some more internet research…..........................
-- mike...............
Wheathills
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70 posts in 4198 days
#12 posted 01-10-2013 10:08 AM
Great job – you’ve got that eggsactly right.
Fantastic achievement considering it’s built out of recycled materials.
Fascinating insight into the snakes – in the UK it’s only foxes we have to worry about!
-- Wheathills, Derbyshire, UK, http://www.wheathills.com
hunter71
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3541 posts in 4163 days
#13 posted 01-10-2013 12:06 PM
Nice job, good luck with the yard fowl.
-- A childs smile is payment enough.
kizerpea
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775 posts in 3344 days
#14 posted 01-10-2013 01:34 PM
Yeah i like it too…don,t forget the weather vain on top of the cupola..
-- IF YOUR NOT MAKING DUST...YOU ARE COLLECTING IT! SOUTH CAROLINA.
Hoosier Beaver Woodworking
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60 posts in 3220 days
#15 posted 01-10-2013 02:19 PM
@Redryder…we are only starting with 13 chickens. I think by next year we will double that number or make it an even 30. When that happens, I can open the lower level of the nesting boxes to make 6 more nests. That will give me 12 total nests then. Only trouble will be constructing two new nesting box doors. My wife has all this researched, I’m just her contractor…haha! Thanks for commenting everyone, I am glad y’all like The Coop. :)
-- Woodworking minus patience equals firewood
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