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Dear Eloise,
On Mother’s Day 2016, my husband built me a beautiful 8’x8′ chicken coop. We were able to order tin that was a perfect match to our large pole shed so that it matched our property buildings. Prior to this project, we had replaced the door to our garage so we had the old door lying around. We also had purchased some basement windows for our previous home that we had never installed so we had those to repurpose as well. Sadly this was two years before we decided to stop raising chickens. We had added two German Shorthairs to our family and their bird-dog instincts were just too much to have chickens on the property. Spring 2023 I thought it was time to bring chickens back to our small farm. I had been compiling ideas for how to better use the coop space, but until now I had not found the time to do the updates. This August I finally asked my husband, my dad, and our son Bean for help. They made my vision come to life. Let me give you a tour!!
Insulation
We started by adding insulation to the studs. This was probably the most expensive part of this current remodel as we did have to purchase the insulation from the store. I bought the cheapest rolled insulation they had. I wanted it to have a backing too so that it would be easier to install. My dad and Bean put up all the insulation in just two days. They even had enough to insulate the ceiling. With chickens, you want to ensure that they have ventilation. This may be the only problem we run into down the road, but we can modify it later if we do have issues. Most of the time, we will have two small “doggy doors” open on the coop, so there will be plenty of air movement, but then it has the potential to be drafty. This is not ideal, but we have to do with what we have. In the future, I may add a vent in the gable end, but as of this posting, I have not yet done so.
Slab Wood Walls
A few years ago my dad had a few big pine trees that fell in his yard. A friend with a portable sawmill came to his house and they cut up these big trees into 1″ slabs. He offered to use some of those slabs to finish off the coop. He and Bean worked in the August heat, in a freshly insulated small space, to make this coop complete!! It was a great opportunity for Grandpa and Grandson to spend time together, and for Grandpa to help instill some woodworking skills in Bean. It also helps that Bean is now nearly 6′ tall so he can easily screw in the top boards and ceiling boards without even needing a ladder. After they had completed the walls. I brought out some extra rolled linoleum we had from a laundry room remodel and created a beautiful wood-look floor. This floor should work well for cleaning purposes too as we can now use a shovel and a broom to tidy up a few times a year.
Dog Box
Part of my vision for this updated coop was to have a place for our dogs to stay inside as well as the chickens. We had previously built an outdoor kennel on the back side of this shed which had a second doggy door. My idea was to have a section for the dogs, but still have the chickens in the rest of the coop. My theory was that they could all help keep each other warm when we were away for the day or for the weekends. I started with this box frame and then added more slab wood to the front.
On the top, I covered two pieces of plywood with the same linoleum flooring that I had used on the floor. This is where I realized my one error. I cut the linoleum and covered both pieces of plywood separately. In hindsight, I should have installed the plywood and then covered the plywood with the linoleum in one large sheet. I now have a seam on my “poop board” which in time might be annoying when cleaning, but it isn’t a huge issue.
Roosts
When installing roosts in cold climates (we are in Minnesota), it is important to have the roosts be wide enough for the chickens to sit flat-footed rather than wrapping their feet around a round dowel. In the frigid cold of a Minnesota winter, chickens will want to sit on their feet to help keep them warm, preventing frostbite. I cut grooves in a 2×4 that I attached to the walls to support the roost on each end. Then in the center, I added another 2×4 to provide additional support. Right now I typically have 14 chickens snuggled up on the top roost each night. You can see the opening that I left in the “dog box.” My plan was to have plexiglass over this so that I could still easily see inside to see what kinds of messes the dogs made with their beds, but still keep the dogs from bothering the chickens. This plexiglass only lasted a few days before Tank pushed on it enough to break it. I have since added another piece of slab wood to that opening. Spaced so that I can still peek inside, but close enough that the dogs or chickens can’t fit through.
Nesting Boxes
The final touch was to add nesting boxes. I have always dreamed of having the big galvanized vintage nesting boxes that old barns used to have, but as I have never been able to find a set at an auction or garage sale, I decided Sprout and I would have to build our own. We dug through the scraps left over from finishing the walls with slab wood and I think the end result works pretty well!! I added more linoleum to make cleanup easier and we added these awesome artificial grass nesting box liners to each box. The eggs are always clean and ready for the fridge each day without needing to be washed. These liners can be rinsed off if a hen did decide to sleep and poop in there, but we have not had to do that yet. Right now I have 15 chickens total, two of which are roosters. So far they are only using the bottom two nesting boxes for the 5-6 hens who are laying. I am hopeful that this will continue to work, but if necessary I could add more boxes above or below what I already have constructed. I have found that when roosting, chickens prefer to be as high as possible, when they are laying eggs though, they prefer to be as low as possible.
I have been so happy with how this coop remodel has turned out. The dogs seem to be happy with their indoor bed space, and the chickens really seem to be content in their space. I will be sure to update you with any changes or modifications that we make as we begin our first winter with this setup. Please write back with your thoughts or comments on this project of ours! I would love your feedback!