First of all let me say that I had absolutely no construction experience whatsoever. Now that was a big drawback, but actually since I didn't know what I was getting into I went ahead and took the plunge to build a chicken coop. This coop is quite small at 3 x 3 feet by about 4 feet tall--but cute 
Total cost was around $250 and that was with using some reclaimed materials.
The plans called for the coop to be built in sections. The floor, then the walls--and then assembled.
The floor:
Walls:
After the panels were done, they were set on the base and the rafters were put in place to see if everything fit together.
Next came the building of the nest box--too much detail and could have been a lot simpler-----
My next step was to make the 8 x 4 foot pen. This is NOT included in the plans for this coop. I used 3 pressure treated 1x6s and 3 1x4s plus wood salvaged from pallets. The purchased wood was in 8 ft lengths so I used 2 8 ft pieces for each side and cut one in half for the ends--so 2 8 ft pressure treated boards and 2 4 ft pressure treated for the bottoms of the panels and then the same lengths for the panel tops--but made out of the non-treated 1x4's. I made the vertical slats with pallet wood and they were 34" tall---just the right length for attaching the 36" hardware cloth. Then I just screwed it all together in place making sure it was squared. After the pen was up, I measured and constructed the top--that way it was an exact fit.
And here is the result!
Here are the final two pics of the coop. I added handles for the door and nest box, a shingled roof and pails of petunias.
After using the coop for 3years, I would note that it is really quite small and suitable for 2-3 standard hens--but is a cute yard ornament. I currently have 5 seramas in it--and they even free-range for more room. Definitely add litter boards at both entrances and devise some sort of protection for the hinged area of the nest box since water can drip into the boxes when it rains--I covered it with rubber car floor mat.
No need for a partitioned nest box. And if you want a feeder inside, the perch in front of the box is best made about half the length. Other wise you get poop falling from roosting hens at night---not all the time, but when it happens the feed is ruined. So, all in all, a learning experience---good for a couple of birds---but as everyone else here seems to say---build BIGGER the first time!!!!!!
Total cost was around $250 and that was with using some reclaimed materials.The plans called for the coop to be built in sections. The floor, then the walls--and then assembled.
The floor:
Walls:
After the panels were done, they were set on the base and the rafters were put in place to see if everything fit together.
Next came the building of the nest box--too much detail and could have been a lot simpler-----
My next step was to make the 8 x 4 foot pen. This is NOT included in the plans for this coop. I used 3 pressure treated 1x6s and 3 1x4s plus wood salvaged from pallets. The purchased wood was in 8 ft lengths so I used 2 8 ft pieces for each side and cut one in half for the ends--so 2 8 ft pressure treated boards and 2 4 ft pressure treated for the bottoms of the panels and then the same lengths for the panel tops--but made out of the non-treated 1x4's. I made the vertical slats with pallet wood and they were 34" tall---just the right length for attaching the 36" hardware cloth. Then I just screwed it all together in place making sure it was squared. After the pen was up, I measured and constructed the top--that way it was an exact fit.
And here is the result!
Here are the final two pics of the coop. I added handles for the door and nest box, a shingled roof and pails of petunias.
After using the coop for 3years, I would note that it is really quite small and suitable for 2-3 standard hens--but is a cute yard ornament. I currently have 5 seramas in it--and they even free-range for more room. Definitely add litter boards at both entrances and devise some sort of protection for the hinged area of the nest box since water can drip into the boxes when it rains--I covered it with rubber car floor mat.
No need for a partitioned nest box. And if you want a feeder inside, the perch in front of the box is best made about half the length. Other wise you get poop falling from roosting hens at night---not all the time, but when it happens the feed is ruined. So, all in all, a learning experience---good for a couple of birds---but as everyone else here seems to say---build BIGGER the first time!!!!!!
