Chief Domestic Officer: Building the coop

There are so many options out there for chicken coops. Many places sell plans that give you a cut list and tell you everything you need to know. You can even buy coop kits or ones that are completely prefabricated and done. I found a few coops that I liked and while they were quite beautiful they certainly came with crazy price tags.

I found this coop and thought that it would be something I could work with. I have never built anything myself, or used power tools besides a drill. I am always willing to learn new things so I decided to jump right into this project. I have an uncle who makes beautiful cabinets and he loaned us all the tools and I have a brother who is great at figuring things out.

We headed to the hardware store and tried to determine everything that we needed. Our plan was to follow the framing from the inspiration coop but to make it a little shorter. Here is a list of some of the things we picked up:

A pre-cut board that was 4 feet by 4 feet for the base
A few 2 by 4's for the framing
Some 1 by 2's for framing the chicken run
A roll of 4 foot tall chicken wire
Hinges for the doors
Locks with combination for the doors
Two siding panels
Two metal roofing panels
Two plexi glass panels

We also had some wood lying around that we used for the legs under the base and to frame most of the chicken run.

The 4" by 4" posts were cut to the length of 2 feet and then the 2" by 4" boards were also cut to a length of 2 feet. The roof was made with a small slope out of more 2" by 4"s and the middle is a 2" by 6". We used 3" deck screws to screw it all together.