Twin Duplex: Chickens! Part 2: Initial Sides

After we visited six chickens keeping friends, we sat down to determine what features we liked the best and wanted incorporate into our coop. We used many books including our favorite which ended up being Art of the Chicken Coop by Chris Gleason. It included actual construction plans and a lot of pictures. One key aspect was to be able to collect eggs without having to enter the coop or run. We wanted to put the coop at the stretch of ground at the end of the driveway, so the nesting boxes needed to be on the driveway side of the coop. We also wanted to be able to keep the coop open at all times so the chickens can go in and out at will (and no one would have to wake up early every day to let them out). Yet they need to be protected, so the run would have to be completely enclosed.

We are trying to build the coop out of mostly reclaimed materials. Patrick did most of the collecting from Craigslist and our neighborhood community association. We were able to collect all the wood and much of the hardware like hinges and door handles. So far our biggest investment has been on screws and chicken wire. Here are some pictures from the two days over the winter holidays where we built the first two sides.