Brad’s Garden Coop build shows off a real attention to detail, especially on the siding around the hen house. It’s got a great color scheme — the green tone contrasting nicely with the natural cedar. Most importantly, it looks like Brad and his family had a lot of fun with the project. The rest of this post and photos come from him. . . (more…)
Merri-Lynn sent in this picture of her Garden Coop build in Tennessee. She worked on it with her daughter, who, as a big Hannah Montana fan, insisted on a bright color scheme. Merri-Lynn wrote:
We couldn’t be more proud of the way it turned out. It took a number of weekends to complete as we had to wait for additional hands for a few of the steps, but for the most part we completed it ourselves. The directions were easy to follow, and I would recommend that anyone can take on this project. Our chickens love their new home — color and all!
Thanks to Merri-Lynn for her picture and comments. If you like what you see, let her know with a reply below. And tell us, what colors are your chicken coop?
Matt Allison of Cape Town, South Africa has posted this article about being the first in his neighborhood to start keeping chickens, adding a flock of four to his growing backyard garden. If things trend the way they have in many of the neighborhoods I’m familiar with, his neighbors will soon be following his lead.
I owe Matt a debt of thanks for pushing me to complete the metric version of The Garden Ark plans. He worked with me to review measurements, materials, and process. And his suggestions will help others avoid mistakes that I never would have caught. Most importantly, his coop turned out great, as you can see by the coop pictures at his post. Thanks, Matt!
Where in the world are you building our chicken coop designs? Leave a comment and let us know.
Joy used The Garden Coop plans to build a backyard chicken coop at her Maryland home. She adapted the design by moving the henhouse to the right, moving the ladder entry to the side of the henhouse, adding insulated external nest boxes, and using foam closure strips with the polycarbonate roofing panels (these strips also come in wood). Below are a few of the pictures Joy sent in, along with her notes on how the construction went. The rest of this post comes from her. . . (more…)
Helmut and Karen sent in this photo of their beautiful Garden Coop build in Florida, along with a quick note (from Karen): ”Helmut said the plans were very clear and easy to use. He had a lot of fun making the coop with his 8-year-old grandson and son in law. We’re naming it ‘Helmut’s Hen House.’”
Thanks to Helmut and Karen for sharing a shot of their chicken coop. Want to keep up with what others are creating with our coop plans? Subscribe to Coop Thoughts.
For his second go-round with urban chickens, outdoor survivalist and bushcrafter Travis May worked from The Garden Coop chicken coop plans. Below are photos of his family’s completed backyard coop. You can also read Travis’s review of The Garden Coop plans at his website, StayWild.com.
As far as I know, Blair was the first to use our plans to build a Garden Ark in Australia. I’m very grateful to him, actually, for staying in touch throughout the process, advising me on materials available in Australia, and helping lay the groundwork for the new metric version of that plan. (more…)
When Indianapolis architect Donna Sink was looking for blueprints for a stylish backyard chicken coop, she chose The Garden Coop design plans and took it from there. She wrote to us recently to share her experience with The Garden Coop in Indy: (more…)
Brigitte and Max sent in this picture of their Garden Coop in sunny Davis, California. It’s a good example of how well a chicken coop — even a good-sized walk-in coop like The Garden Coop — can fit into a typical backyard.
I asked them about the finish on the wood, which came out really nice. “For the frame in fir I used a leftover deck sealer and stained the wood before we put the frame up,” Brigitte wrote. “The wood around the house is redwood, and we left it natural.”
Thanks, Brigitte and Max, for the photo and feedback!
Julie and Dave have a spacious yard in upstate New York and wanted to build their Garden Coop a little larger than what’s outlined in the plan. They made their coop a few feet wider by increasing the width of the three sections by a foot each. They added a couple feet in depth as well. And they moved the full-length people door from the front to the side of the coop. It came out great. (more…)
OMG. In case you were wondering just how extreme of conditions chickens can thrive in (with human help, of course), check out Lisa’s Garden Coop high in the mountains of Colorado. The rest of this post comes from her: (more…)
It’s spring again! And Karen in Connecticut writes:
We had a horrible winter here in Connecticut, but our chickens did very well. I wrapped the bottom part of the coop with heavy plastic to keep out the wind (suggested by you) and have just taken it off, as it us finally getting warmer. We are planning on adding on the exterior egg boxes this spring.
Thanks to Karen for sharing her photo. Like it? Check out her portrait photography.
Steve H. in Seattle sent in pictures of his completed Garden Coop along with instructions for making a homemade chicken nipple waterer. The rest of this post comes straight from Steve:
» UPDATE: We now offer push-in poultry nipples as well as fully assembled nipple waterers. Have a look!
I enjoyed building the coop and am enjoying the chickens even more. The plans were great. While I have some experience building, the plans freed me up from having to do any framing calculations, which alone was worth the price.
I added a tool storage rack fashioned from a 2×8 and some old railroad spikes attached to the right side of the coop. It’s under the overhang, so the tools stay dry, and I can always find them (at least in theory). I also made some finish changes (bigger egg door, full access door on left side, different ramp, out-swinging door, etc.).
I designed and made a very simple watering system that makes the urban chicken farmer’s life a lot simpler. Below is a photo of the nipples in action. (Or watch a brief video here.) If you push the metal pin at the bottom at any angle, water dribbles out. (more…)
Several weeks ago, Andreas Känner surprised me with photos and details on his Garden Coop build in Landesbergen, Germany. As far as I know, this is the first Hühnerhaus built in Germany using our metric chicken coop plans. Andreas did an amazing job, and I’m happy to share his photos and commentary here. . . (more…)
Along with pictures of their completed backyard chicken coop, Anna and Matt sent a very thoughtful review of The Garden Coop chicken coop plans and a summary of their building process and decisions. So without further ado, the rest of this post comes straight from them:
After much research, Matt and I finally settled on purchasing both The Garden Coop and The Garden Ark plans. We had never built anything from scratch — our prior building experience topped out at putting together some cheap bookshelves and a coffee table. We had considered coming up with our own plans based on pictures of random coops available online, but we quickly scrapped the idea when we realized that we wanted to build something that was actually aesthetically pleasing.
There are quite a few books out there detailing coop plans, along with other plans that could be purchased via Internet download, but none of those plans would produce a coop that came close to the simple beauty of The Garden Coop. . . (more…)
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