Enthusiastic chicken keepers, awesome coops and our own Community Chickens followers come from all over the world! This week’s Cool Coop was designed and built by Henry Boisvert from Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. Continue reading as Henry describes the construction and shares photos of his chicken city — complete with a hotel, sheriff’s quarters and attached jail!
I built the coop myself, it is 6′ X 8′ with a 6′ X 8′ run.
I divided the chickens due to age and different feed. I have 3 (20 weeks old) and 13 chickens that are approx. 8 to 10 weeks old (on grow feed).
Due to the cold winter here, it’s insulated with 2″ X 4″ walls and recycled wood from crates. Seven wire mesh (AKA 1/4- inch hardware cloth) cover the windows so the chickens can perch and look outside anytime.
I also have 6 laying boxes.
The door separation at the back is removable so I can get them to be all together soon.
At this time I only have one door to the run, but I can place the door so one side or the other can use the run. In the near future, I want to fill a big container of food that way I only need to fill the container one a month, and rainwater in a large water barrel for less maintenance (I have a slanted meat roof so I can collect water in the near future).
The floor is solid. 2″ X 6″ every 16 inches and 3/4-inch pressure treated plywood. I used vinyl flooring for easy clean-up.
The run is 6′ X 8′ and 5′ high with two doors for access. I attached 3/4 inch Hardware cloth to the bottom of the run and it extends out approx. 1-1/2 feet outwards. I then buried it with rocks and dirt (predator safe / weasel safe). For the winter I will have a little heat for the water and maybe a light. It is well insulated and I will put a lot of straw to keep warm, I believe they will be fine. Of course, I will be checking on them a couple of times a day.
The total cost was about $600.00 for wood, metal roof, paint, wire mesh (not cheap), etc. I tried to use what I had and recycle as much as I could.
Thanks, Henry for sharing your unique and creative coop/residence and set-up! Please leave an encouraging comment to let Henry know — as a community of chicken enthusiasts, we appreciate his DIY skills!
If you have a “Cool Coop” you would like to share with the Community, email me at RNickols@communitychickens.com
To view what else is happening at our Southwest Missouri property, visit here. If you enjoy bird-watching (in addition to chicken-watching), I invite you to follow my Facebook page: Rebecca’s Bird Gardens
