Virtual Chicken Coop Tour No. 3

In this third ride of the Krewe of Coops, we feature The Garden Ark mobile chicken coop design, with several examples from around the U.S. Enjoy the parade!

Coop 1: Erin M.’s Red, White, and Blue Garden Ark Chicken Coop, Dallas, Oregon

I really like Erin’s muted red, white, and blue color scheme. She has a lot happening in her backyard garden, and The Garden Ark fits right in. 

Coop 2: Janie R.’s Mobile Chicken Coop with Detachable Run, Niskayuna, New York

“I’m a 72-year-old grandma, and I built the ark entirely by myself! Enjoyed every minute of it. I made a few changes — the nesting box in the rear, removable gate in the front (to attach the separate run I built to match), wheels, and a longer roof to go over the nesting box. My brother helped with the wheels and made a tow bar so I could attach it to my garden tractor. Your instructions were terrific, especially with the pictures and extra tips!”

Coop 3: Jeff T.’s Moveable Garden Ark, Seattle, Washington

“Your well thought out plans and follow-up support made my initial coop building experience a success. My hens have taken to it easily as their new home. I let them out to roam the back yard whenever possible, and they usually find their way back inside the ark on their own.”

Coop 4: Joe C.’s Garden Ark Chicken Coop, Nashville, Tennessee

“The plans for The Garden Ark are great. I didn’t have any trouble in the construction.”

Coop 5: Liora’s Mobile Chicken Coop on a Garden Bed, Seattle, Washington

“This was my first construction project of any kind. My dad bought most of the supplies, a gift for my birthday, only to have his garage burn down a couple of days later, supplies included. The bright part about the fire is that it motivated me to do the work on my own, find my own tools, figure everything out.”

“I usually only had time to work on it during my three-year-old’s naps. I finished the egg door side during one nap, the other side during another nap, the base during another. . . I’d say 7-10 naps for assembly from a fairly inexperienced carpenter!”

“I incorporated a garden bed with hardware cloth buried on all sides for safe tractor docking, two gravity fed feeder/waterer PVC pipes (with chicken nipples), and a front door. Also, I used copper tubing for the rear roof spacers rather than rubber tubing, and it works and looks great. I’m looking forward to being able to move the coop to clean out the raised bed, and being able to take the coop with us if/when we move.”

Coop 6: Jim C.’s Garden Ark Chicken Coop from Plans and Hardware Kit, Washington Court House, Ohio

“Good two-by-twos are hard to find out here, so I used two-by-threes instead. I only needed longer bolts for the roof trusses and angled roof supports. Since I was using your hardware kit, I just ran to the store and got those. If anyone else plans on using 2x3s, keep in mind that the added width makes the roof sheeting not work out like in the instructions, so they should lay out the roof before trimming the closure strips.”

“The watering system is 1.5″ PVC with the top third cut off then mounted like a gutter to catch the rain running off the roof. It has a T in the center capped at each end. In the bottom of the T, I mounted a garden hose filter and a 5/8″ push to connect hose fitting. I ran the tubing across the wire mesh under the roof into the top of your 1-gallon bucket waterer. One good rain and its full. Just had to make sure the gutter was mounted higher than the hose running across the coop. I also mounted the bucket on a slide so it could be raised and lowered. I wasn’t sure how high the chickens would want it.”

Coop 7: Chris and Elisa’s Mobile Chicken Coop with Secure Floor, Charlottesville, Virginia

“The plans were great, giving these two first-time chicken owners an easy assembly. The first week, something burrowed under and into the run. The girls were safe in the hen house, but the next day I grabbed some more lumber to assemble the secure bottom cap from the plans on the blog.”

“I built a feeder and waterer into the wall of the coop. This way they can have a week or so of food and water at hand, get a little more room in the run, and (best of all) they can’t poop in their water or knock anything over. Our chickens love their cozy home. Thanks for helping to inspire us and for making things so easy!”

A big thanks to all who shared their pictures and ideas to this third ride of the Krewe of Coops. Like what they’ve done with their coops? Have a personal 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 Ark mobile chicken coop design, the plans are available here.

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