Virtual Chicken Coop Tour No. 5: Nine Garden Coops with Clever Modifications and Accessories

Ideas are tested and problems solved in this fifth installment of the Krewe of Coops, featuring nine coop examples from customers who’ve personalized The Garden Coop walk-in chicken coop design with clever modifications or accessories. Enjoy the ride! 

Coop 1: Tim’s Split Garden Coop Condo, Portland, Oregon

“We had to split things up a bit to fit the space we had in our yard. We were also dealing with a hillside, so I’ll add some retaining walls as well. The handles on the side of the coop are used to remove the whole panel for cleaning.”

Coop 2: Merrit’s Playscape Chicken Coop (with Rabbit), Austin, Texas

“I love this coop! I built the entire thing myself over a month, and only needed help when raising the walls. I attached it to our playscape so that the chickens could use the space under the fort as a run.”

Coop 3: Ross’s Garden Coop with Reversed Roof, Spokane, Washington

“Thanks for your incredible plans and kit! I changed the roof to drip away from my carport. I also added a window in the back at just the right height for my daughter to look in on her new friends. Unfortunately, it is also the right height for our lab/pointer mix to freak the chickens out. . . lots of training to be done with her.”

Coop 4: Jill’s Walk-in Chicken Coop with Secure Chicken Run and Burlap-Wrapped Ramp, Chesterton, Indiana

“Thanks for your wonderful chicken coop and run plans and for the extraordinarily helpful hardware kit. I put my coop together with some help from family (and their power tools!) with almost no hiccups at all. I moved the pop door to the side wall and added a window and some snazzy trim to the access door. I also wrapped the ladder with two layers of burlap for traction until my chicks get used to going up and down. I’d recommend trimming the stray threads and folding over the edges before stapling so that so they don’t eat them.”

Coop 5: Heather and Alex’s Chicken Palace Coop + Catio, Santa Rosa, California

“We doubled the length of The Garden Coop and added The Garden Run Walk-In module to the end (spaces kept separate) to serve as a catio for our 3 cats. Because we have hard adobe clay under the topsoil, we did the no-dig option for predator-proofing at the base. We chose redwood fence boards for the henhouse siding and used red semi-transparent stain on all exterior wood. We love the design, and love even more the fact that it’s so easily modifiable!”

Coop 6: Jeff’s Garden Chicken Coop with Mezzanine, Carmichael, California

“We changed the position of the ladder, turned one wall of the coop into a large access door, and added the external nesting boxes. The most liked feature is the mezzanine with the two roosts above. The plans were great and very easy to work with. Oh, we also got your wonderful feeder. The flock loves it.”

Coop 7: Jason’s Platform Chicken Coop, Seattle, Washington

“The floor is plywood with a coat of some Blackjack #57 roof stuff for protection. The inside coop floor is now covered with a thick layer of sand. The only challenge was making sure the platform was sturdy and flat.”

Coop 8: Ahuva’s Chicken Coop Extension, Monsey, New York

“I needed more space as I was adding six chicks to my current flock of five. I added a new enclosed coop section with a run underneath to the right of our existing coop. The access doors to both are on the outside of the coop on the right side. I followed the plan for the coop, adjusting some measurements, and most of it was pretty straightforward. It was tricky getting everything level, but the setup ended up being perfect. The two flocks can see each other and get used to each other, yet stay separate for now.”

Coop 9: Jodi’s Walk-in Chicken Coop with Full-Perimeter Foundation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“Thank you for the wonderful chicken coop plans and hardware kit. It is so much more functional and easy to care for them that I don’t mind asking my neighbors for help when we go out of town.”

Jodi built her coop with her boyfriend and father. Here are some of her notes:

• We used cement block around the entire base. Instead of digging down or making an apron, we placed hardware cloth underneath the entire run area and set the blocks on top. Filled a few inches with 1″ round stone left over from another project.
• The substrate is a 50/50 sand/dirt mixture which the girls seem happy with. It’s loose enough I can rake and scoop out any big debris.
• We made the front and back henhouse walls removable for cleaning. Also the left wall has a large door that swings open overhead for access and extra ventilation.
• The right and back walls extend down to the blocks to allow more shade and dry area.
• We omitted the interior floating walls. Our girls have done really well with an uninsulated but draft-free coop for years now.
• Our people door swings outward and has self-closing hinges.
• We added a roosting bar hammock to accumulate the nightly deposits. The hammock is lined with sand for ease of scooping a few times per week. Here’s a video:

A big thanks to all who shared their pictures and ideas to this fifth 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 chicken coop profiles. 

If you’re interested in building The Garden Coop walk-in chicken coop design, the plans are available here. Also featured in some of the examples above is The Garden Run modular chicken run series. 

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