Rebecca’s Chicken Coop and Run

Rebecca from just outside Philadelphia sent in a couple pictures of her new Basic Coop stand-alone chicken coop and attached run. I’m impressed by the height modification she made, her choice of siding and color, and the way she thought through the whole process to build a coop that would suit her needs. What’s even more impressive is that this is one of her first-ever building projects. The rest of the post comes directly from her. . . 

Why I chose The Basic Coop chicken coo p plans

I’ve always liked chickens, but hadn’t considered getting them until my sister got a small flock two years ago. She really enjoyed them, so I decided to get a couple too. It was love at first peep. I’m interested in self-sufficiency and returning to a time where food didn’t come with a list of ingredients longer than your arm. To be able to get an egg from a hen that I know is being treated and fed well is a real plus.

I was drawn to The Basic Coop design because it’s clean and simple, yet elegant. My house was built in 1929 and has a lot of craftsman-style details — wide woodwork with classic clean trim — so this coop fits right in. It looks great in the yard and is sturdy, roomy, and secure.

I should mention that I’m a single women in my mid-fifties, and this project was the first time I ever used a circular saw and the very first time I’d attempted something like this. Your plans and directions made everything clear and gave me the confidence to build this coop entirely by myself.

Attaching an enclosed run to the chicken coop

Since I live in an urban area and work full time, I knew I needed a run for my two girls, as free ranging them is out of the question. My neighborhood has raccoon, possum, and fox around, not to mention a Cooper’s hawk and a family of red-tails. I thought that if I made the legs taller, then the hens could utilize the space under the coop, expanding their living quarters by another 9 square feet.

So I added what I considered a comfortable amount to the length of the legs all the way around and built the run at the same height. The only tricky part was figuring out how to add hardware cloth to the run frame, but once I did, it was smooth sailing.

By the way, I sent my grown son a picture of the coop, and he couldn’t believe I’d built it. He told me that it looked “professional.” Thanks again for such an awesome plan, enabling someone like me to end up with something like this!

—Rebecca G.

Many thanks to Rebecca for sharing her story and photos of her beautiful coop. Hard to believe this coop and run was one of her first DIY carpentry projects. If you like what she’s done, please let her know with a comment below. You can learn more about The Basic Coop here.