The Chicken Coop

Welcome to our Poultry Palace! We finally moved our girls into the new &  improved chicken coop the last week of November.  While we still have a few things to finish up on, we are extremely happy with how well the coop turned out in both functionality and design.

A few of the features that I wanted to change from our previous chicken coops was nest box placement,  inside egg collection, improved coop lighting and ventilation, feed, supply and bedding storage, poop boards under the roosting areas for containment and easier cleaning, a hospital area, better predator protection, an enclosed run for inclement weather,  insulation for climate control for the cold of winter and the heat of summer, adding polycarbonate flooring for easy cleaning and poly wall covering to cover the insulation and brighten the interior of the coop,  and the addition of operational windows for natural lighting and fresh air. I wanted a coop and run I did not have to bend down in to clean or to get the eggs. Last but not least,  I wanted the new coop to be cute as well as functional.

As you can see, I had quite a list to address in a new coop for the girls!  Here is what we ended up building and designing.

We placed the storage area that is just inside the front door.  Here I have easy access to the nest boxes, plenty of storage for feed, treats, supplements, and I love the window that looks into the coop area so I can check on the girls without having to enter the coop itself.  We have additional attic storage over the coop area, over the front door, and in the run area, we added overhead storage for straw and wood chips.

In the photo above you can see the door that accesses the coop area from inside my storage area and through the window you can see the roost area.  There is also another pedestrian door on the side of the coop for ease of cleaning.

Here you can see a portion inside the run area.  We enclosed the run with heavy duty 1″ hardware cloth and all of the doors have secure locks.  We have 3′ of hardware cloth and 4′ of fencing buried along the exterior of the run and coop to prevent any predators access from digging.   We added solar lighting and predador nite guard light around the coop to deter predators.

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Our new chicken coop is 8′ wide by 14′ long by 10′ high.  The interior storage area is 8′ by 4′, the interior roosting area is 8′ by 10′ and the enclosed run area is 8′ by 24′ long.

Plenty of overhead storage in the attic,

We raised the coop and run up with packed sand to ensure the area was kept dry year round.  Whenever weather permits, the girls have access to free range from the run area.

More overhead storage in the run area.

Our new coop and run addressed all of the “issues” I had with the first two coops – It is truly a Poultry Palace!

I’d love to know your thoughts and answer any questions you may have on our new coop.  I’d love to see photos of your coops as well!