In the summer of 2014, it was time to build a new chicken coop that could incorporate things I’ve learned along the way. This journey was anything but smooth until I got on the right track for what I call The Next Generation Chicken Coop Design.
Figuring out the site for the chicken coop was the first order of business. Because of the increase of predators (believe it or not, I had neighbors that were actually feeding raccoons!), a lot more care was needed to create a safe place for them. So I finally figured out that if I removed a couple of Cedar trees on the east side of my house that were getting too close to the house and clogging up my gutters, that would work. The cool thing about that location is that it can be seen by both my front and back yards which is perfect because part of the whole enjoyment of having chickens is watching them! Seeing them scratch and grub around the yard is just about the most ideal ‘Martha Stewart – moment’ you can have. It makes for quite a setting and hours of enjoyment. Chickens have fabulous personalities and each one is very unique, so there’s always some interesting interactions happening.
The location is also between the front and back yard areas so chicken viewing can happen wherever you happen to be. So called up my favorite Arborist, Zac from Z & I Tree Service, and we were on our way. Zac and crew even cut and stacked the wood for me – nice to have a friend in the biz!
Stump grinding was next, and fortunately, I met Robert Loeder of Sno-King Stump Grinding (www.stumpgrinding1.com). He was fabulous and so easy to work with – in no time that little machine just ground through everything and I could stake out the spot.
By now my Pinterest Chicken Board was overflowing with ideas, I just needed to find some help building this thing. I’m no stranger to general repairs and fixing things, but engineering a structure like this was a bit beyond my comfort zone. But no matter whom I called – no one seemed to be ready, willing nor able. Where was the chicken love?! And then Brady came to the rescue. Brady’s an old family friend who just started his own construction company.
We came up with the initial concepts and then sunk the posts for a 6’ X 8’ structure.
While all of that was coming together, it was time to hunt for windows at Millwork Outlet, (www.Millworkoutlet.com) a window salvage place around here. The windows would help determine how we finished out the design. I found a sash for $15, and these fabulous leaded glass windows at $9 each!
Whoohoo – I was on my way. The windows allowed us to finish up the design and this is what we’re shooting for:
And then it started to finally take shape:
Fall was just around the corner and there was a lot of work to do before the rains came. We pressed on and got the roof on, the sides up and papered which would get us through the winter. We also got the plumbing and electricity hooked up, and then focused on the interior. I was very focused on some must-have features:
- Chicken Fountain – a continuous, no maintenance source of fresh water. Read more about it here.
- Automatic Chicken Door to make life simpler!
- External nesting boxes – for easy egg gathering
- Poop Drawer – for easy peasy clean-up!
- Storage for bales of straw and feed
It was November and we were pushing it, but finally one night we made it! Good enough to let the Ladies in and they were ‘eggstatic’! 🙂
So was I!
The rest would have to wait until spring, but the girls had a great new space to be well-loved chickens in :).
