We bought the Catawba Chicken Coop plans for $20. It’s a movable coop that’s pretty too! The plans contain lots of modifications and detailed step-by-step instructions. Overall, we are super happy with the result. The white bucket on the top is our new chicken waterer (Avian Aqua miser) which will go inside the coop once we get our chickens. I’m so happy with the vintage-style hardware we used. 
Here are some progress shots.
October 23, 2013 at 2:03 pm
Looks great. One thing to consider based on your location. Many predators are good diggers, and fast too. If you think that predators might be a problem it wouldn’t be a bad idea to floor the bottom in hardware cloth or poultry netting. If you already haven’t that is. Enjoy your chickens, I miss mine and can’t wait to get more this spring. What kind are you getting?
October 23, 2013 at 4:59 pm
Hi Nicole, I’m loving all these updates, somehow I got them all at once today.
The coop looks great. Your husband seems very handy to have around. How many chickens can you fit in there?
I have been reading a lot about putting together chicken coops with a “fox proof straw yard” at this site: veryediblegardens.com which is some permaculture guys in Australia. They make chicken runs around the orchard.
I’m hoping to get 5-8 hens or maybe 4 chickens and 2 ducks. I want enough eggs for our whole family of four, in order for it to be “worth the trouble” and my kids LOVE EGGS. I’m not sure how much land we’d need to have for that. Also, I’m worried about the “travel factor” we go on about a 1-week vacation per year, and we’ll have to figure out the “chicken sitting” or else stock them with enough food and water while we’re gone and cross our fingers.
I’ve been thinking about making a chicken ark like this, but I’m not sure about whether it would accomodate all the hens I want. Also how much wood ($$) did it take? I was blown away by the cost of lumber at home depot. I was under the impression, if you made something yourself, it would be cheap! But wood is not cheap, so I’m having to pace myself on these DIY jobs, and look for lumber, etc. at Freecycle newsgroup.
Keep us posted. I love it!
Emily
October 23, 2013 at 6:54 pm
Kent thinks the coop was around $400 for the materials. I know, it’s crazy, but to have someone else make it, I’ve seen over $1,000. This definitely isn’t a money-saving venture for us. We probably wouldn’t be able to have enough chickens to supply all our eggs (we eat a lot of eggs!! – between 4 and 6 dozen a week), so it’s mostly for the trial-farmer experience and the benefits for the garden. I think that a stationary coop with a deep litter and then paddocks is definitely a better option, but we live in suburbia and we rent, so this is our only option right now. If you do the paddock system (a la Paul Wheaton from permies.com), you can certainly be gone for a week or two with no problem.
November 18, 2013 at 5:06 pm
hopefully you were able to replace the “vintage” hardware that my family broke
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