In this eighth installment of the Krewe of Coops, we’re featuring a dozen examples of The Garden Coop backyard chicken coop design from all across the country. Enjoy! (more…)
Posts tagged with ‘Nest Boxes’
Make It Your Own: “Krewe of Coops” Virtual Chicken Coop Tour No. 8 — A Dozen Garden Coops
Wednesday, November 15th, 2017Make It Your Own: “Krewe of Coops” Virtual Chicken Coop Tour, No. 6. . . 10 Garden Coops Built With Salvaged Materials
Thursday, April 13th, 2017
Some of the most interesting chicken coops feature repurposed, recycled, or salvaged materials and decorations. Whether done for the sentiment, the looks, the environment, or simply to save money, incorporating available and found materials into your backyard coop will make it one of a kind. . . (more…)
Make It Your Own: “Krewe of Coops” Virtual Chicken Coop Tour, No. 4 — A Dozen Larger Garden Coops
Tuesday, August 25th, 2015
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…)
Make It Your Own: Sandra and John’s Basic Coop, Layton, Utah
Saturday, October 25th, 2014
Sandra and John used The Basic Coop stand-alone chicken coop plans to build this home for their mixed flock of standard and bantam hens in Utah. They made a few modifications to suit their needs: (more…)
Make It Your Own: Rob and Family’s California Garden Coop + Goats
Tuesday, August 26th, 2014
Rob S. and his family in Davis, California, used The Garden Coop plans to build a more spacious coop for their flock of eight backyard chickens when they moved from the city to the outskirts. But chickens aren’t the only creatures in his family’s yard. “We have a mule, a donkey, and two sheep in the front pasture,” Rob says. And out back with the chickens. . . two Nigerian dwarf goats! Read on to see how they all get along. The rest of the story comes directly from Rob. . . . (more…)
7 tips for building a garden-friendly chicken coop
Tuesday, July 15th, 2014In the urban or suburban garden, limited space, pests, wary neighbors, and the like can make the idea of keeping chickens seem like more hassle than it’s worth. But by designing and building the right kind of coop, you can quickly get past these hurdles and add a whole new dimension to your garden.
Here are seven tips to put your coop project on the right path. . . .
1. Let it breathe.
A well-ventilated chicken coop helps keep your hens from suffering and your neighbors from complaining. Of course, you do need to stay ahead of any odors, making sure you balance out their poop with plenty of high-carbon bedding like straw, wood shavings, leaves, or shredded paper. We use the deep-litter method and continue to add straw as the chickens add droppings. This mixture begins to compost in place, and the volume builds only slowly. From time to time we move it all to a compost bin to finish doing its thing, then incorporate the rich fertilizer into the garden.
NOTE: The pictures in this post feature coops built by us and by customers of our chicken coop plans. Click on them to learn more about each DIY chicken coop build.
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Make It Your Own: Michael’s Seattle Garden Coop with Cedar Siding and Windows
Tuesday, April 15th, 2014
Michael and family in Seattle built a modified version of the The Garden Coop to fit their backyard and needs. I particularly like the woodwork on this coop, like the tapers he cut into the ends of the purlins, the alternating corners on the siding, and the added depth and angle on the rafter tails. Michael sent us some great notes and several photos of their handiwork. Here they are: (more…)
Make It Your Own: Brian J.’s Garden State Chicken Coops
Tuesday, February 25th, 2014
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…)
Make It Your Own: Reed’s Idaho Garden Coop
Tuesday, January 28th, 2014
Reed in Idaho built this beautifully landscaped chicken coop using our chicken coop plans with modifications to better suit his needs and to match existing buildings on his property. What a great addition to what looks like an already fantastic farm! (more…)
Make It Your Own: Clay’s Striped Garden Coop, Austin, Texas
Monday, January 20th, 2014
Clay from Austin, Texas sent us a note and pictures of the chicken coop he built using the The Garden Coop plans. The striped stained-wood siding on the henhouse and extra external nesting boxes look fantastic. The rest of the post is from Clay. . . .
Make It Your Own: Nick’s Iowa Garden Ark with External Nesting Boxes
Tuesday, December 17th, 2013
Nick shared pictures of his blue and white chicken tractor that he built using The Garden Ark plans. The outboard nesting boxes look great, and the hinged window is a nice touch. Here are his comments. . . (more…)
Make It Your Own: Neiley’s Maine Garden Coop with Flower Box
Tuesday, December 10th, 2013
Time for some serious chicken TV! Imagine spending summer evenings sitting on that bench looking at this pretty Garden Coop. Love the flower box, 4-pane glass window, and handy hooks next to the outboard nesting boxes that Neiley added. She sent us this nice note:
I purchased your coop plans and loved the process of building because the plans were so easy to follow. I have only done minor projects before, but even with limited skills I was able to make a coop to be proud of. No one can believe I made it myself. I did go my own way with the hen house. Though, I still followed the basic idea of what you had done to help me through. Thank you for making it soooo easy AND fun. It is such a cute addition to our yard!
Thanks to Neiley for sharing her coop photo with us. If you’d like to see more examples of our customers’ chicken coop builds as they’re posted, along with tips on building coops and keeping chickens in general, subscribe to Coop Thoughts. It’s free, ad-free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Make It Your Own: The Swifts’ North Carolina Garden Coop
Thursday, June 13th, 2013
Caity and family used The Garden Coop walk-in chicken coop plans to build and customize the perfect coop for their North Carolina home. Take a look at the details they added, including the painted chicken art, and read on for her notes on all they did to make the coop their own. The rest of this post comes straight from her. . . . (more…)
Make It Your Own: Linda and Robert’s Garden Coop, Juneau, Wisconsin
Friday, January 18th, 2013
Linda and Robert sent in several photos of their beautiful backyard Garden Coop chicken coop, all suited up for the Wisconsin winter. The rest of this post comes straight from them. . . . (more…)
