Chicken Coop

First Chicken Coop, 1999	Shadow of a rooster on my arm.
New Chicken Coop Construction, April 2002	The new coop is a duplex. We will rotate the two flocks of chickens through the three coops so that one coop is always empty.  This gives the coop a fallow period which will help keep parasites and pathogens from getting a foothold.  We can then clean, disinfect and repaint the fallow coop without bothering the flocks.
12 April 02	16 April 02, door side  There are two coops with a small workroom inbetween.  Each coop has two windows on this side and the openings below will be for the dropping pit doors.
16 April 02, run side This is the other side of the coops.  Each coop has two windows and a hatchway for chickens to go in and out of the coop to the run.  There is a window in the middle for the workroom.  The workroom also has two hatches to put chickens directly into one or the other runs.	Coop now has doors, windows, shingles, hatchways.  Inside work comes next. 18 April 02
Inside work is done and the new flock of baby chicks have moved in. Run is under construction, 17 May 02.	Black Australorp, Buff Orpington, Light Brahma. Age 6 weeks, 17 May 02
Coop front, roof of the run goes on 31 May 02	Coop back, 31 May 02
Details of the droppings pit The double coop shown here is a modification of the McMurray design coop to allow two separate flocks of about  15-20 full size chickens each to be housed. The front view  shows the coop as viewed from the eastern side (the bottom of the plan view). This is the side on which the chickens' run is located. The two small doors in the center storage room is to allow us to examine/weigh each chicken and then release it into the run.  These doors are normally closed. The dropping pit is constructed in such a way that all support 2x4s are outside the pit, giving the pit smooth walls for ease of cleaning out.  The top of the dropping pit (the roosting bars and 1" x 2"  wire mesh) is made in two pieces as shown on the photographs. This also facilitates cleaning. One bale of shaving goes into the dropping pit and one on the floor of the coop and nest boxes.  In practice, the dropping pit is shoveled out from the outside through doors as shown in the McMurray plans.  Then the shavings that were on the floor of the coop get shoveled into the dropping pit and clean shavings are put on the floor.