Ying’s Chicago Chicken Coop Build

Ying made a wonderful addition to her Chicago backyard using the Garden Coop full-height chicken coop plans, modifying the design to have a peaked roof. The rest of the post comes from her. . . . 

Building my backyard chicken coop

I bought your Garden Coop chicken coop plans back in the second week of June and started working on it right away. I finished in early August and wanted to share with you the fruits of my labor!

It was very daunting to see some 30+ pages after I purchased your coop plans and downloaded it, but I was determined to see it through. I thought if other women could do it, why not me?

I deviated from the plan and added my own alterations, but I used the main frame which gave me a fantastic foundation. 

Modifications to the original Garden Coop chicken coop design

Here are some of the things I changed: 

• Shingled the roof.
• Coops stands almost 9 feet tall, and I also shortened it to 8 ft. long and 5 ft. wide.
• Sourced old garage window for viewing chicks. Kids love it!
• My nesting door is to the side and pretty wide.
• Used cedar beveled wood siding, painted with exterior weather paint.
• Nesting boxes are fashioned from leftover OSB boards.
• Roosting poles are 2x4s so that chickens can keep their feet warm in our winters with one high and one low and are anchored by brackets.
• I know you offer chicken nipple waterers at your website but I made my own! Sealed it with threaded tape and a swab of clear silicone.
• My husband helped me make the ramp, and he left the branches extra long. I thought it looked ridiculous and wanted them shortened, but the chicks love it!
• Installed locks on my entry door and nesting box door for security.
• Also filled my trench with a mixture of large and small river rocks I got on sale at Menard’s. When I filled up the trench, I poured the rocks in with a mixture of dirt then watered it to create a hard cement like fort.

By the way, my 7- and 8-year-olds helped me many days in the hot Chicago sun!

Many thanks to Ying for sharing her coop photos and notes on building with The Garden Coop walk-in chicken coop plans. If you like what she’s created, please let her know with a note below. And if you find our posts helpful and want to receive email notifications as posts are published, subscribe to Coop Thoughts.