Karen and her family in Maine used our chicken coop plans to put together this Garden Ark for their backyard flock. She made a few modifications to suit her needs — using wider lumber for the skids, adding handles, and securing the bottom for complete predator protection. (more…)
As an early and active participant in Urban Chicken Advocates of Nashville, artist Megan Lightell helped with the push to make backyard chickens legal in Tennessee’s capital. And when the ordinance finally passed in early 2012, she celebrated right away by building her dream coop. The rest of this post comes directly from her. . . . (more…)
Anna and Chris’s modern Seattle home is topped with a striking barrel-vault roof. So why not build a chicken coop to match? After much research, a few sketches, plans and feedback from TheGardenCoop.com, the careful work of a local carpenter, and some personal touches, they got just what they wanted. The rest of this post comes from them. . .
Marty and his son Corbin in Texas used The Garden Coop chicken coop plans as a starting point to build a beautiful backyard chicken coop — one that’s a good 60% larger than the original Garden Coop design. Marty was kind enough to share some photos and details, so if you’re looking to build a larger Garden Coop, here’s one way to go about it. (more…)
Susan and Ryan used The Garden Coop plans to build a chicken coop in the yard of their beautiful Vermont home. You can read all about their coop and home here. They were also kind enough to share some photos and notes on how they modified their Garden Coop to fit their needs — including adding a few solar LED lights. The rest of this post comes straight from them. (more…)
Linda and Robert sent in several photos of their beautiful backyard Garden Coop chicken coop, all suited up for the Wisconsin winter. The rest of this post comes straight from them. . . . (more…)
Deb and Donovan from near Seattle sent in several views of their backyard chicken coop build. Look at that flower box and window! They were kind enough to share some thoughts on their experience finding and building the right coop for their needs. The rest of this post comes from them. . . (more…)
I’ve been wanting to do a post showing off a bunch of the pictures I’ve received over the last several months, so in the tradition of the Carnival parades I grew up with in New Orleans, I present to you this first ride of the Krewe of Coops!
Feathers instead of flambeaux. Clucking hens instead of marching bands. Eggs instead of beads and doubloons. Just pull up a ladder, gather the kids, and shout wildly as the floats go by. . . (more…)
Christine and Andrew used our metric chicken coop plans to build this stunning Garden Coop in New Zealand.
We used orange Perspex, mainly because it looks cool, but also to see if it will encourage the hens to lay throughout the winter because it bathes them in a warm orange light (or drives them nuts. . . time will tell!). We changed the roof to solid Colorsteel because the light here is pretty harsh, and it gets hot in summer.
We have 6 hens: 3 Chinese Silkies, 1 Rhode Island Red, 1 Silver Spangled Hamburg, and a Plymouth Rock. They have access to free range, but if we are away for the weekend they have plenty of space to stay secure. Next will be to attach a little water tank which will give them free water!
Like what Andrew and Christine have done? Leave a comment, and let us know where in the world you’re keeping backyard chickens.
Tom in Santa Cruz sent in these photos and notes about his Garden Coop build. Enjoy!
We followed your plans pretty closely, yet made a few small changes: (more…)
John B. sent in this shot of his Garden Coop walk-in chicken coop in Portland, Oregon, modified to be not quite as tall as the original design:
John wrote: “We dropped it a foot so that it didn’t intrude on our neighbor’s sightlines, and it seemed to sit in the space better. We took the foot off the bottom instead of scaling it down evenly, that way the henhouse remained the same height.”
Thanks to John for sharing a picture of his chicken coop and for his tip about how to reduce the height. If you dig what he’s done, or have other ideas about building a shorter coop, leave a comment below.
Dan S. and family in Raleigh sent in this exciting example of a backyard coop built with The Garden Coop plans. The time and attention they put into it shows, and you can tell from the pictures that it was truly a family project. Dan was kind enough to share his thoughts on the plans and his notes on the customizations he made. The rest of the post comes from him. Enjoy!
I did a lot of research before I built my chicken coop, and this is by far one of the best sets of coop plans out there. I went back and forth on trying to create my own plan until I found your site. The plans are worth every bit of the price (if not a lot more). (more…)
Gardener, suburban homesteader, chef, and author of the blog Northwest Edible Life, Erica S. is also the proud keeper of a flock of backyard chickens. And the coop she built to house them (based on The Garden Coop plans) has become a key part of her food garden. (more…)
Here’s a quick video tour of a special Garden Coop that will be featured in Austin’s upcoming Funky Chicken Coop Tour, April 7, 2012.
This extra-spacious chicken coop was built by a volunteer from the Becker school community using plans from TheGardenCoop.com and materials purchased with a grant. He modified the design to about double the size, allowing plenty of room for the school’s current flock of thirteen.
According to Cheris, a Becker parent (and chicken keeper herself), the chickens have enhanced just about every part of the curriculum. “We also work in conjunction with The Green Classroom across the street,” Cheris says, “so the kids go to the garden, pick weeds, and bring them over here to feed the chickens. It has been a great experience.”
Kudos to everyone who got this project up and has kept it running. What do you think of the idea of raising chickens and vegetables at school? Share your thoughts with a comment below.
Dan in Austin produced this beautiful video of his backyard coop, built using The Garden Coop chicken coop plans. His coop is one of several to be featured in Austin’s upcoming Funky Chicken Coop Tour (April 7, 2012).
So check out the video, then read Dan’s review of our plans below. And if you’re in Austin in early April, stop by and see his coop on the tour!
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