Our Coop:

Complete with windows & a French door that we purchased on Craigslist! LOL!

We hope that spring will arrive very soon, so that we can finish our trim work and paint on the coop. I hope to post updated pictures very soon!

The coop is 8' x 8' with the highest side of the slanting roof also measuring 8'. We used corrugated tin alternated with transparent fiberglass panels for the roofing. We placed two inexpensive windows on each side and found a French door on Craigslist which all help add plenty of light for the chickens when they are inside the coop.

Our Roosting Area:

Here you can see the roosting area inside the coop. The roost bars are above a boxed in area with fencing across the top [click pic. for a larger view]. This allows the chickens to roost while their waste falls into the enclosed area--keeping it from being tracked all over the coop and building up in the area where the chickens "hang-out".

We call this the "poop-chute"! It is the door on the outside of the coop accessing the roost box area. I would venture to say 95% of the chicken manure is in the roost box and can easily be shoveled-out through this door. To maximize efficiency of bedding use, after this heavily soiled bedding is removed the bedding from inside of the chicken coop is moved into the roost box area (the screen top is easily removable for shoveling inside the coop). Then, new bedding is placed inside the coop area that is accessible to the chickens. I can easily walk into our coop at any time without getting chicken poop in my shoes!

Our Nest Boxes:

We converted an old workshop bookcase into nest boxes for the chickens. We have found that it works best to put a layer of pine shavings in the bottom and plenty of hay/straw on top for the chickens to "nest" in. When we used only hay or pine shavings (as pictured), the chickens were wallowing all the way to the wood bottom which left no "cushion" for the eggs. We have made a few changes like increasing the size of the front "threshhold" to hold the two layers of bedding, but I have not taken new photos to post here.

Our Chicken Run:

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to post at this time. I will add them soon.

Our chickens have access to an enclosed chicken run from early morning to late night. Due to predators in our area-- coyotes, hawks, raccoons, opossum, and even wondering dogs, we felt that we cannot allow our chickens to free-range.

To compensate, the run is roughly a very generous size of 12' x 25', with farm field-fencing for the perimeter, secured by stakes at the bottom. We also placed poles at least 10' high to hold a netting over the top. So, our chickies have plenty of room to scratch, run, dust-bathe, and hang out in the sunshine!