It’s time again for the Krewe of Coops, a celebration of what people have been building with our chicken coop plans. This time, we’re featuring The Garden Coop design exclusively, with nine fantastic examples from across the U.S. and one from Australia. So gather your feathered friends, find a comfy perch, and enjoy the parade!
Coop 1: Candace B.’s Garden Coop with Corrugated Metal Roof, Boerne, Texas
“My son, Cody, and husband, Andy, were the builders. I read the plans and painted — oh, and added the chicken art and plants. I’ll be adding a granite walkway leading to the coop soon.”
Coop 2: Lisa M. and Family’s Garden Coop in the Snow, Indianapolis, Indiana
“We built our coop because the only thing our then-turning-8-year-old daughter wanted for her birthday was to start keeping chickens. It was a fun family project. I love the orange paint and the blue solar lantern we can take down at night if we need to go check on something. We stained the wood to match our surrounding fence and have it blend into the environment.”
Coop 3: Courtenay W.’s Garden Coop (From Plans and Hardware Kit), Denver, Colorado
“I’m a teacher, and this was my spring break project. It took me and one of my colleagues three full days to complete, much faster than I expected, given that my construction experience had been limited to around-the-house DIY projects. Thank you so much for the plans and hardware kit. I’m sure that wonderful box of hardware saved me hours of frustration at the store!”
Coop 4: Bethany and Keith’s Photo-Friendly Garden Coop, Nashville, Tennessee
“Thanks for creating such excellent plans! We can’t wait to enjoy our chickens for years to come in their cute and well constructed house!”
Read more about their coop at Bethany’s blog, and don’t miss its cameo appearance in this super-stylish backyard photo shoot.
Coop 5: Tiffany H.’s Garden Coop, Berlin, New Jersey
“We are so proud of and absolutely love the mansion we gave to our little ladies. This was a major project for us, and we truly learned so much. I’d never use a motorized saw before, and now I’m addicted! It let us see our potential and how we can tackle projects on our own. I appreciate the coop that much more because I have memories of working each piece of the design and knowledge of how to replace if anything needs to be adjusted. Thanks so much for the great design and for making it dummy proof!”
Coop 6: Jay and Jisun’s Garden Coop with External Nest Box and Sidecar Run, San Francisco Bay Area, California
“We built this coop a couple years ago and have really been enjoying it (and modifying it over time). As you can see, we popped out the nesting box in front and built an uncovered extension out on the far side. When we muck out the litter, we compost it in the bins you can partially see on the near side. Then we use the compost on the raised beds that you can see in the foreground, give the scraps back to the hens, and the cycle goes on and on!”
Coop 7: Susan and Robert L.’s Barn Quilt Garden Coop, Richmond, Kentucky
“We did it! My husband and I built our coop together. I painted a barn quilt square on one side, very popular throughout Appalachia. (I had painted one for a big barn and thought my mini barn needed one too!) I also added a window box of flowers with faux window made from scraps and planted beans on the other end to create shade for our ten assorted bantams. It was a fun project and gave us a lot of confidence to tackle other building ideas. Thanks so much!”
Coop 8: Ayana S.’s Garden Coop with Drawbridge Pop Door, Built by Buddy R., Los Angeles, California
Ayana asked if we knew anyone in L.A. who could build her a Garden Coop. We put out the word and heard back from Buddy, who’d built his own Garden Coop a few months earlier.
“We moved the people door to the right side,” Buddy says, “went with exterior nesting boxes, and added a ‘drawbridge’ underneath the nesting boxes that allows you to let the hens out without having to open the main door.”
Coop 9: Sarah and Corrie’s Garden Coop with Recycled Window Fenced Run, Portland, Oregon
“The coop is currently home to three hens and two mini lop rabbits. We put the rabbit hutch inside the coop so that they could have separate spaces at night. The fence is about 4 feet tall, and so far, nobody has decided to fly over and escape. There’s wire buried a foot underground not only around the coop, but also around the entire perimeter of the fenced-in part, which keeps the rabbits from digging out of the yard during the day when they are all free to roam about their spacious accommodations. Luckiest ones!”
“We modified the design a bit and put the nesting box in front and added a homemade stained glass window. It’s pretty amazing how well all the animals get along. Mostly they peacefully ignore each other but occasionally you will find them all huddled around an apple together or all digging in the same pile of dirt. And every once in a while, a crow will fly down and join the party.”
Coop 10: Mario B.’s Jet Black Garden Coop, Brisbane, Australia
“We modified the design slightly to suit our requirements, and it’s all working out great. The rear door opens out into a larger chicken run, and the door itself forms part of the fencing.”
A big thanks to everyone who contributed their pictures and ideas to this second ride of the Krewe of Coops. Like what they’ve done? Have a favorite? Let us know with a comment below. You can see more Krewe of Coops posts here, or browse all of our Make It Your Own coop profiles.
If you’re interested in building The Garden Coop walk-in chicken coop design, the plans are available here.
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We are thinking about purchasing these coop plans, but would first like to know the approximate cost of building this coop? Thank you!
Ashley, thanks for your question. We have materials cost estimates for all of our coop and run designs in the FAQ on their respective product pages. Here’s the one for The Garden Coop: http://www.thegardencoop.com/chicken-coop-plans.html#q5
Wonderful ideas for coops and decorations! My only question/concern, is that it appears that top of the fence (under the roof eaves) will not prevent racoons or other climbing predators from entering the coop? Is there a barrier that is not visible from these photo angles? My friend lost her whole flock last summer to a racoon who got in to her coop by this method.
Amy, thanks for commenting. There is a wire ceiling in this design above both the run and henhouse (under the roof). Here’s a picture of it from another angle.