If you have the space in your yard to build a walk-in chicken coop, I’d leave at least two to three feet of working room on all sides of it. This will make construction easier, particularly when it comes to attaching hardware cloth and siding. And after the coop is built, having that space will make it easier for you to access the entire exterior of the coop should you need to. But what if you don’t have that much space to spare? Read on for some ideas. . .
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All of our chicken coop plans call for corrugated polycarbonate roof panels. But whether you’re building one of our designs or something else, you have plenty of options. Many backyard coopers use corrugated metal, corrugated asphalt, or shingles over plywood instead. Read on to decide what’s the best type of roofing for your chicken coop. . . .
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All of our chicken coop designs have an open-air ceiling in the henhouse, so there’s typically no need to add windows for ventilation. But if you’re in a really warm climate, want to look in on your flock from time to time, or just like the look of a window, there are a few easy ways to add one to your chicken coop.
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The open design of our walk-in chicken coops means that wind can move easily through the structures, so there’s less chance for damage than with something like a solid-walled shed or mobile home. That said, if you live in a high-wind area, there are some simple ways to anchor your coop and lock down your roof.
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The Garden Ark mobile chicken coop is designed to be an efficient, portable, all-in-one chicken tractor for housing a small flock of 3 or 4 standard-sized chickens. But what if you want to house a few more hens than that, yet still be able to move your chicken coop around your yard? Or what if you just want to give your small flock a little more space?
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Three of our chicken coop designs (The Garden Loft, The Garden Coop, and The Garden Ark) have an integrated henhouse and run. So your chickens are free to move between the two areas as they wish. (You can add a door between them if you like.) In some cases, this means that your flock might choose to roost in the secure run at night, rather than inside the henhouse.
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Why did the chicken coop cross the road?
I’d love to hear your punchline in the comments, but first let’s address the fact that sometimes a chicken coop does indeed have to cross a road — sometimes even several roads.
Maybe you’re moving and you want to take it with you. Maybe you sold it to someone in town. Either way, it’s gotta roll. And while that’s easy with a smaller coop, if you built a walk-in coop like The Garden Coop, relocating it takes planning and effort.
In this post, I cover a few things that may help:
Stay to the end for a special treat: Chevy’s Big Garden Coop Move — pictures and video of a real-life, cross-town chicken coop move. Portlandia’s got nothing on this action. And I’ve updated the post with photos from another Garden Coop move in Nevada. Read More
I’ve been working for some time on a solution to predator-proof the open floor of The Garden Ark mobile chicken tractor. The challenge has been finding a way to secure the floor without closing it off completely or permanently. After all, you need the open floor for mobility, cleaning, and access to grazing. After much trial, I finally came up with an elegant solution (essentially a version of one of these turned upside down) then put it to the test. It works perfectly, and now I’m excited to share it. Read More