This past summer (July 2018) I built a new chicken coop in my backyard. Although it does not look like it from these photos, I live in a city... its just that our block does not have an alley so that area is filled in with vegetation and trees. Now that it is winter, and the leaves have dropped, you can easily see the houses behind ours.
Read on...
In our city we have an ordinance that allows up to five egg-laying hens, no roosters. In reality, this coop could accommodate many more chickens, but we wanted them to have extra space to spread their wings, especially in winter when they never leave the structure as they are not fond of snow. Speaking of snow/winter, the last few days it has been about -20 F here. I have one heat lamp, an infrared panel (over the roosting bars) and a heated water dispenser. They are hearty birds!
From the delivery of the materials, to the birds moving in, was two weeks.
All the pictures are in chronological order...
Visitors in the front yard. Really, this is in the city:) But, I do live in northern Minnesota:)
Dutch door into run and nesting box/egg access door...
Dutch door. Also, notice the doors inside the run to access the coop.
In the coop... yes, that is a web cam - I am a geek!
Power, timer (for lights in the morning), data over power and a router (for web cams).
The circle on the ground pays homage to the trampoline that occupied this location for many years.
Access door for nesting box/eggs...
The welded wire fabric extends down below the ground and then about 2' horizontal (away from the structure) to keep hungry gritters out. If they start digging, they don't know to just back up a little:)
Inside the coop/run I used this non-toxic wood sealant. On the outside I used a high quality Sherwin-Williams paint (and colors) to match the house.
You can see a picture of my previous, much smaller, coop in this post: click here. It was made from a recycled large chandler shipping crate.
Fun stuff.
For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn
Read on...
In our city we have an ordinance that allows up to five egg-laying hens, no roosters. In reality, this coop could accommodate many more chickens, but we wanted them to have extra space to spread their wings, especially in winter when they never leave the structure as they are not fond of snow. Speaking of snow/winter, the last few days it has been about -20 F here. I have one heat lamp, an infrared panel (over the roosting bars) and a heated water dispenser. They are hearty birds!
From the delivery of the materials, to the birds moving in, was two weeks.
All the pictures are in chronological order...
Visitors in the front yard. Really, this is in the city:) But, I do live in northern Minnesota:)
Dutch door into run and nesting box/egg access door...
Dutch door. Also, notice the doors inside the run to access the coop.
In the coop... yes, that is a web cam - I am a geek!
Power, timer (for lights in the morning), data over power and a router (for web cams).
The circle on the ground pays homage to the trampoline that occupied this location for many years.
Access door for nesting box/eggs...
The welded wire fabric extends down below the ground and then about 2' horizontal (away from the structure) to keep hungry gritters out. If they start digging, they don't know to just back up a little:)
Inside the coop/run I used this non-toxic wood sealant. On the outside I used a high quality Sherwin-Williams paint (and colors) to match the house.
You can see a picture of my previous, much smaller, coop in this post: click here. It was made from a recycled large chandler shipping crate.
Fun stuff.
For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn