Although my blog consists of dozens, if not hundreds, of articles dealing with chicken health issues I’ve also devoted considerable space to the folks that keep chickens. I’ve written profiles about chicken keepers; artists, crafters and writers who feature poultry in their work; coop builds and the folks that derive therapeutic benefits from their feathered friends.
This post marries two of my series: chickens as therapy and cool coop designs. When I read Heather’s post about the recent loss of her brother I reached out to ask if I could publish it. She agreed and I sent her some additional questions about the actual build.
I don’t talk or post about much very often, but my little brother (aged 29) recently died when he fell asleep at the wheel and straightened out the last curve less than a mile from his house. Devastation does not even begin to touch or describe the feeling. Our family is very close, he is the only boy and the baby. He is our wild child, so full of energy and life, never met a stranger, everybody’s best friend. There were almost 400 people at his funeral in our small town; that’s the kind of guy he was. Everyone knew him and everyone loved him. It is a void I will never be able to fill but I am not the kind of person who can just sit in my feelings, and I am not in the mood to be around people (to be fair, I’m not super peopley anyway) so I started a project and then another and then another.
I read another post from a farming woman who had lost her son on the same day and she was talking about how her animals pulled her through. She was working through “tasks and tears” and I couldn’t think of a more fitting explanation. I’ve cried, I’ve sobbed. I’ve laid on the ground. I’ve sat and stared off into oblivion. I’ve screamed. I’ve played every sad and angry song. I’ve remembered him, his laugh, his hugs, his love.
I’ve spent the last month outside, dawn to dark every day and worked through my grief with tasks and tears. Like many homesteaders, I am a collector of things I’m saving because “Oh, I can use that one day.” I’ve accumulated many things over many years. I spent almost nothing on this project and out of this senseless tragedy, I’ve built something beautiful.
First memories of chickens?
My earliest memories of chickens were as a child at my great-grandmother’s house. She had a depression-era coop behind her house full of white Leghorns. I remember every time we would go over there I’d just be glued to the coop, watching them, being fascinated by them and always wanting to go inside (but we were not allowed). I also remember all of the adults always yelling, “Get away from the chickens, there’s snakes over there!” I didn’t care. For some reason, I didn’t care to spend time with my aunts, uncles and cousins, I just wanted to hang out with the chickens. I got my own chickens when I was a young wife in a bad marriage. I would spend HOURS in the coop every day; it was the only place that felt peaceful. That was over 20 years ago and I left that man and those memories far behind, but I’ve kept chickens ever since. I’m not sure why, they just seem to calm me and ground me in a way I can’t explain.
I currently have a few different coops. My ‘production’ coop that we primarily use for eggs for my family, including my parents, cousin and a few aunts. We had about 60 last year in that coop but after one of the hardest winters we’ve had here in a while as well as a few predator encounters, we’re down to about 30. They are a mixture of Gold Laced Wyandottes, Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, Easter Eggers, Leghorns, Brahmas and a few back yard mixes. I plan on hatching some this summer to get our numbers back up.
My pet chickens are kept in my new coop: ten standard blue, black, splash and partridge Cochins, nine hens and a rooster. I LOVE them. They’re so calm and I just love how big and fluffy they are. They share that space with a few of my Ancona ducks and my Kune Kune pig, Petauxnya.
Is this your first building project?
No, not at all. My daddy is a general contractor and builds custom homes. I’ve always been a daddy’s girl and spent all my time with him on job sites, so I learned to be pretty handy. I eventually opened my own remodeling company but have since retired and just enjoy the homestead life taking care of animals and working on projects. I will say this has been my favorite project. I was always so busy like many chicken people, the coop just happens to be whatever you have at the time and you just add to it as you go: mixed materials and assorted fasteners. I didn’t want my coop to be like that, I really wanted to make something beautiful.
How did you come up with the plans?
I actually made no plans. I had picked up a ton of salvaged wood that a local fence company had from a tear-out job and we had some leftover treated lumber from another project we had recently worked on. My daddy has a huge garage full of things “we might could use one day” and I sourced some material from there as well. I had an old, broken down shed that we had gotten from a friend of the family when we moved to help with some temporary storage. My daddy brought the tractor over and helped me move it from the driveway to the other side of the yard where I wanted to build the new coop. Other than knowing that I wanted it to begin on one side of the shed and end on the other, I really didn’t have a plan. I started by clearing brush from one side and then started working. I have to say, especially not to have ANY plan for what I was going to do and what I wanted it to end up looking like, it went SO INCREDIBLY SMOOTHLY. I’d get to a stopping point with a certain material, step back and think, “Okay, what can I use next that makes the most sense or how can I make this transition look like it’s happening on purpose?” It just really all went together so well. I’ve never really had a project work out like that. Even when I’d go to level something, which isn’t super easy on your own, especially working with 16′ material. I’d put the level on there and it would just be perfect – I knew I had a heavenly helper.
Dimensions
Run: 45′ x 32′ Shed for the coop: 10′ x 12′ which is going to be the next phase of the project. Right now, just the front of it looks good. I have to finish the sides, put on a new roof, clean it out and put in a new floor. I’m pretty excited about the layout I have planned.
Features
- Smaller coop with a section for brooding/grow-outs
- Chic-nic table and a swing
- Lean-to Piggy Palace where Petauxnya gets her beauty rest (and where the chickens have decided they want to lay)
- Outside is a swing where I can sit in solitude and watch all my animals do their thing as well as an herb garden to help with pests.
- Mailbox that I keep my gloves, knife and beverage of choice in. It keeps everything dry and keeps the hornets out of my drink
- “Drake Den” which is a separate enclosure I added on for my bachelor ducks, which is 12′ x 24′ and features a duck house and a pool for the boys.
- Inside the big coop there’s a pool for the female ducks and my precious piggy (she also has her own restroom/litter area)
Future Plans
The next phase will be the coop remodel with roosting bars, nesting boxes, brooder and feed areas.
Thanks to Heather Bryner for sharing her story and photos, used with permission.
Bitchin' Chickens 
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