Chicken Coop From Scratch

I made this coop for six chickens. It has two roosts inside, and five nesting boxes. (One of my chickens is a rooster.) I made a water guard for the lid of the nesting box by using some vapor barrier and caulking.

The dimensions are 7' 3" x 4' 8.5". The roof has a six inch overhang on the sides, and an eight inch overhang on the front and back. It has insulation, drip edge, flashing and shingles. I also added a plug in for a water heater and light in the winter.

It has .75" plywood on the outside and .375" plywood on the inside. I should have used .375" plywood on the lid, it is heavy! I insulated the lid with 2" Styrofoam.

I used old plywood for the outside from a shed.

It just needs to be painted, maybe white or red.

You don't want to make the window any smaller, because they need it vented in there. and I put chicken wire in the window and propped it open all the way. I also drilled a hole in the little door, and put chicken wire over that too. This creates perfect ventilation. This is an absolute MUST, because without it, the chickens might breathe in the ammonia from their droppings and get lung damage. It is also good to clean out the droppings, but you still need good vents.

The skids on the bottom make it portable, and also keep the untreated bottom from touching the ground. I used 6" lag screws to bolt them on from the top.

I entered this instructable in the Outdoor Structures contest, please vote for it if you like it!

The first one is Honey, the second is Pepper, and the third and fourth ones are of Copper the Rooster!