Making a Chicken Coop

Alot of thought went into making this chicken coop for Esther and Ezelle. It was difficult to come up with a solid plan, because all of the materials we had were pulled apart from other projects, so my buddy and I just shot from the hip on this one.

One thing was for sure and that was the need to incorporate the basic needs for my wife and I which was easy access, ventilation, easy to clean, a place to roost, a place to lay eggs, an easy way to collect eggs and a way to throw green material on the bottom of the coop and collect it for compost. I know it sounds like alot but with this plan our coop suddenly materialized in a few hours and it was literally a one day project. Hopefully our girls will appreciate the work we have done for them. They now have a place to roost and lay eggs off the ground and my wife can easily go in and collect eggs from the side with out going into the coop. My favorite design feature of the coop is being able to pull my wheel barrel up with heaps of material from the compost and scatter it along the floor. When I put the girls in thier new home they made quick work of the working green material. They were literally on cloud nine doing their synchronized scratching dance. I can watch these guys scratch all day like I can watch a fire. It's mesmerizing watching them work and it's amazing that these girls have some personality. More pics of the girls latter on this week.