Once In A Lifetime Chicken Coop

In my search for cool coop designs I’ve focused not on the biggest or most well built, but those that express something about the folks that made them to house their flock. Sometimes that has meant using upcycled materials or fumbling along with no previous experience to create something they’re proud of.

When one hears the term ‘coop’ what comes to mind might include images of rustic or cosy wooden structures that house a backyard flock. When I came across Jen McCormick’s operation I realized this was in a class of its own. Clearly we’re not talking ‘coop’ but a professionally built barn that would be the envy of many chicken keeper, me included. Looking at the photos of the sheer size, versatility and practicality of Jen’s Taj Ma Cluck Inn made me want to reach out to the owner and get the lowdown on the build. Here’s her story.

I am a dairy farm owner living in western New York. I have two teenage boys, 2400 Holsteins, three miniature Highland cattle and a few chickens.

I’ve had chickens for about 18 years on and off; the number constantly changes because I raise Cornish cross birds for meat. I currently have 22 egg layers of various breeds and a handful of American Bresse that are just starting to lay eggs. I am excited to try their meat compared to the Cornish to see what all the fuss is about!

I had a smaller 8’x8’ coop built, then I turned an 8’x12′ shed into a coop, but I was tired of raising chicks in the house, and then the garage, and then the shed. Stuff was everywhere and it was cold.

I have a 6’x10’ movable chicken tractor that I used for the meat chickens but with cold nights and rainy weather it was so hard on them. I didn’t lose any of the first batch of meat birds I did in this barn. I bought 20. I processed 20.

I came up with the plans after spending lots and lots of time on Facebook and Pinterest, as well as just knowing what I lived with and wanted or what I was tired of dealing with. I have designed tons of our additions and new builds at the farm so I am pretty experienced with planning builds. I worked closely with my builder, Bobby Piechocki of R&R Precision Construction out of Attica, N.Y.. We built a once-in-a-lifetime chicken coop in a little less than two months.

Barn: 24’x 42′

Runs:

Breezeway: 6′ x 24’ stretches the length of the barn so I have access to both doors and the processing room.

Layers’ coop: 15′ x 14′ Run: 15’ x 21’

The layers also have an electric fenced area where they can go outside to the lawn and under the pine trees.

Meat Bird Room: 9′ x 9′ Run: 9′ x 27’

Features

Concrete floors for the coops and processing room
Omlet automatic coop door
Rollaway nest box from HenGear that I absolutely love. I collect the eggs from the walkway
Roost bars are over the poop shelf that I clean every few days
Tractor Supply pelletized bedding, which has saved me a ton of money with the meat birds because I’m able to sift their manure rather than throw it away.
Each coop has their own circuit for lighting so I can keep the meat birds lights on 24/7 for their first few weeks and let the egg layers sleep.

Brooder

Three units 2’ x 5’ professionally built, designed by me. It’s on wheels so I can move it into the processing room to hose down.
Gravity waterline attached to cups that is also a lifesaver
I made two separate grow-out pens underneath the poop shelf to acclimate new chicks to the older ones for a few weeks
Electrician installed outlets for heaters/waterers, in case it is still cold or the chicks are still young
Gravity water cups and infrared heaters

Processing room: 12′ x 12′

Killing cones attached to the wall
Drain
Table for processing the birds
55 gallon ice bath
On-demand hot water heater
Magnetic knife holder attached to the wall beside the cones (my son said this was a lifesaver)
Plucker and scalder

Thanks to Jen McCormick for sharing her story and photos, used with permission.

“Your coop-side companion for all things cluckworthy.”