The Poultry Keeper

tammy68

I work with secondary school children in a pupil referral unit and the head has asked me to look into having a few chickens in our garden there. As a part of Technology the students would have to build a coop for them to live in - up to just half a dozen hens.

Has anybody got or could anyone design a simple build for us to use please?

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1431 Location: Leicestershire

I haven't a design. . . . But I do have a few thoughts. . . .

Being female and not quite in the first flush of youth, woodwork was not on the timetable at my all girls school so I'm self taught and I made a pretty respectable hen house. It's a rectangle, probably 5' x 4' with an apex roof. I made it sectional, so each side was made seperately and then just bolted together. The only tricky bit was making sure the bolt holes lined up on the frame. The walls are made from tongue & groove, not floorboard thickness, but not that thin stuff either, it came from Wickes and wouldn't be the cheapest option - marine ply would be that but it does look good. The roof is treated chipboard covered in felt. Guttering and 2 good water tubs keeps the occupants nicely in drinking water, it has an external nest box and houses 8 - 10 birds. I can't quite stand up in it so it's 5' high in the middle. I think the side walls are 3'.

Hope this helps.

Itsybitsy

tammy68 · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 7:51 am Post subject:

Thanks Itsybitsy. Do you have any plans we could use or could you or anyione else provide us with instructions. We would need a list of materials and sizes, plus order of construction and how to do each bit. The students are 12 - 15 year olds (mainly 14 and 15).

Thanks Very Happy

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1431 Location: Leicestershire

No - I'm sorry. I decided how big I wanted it and went from there. I started with the floor. . . . Look at any sectional shed. . . . .I'll start again. Most garden type sheds are sectional - that is they come apart and put together in sections and each piece fits to the others, so basically any shed like that consists of a floor, 4 walls - which bolt to the floor and bolt to each other at the corners and then 2 roof sections which again bolt to the front and back sections on the slopey pointy bit (sorry) on the front and back.

I made it out of the tongue & groove because it meant I didn't have to do tricky things like cut out holes for pop hole, window and external nest box. I used 2" x 1" across the bottom and top, up and down each side at the end and vertically in each corner and then horizontally across the middle to strengthen.

I did find a book on designs but found them too complicated and I'm not very good at following drawings like that. So I just drew a picture of what I wanted, worked out the measurement and went from there. It was quite easy and I would maybe think your children would get more pleasure from doing it from scratch.

I can take some detailed photos if you want and some measurements. Somebody else may come up with more ideas too.

Itsybitsy

Clucky · Joined: 22 Jul 2006 Posts: 2187 Location: Shropshire

Like IB, I just threw mine up, mine was with thick board.... box shaped to cater for a couple of bantams so it was "so big" (Mojo says a square foot per chook inside) with a sloping roof of that funny roofing corrugated stuff (brain cells gone, can't remember the name), sealed up the joins inside, painted it white inside too so you could spot the redmite easily, cut a hole out of it for a door, put a hinge on a door that dropped down with bars nailed on for grip and a hook to close it at night, a roosting bar, four blocks of wood to raise it off the floor and voila! I didn't have a nest box on mine as they were growers rather than for pols but I actually have pols in and they are not bothered in not having a nest box (although if you are planning to have 6+ then yes a box would be a very good idea )

Can you get your class to design one and pick the best. The internet and has sites for plans (Pekinbantam forum for definte) and they can poach and redesign their own Smile

If you are not happy with them I have a book of plans I can loan you, but designing your own is far more fun and you get more satisfation out of it if you do Smile

You could ask the art dept to come up with a design to paint the outside to make it pretty too Smile

jaydee67 · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 4:52 pm Post subject:

Try looking at this site:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html

Clucky · Joined: 22 Jul 2006 Posts: 2187 Location: Shropshire

tammy68 · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 6:33 pm Post subject:

Brilliant ideas and the backyard site looks great. We are only a small unit but do have an art teacher so I will see what they can come up with. There is one boy in particular who is very keen to have chickens so I will see if he fancies coming up with some design or plans.

Thanks

Keep any other ideas coming though. Smile

www.woodenart.org.uk · Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 51 Location: shropshire

tammy68, you're welcome to come and visit us, we'd be happy to help out. Message me.

Mark.

Dopey · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 12:14 pm Post subject:

I would say if this is a project you could learn a good few things from it, like planning construction and recycling to say the least, make your own plans, work out how many chickens you want and build the size accordingly (and then some) material will cost nothing, all the need are pallets, and go to a wood yard for cut offs, being for a school most will give you stuff, like screws etc, for free, as at some of the bigger hardware stores, for equipment, like drills etc, that ate seconds or returns, you’ll find people are more than willing to help a school out, I built mine at no cost just using skip materials, and pallets, and when you think that some hen housed cost up to £400 that’s quite a saving have a look at my first attempt

http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=12638&highlight=

tammy68 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 5:54 pm Post subject:

That is wonderful Dopey, although at the end I was unable to see a coop at all Wink

It made great reading too seeing it at all the different phases of build.

I have sent you a message Woodenart, thanks. Very Happy

danro · Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 11:27 am Post subject:

A few days late, I'm sorry, Embarassed

But these plans, look pretty good and seem reasonable straight forward to do.
Ideal for a school project.

http://www.organicgardening.com/pdf/coop_plans.pdf

HTH

Danny
Cool