When we named our stand-alone chicken coop design “The Basic Coop,” we meant it purely as a compliment. The design is basic, of course, in that it’s easy to build and easy to afford.
But that simplicity makes it a great starting point to extend, customize, and create the perfect housing for your small backyard flock. In this sense, The Basic Coop design is anything but basic. These fifteen customer builds will show you what I mean. . . .
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The Garden Ark chicken coop is designed to be an efficient, portable, all-in-one chicken tractor for housing a small flock of 3–4 standard-sized chickens. But what if you want to house a few more hens than that, yet still stay mobile? Or what if you just want to give your small flock a little more space?
(more…)“I built this with my girlfriend’s dad who is a retired Boeing machinist. It turned out really well, and the directions took a lot of guesswork out of the building process. I have the ark sitting on a base of 12×12 pavers loose-set in sand and gravel to deter raccoons from digging underneath the edge. Once the flock is established, I will be adding a pop door and a fence around the coop to allow the birds more room to range during the day.”
In this tenth Krewe of Coops virtual chicken coop tour, we take a trip to Maryland and Virginia to showcase six examples of coops built using The Garden Coop backyard chicken coop plans. (more…)
In this ninth installment of the Krewe of Coops, we showcase six examples of coops built using The Garden Coop backyard chicken coop plans. Enjoy! (more…)
We’re blowing it up in this fourth ride of the Krewe of Coops, featuring a dozen examples of coops from customers who’ve modified The Garden Coop walk-in chicken coop design to build larger, wider, deeper, taller. Enjoy the parade! (more…)
Brian in Northern New Jersey built modified versions of the The Garden Coop and the The Garden Ark chicken coops to fit his Garden State home and needs. He sent us some great notes and photos of his handiwork: (more…)
Professional photographer Laura in Sonoma County, California used our chicken coop plans to build and customize this larger version of The Garden Coop design. She sent us a note describing the modifications she made. The rest of this post comes from her. . . . (more…)
The foundation of The Garden Coop design allows you to easily accommodate a slight slope when building your chicken coop. But what do you do when your site has a much steeper grade?
Split it up! At least, that’s what Mary did with her chicken coop project in Laguna Beach, California, tucking a beautiful split-level, narrow Garden Coop into a sloped strip right next to her driveway. The rest of this post comes directly from her. . . (more…)
Amy in Newtown, Connecticut, sent in this photo of her backyard chicken tractor built using The Garden Ark coop plans. She modified her coop to be a little longer than the original design. Here’s what she wrote:
I had to share my Garden Ark! I had so much fun making it, and the plans were superb. I am certainly a novice, and I had no trouble.
I had a hard time finding the polycarb roofing, so I got fiberglass, and I extended the run ten inches for a bit more room for my four girls. I also added a ramp, which was super easy, a rope in the front for moving it around, and a bittersweet roost to give them an outdoor perching spot.
Thanks, Amy! If you’d like to build your own Garden Ark to house a small flock or grow your existing flock, check out our chicken coop plans here.
Marty and his son Corbin in Texas used The Garden Coop chicken coop plans as a starting point to build a beautiful backyard chicken coop — one that’s a good 60% larger than the original Garden Coop design. Marty was kind enough to share some photos and details, so if you’re looking to build a larger Garden Coop, here’s one way to go about it. (more…)
Gardener, suburban homesteader, chef, and author of the blog Northwest Edible Life, Erica S. is also the proud keeper of a flock of backyard chickens. And the coop she built to house them (based on The Garden Coop plans) has become a key part of her food garden. (more…)
Here’s a quick video tour of a special Garden Coop that will be featured in Austin’s upcoming Funky Chicken Coop Tour, April 7, 2012.
This extra-spacious chicken coop was built by a volunteer from the Becker school community using plans from TheGardenCoop.com and materials purchased with a grant. He modified the design to about double the size, allowing plenty of room for the school’s current flock of thirteen.
According to Cheris, a Becker parent (and chicken keeper herself), the chickens have enhanced just about every part of the curriculum. “We also work in conjunction with The Green Classroom across the street,” Cheris says, “so the kids go to the garden, pick weeds, and bring them over here to feed the chickens. It has been a great experience.”
Kudos to everyone who got this project up and has kept it running. What do you think of the idea of raising chickens and vegetables at school? Share your thoughts with a comment below.
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…)
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