4 Farm-Fresh Chicken Coops in Urban Backyards

I learned this month that many of my fellow Atlantans are cooping it up right here in the city, gathering fresh eggs in their own backyards. Speaking with chicken keepers during The Wylde Center's 6th Annual Urban Chicken Coop Tour was a very cool and educational experience. In fact, the coops featured below belong to newbies inspired by past tours. Here's a closer look at four stylish coops I encountered within the city limits of Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia.

The tour included 10 private backyard coops. Most of the owners let their chickens roam freely in fenced yards during the day, then tuck them into henhouses within the coops at night to keep them safe from predators like raccoons, possums, owls, hawks and coyotes. (Isn't it odd to have coyotes prowling around in the city? One of my neighbors has started an "urban coyote posse," which I think would be a great name for a band. But I digress ...)

Coop 1: A DIY Project on a Mini Farm

At the home of Kristen and Rob Hampton, chickens and their coop fit right in with the extensive edible gardens and impressive water harvesting system.


The Hamptons found plans for a coop on The Garden Coop and built it themselves from reclaimed materials. They scavenged for reclaimed pieces all over the place, so each piece has its own tale to tell.

They assembled these sliding doors that cover the henhouse and nesting boxes from old art class drawing boards.

A little coop lesson: The box sticking out on the left is the nesting box, the part with the wood siding with the stained glass window is the henhouse, and the entire screened area is the hen yard.


These one-of-a-kind pieces add a unique layer of history, covered in watercolor marks and old doodles.


The Hamptons were taken with third grader Lily Mae Barsick's winning T-shirt design for the fifth annual urban coop tour, and commissioned her to create paintings for their new coop.


The stained glass window was a gift from Rob to Kristen decades ago; he mounted it on a door from an antique icebox to give it a unique frame they could add to the coop.


They partially stripped down these reclaimed boards and added reclaimed hardware.


From the inside, repurposed drawers on runners allow easy access to the nesting boxes.





Coop 2: Chickens and Flowers

Over at Therese, David and Riley May's house in Decatur, David May constructed the coop in his charming workshop, the green structure in the above two photos. The coop is nestled right into their delightful backyard garden.





After attending the Wylde Center's Chickens Are Easy class, May studied coops online and hatched his own design. Concerned about predators and rodents, he buried reinforced wire underground to keep the hens safe.

The coop has a hinged door on the outside that allows easy access to the freshly laid eggs in the nesting boxes. It also makes it easy to clean and freshen up the area. The chickens enter from the hanging curtains at the back of the nesting boxes.


Down the side of the house, visitors pass David's first construction project at the entrance to the backyard. The potting bench features a birdhouse inspired by Atlanta's famous Big Chicken — fitting for this family who is now enjoying their backyard chickens so much.


Coops 3 and 4: One Backyard, Two Stylish Coops

Over in the Lake Claire neighborhood, Bonnie Smith and Jennifer Campbell love all sorts of animals.

Just past the koi pond, guests comes upon this See Rock City birdhouse on the way to two chicken coops.
Hooked on farm-fresh eggs from the local farmer's market, the two did their research and decided to go microlocal, gathering about four to seven eggs from their backyard coop per day.


They built the coop themselves. They had trouble finding plans with exact measurements, so their trial-and-error construction process included lots of lugging boards back and forth to the driveway to recut them. You'd never guess how they struggled when you see how polished and beautiful their coop is.





Smith and Campbell used include donated roof shingles and copper flashing, recycled cinder blocks scouted on Craigslist and a former pickle barrel they now use to collect rainwater.

The coop has extra roaming space in a hen yard addition off the back. A ramp leads up to the henhouse. Coop designs have a lot in common with the tight spaces of New York City apartments and dorm rooms; this reminded me of a sleeping loft.


The coop has an automatic door opener timed to let the hens in and out of the henhouse for sleeping and egg laying.


In the original coop, the hens' bedroom is adorned with small portraits and curtains made from retro chicken-patterned fabric that Smith bought for another project years ago. The curtain now separates the laying spot for privacy.


The girls can wander through to take care of their egg-laying business.


A copper top and hinges secure the nesting boxes.


This design feature allows someone to reach right in from the outside to gather the eggs.





Although the owners didn't plan on having two coops, when they tried to introduce three new chicks to the flock, they got along about as well as the Sharks and the Jets. That forced them to construct a second coop, but they don't mind. The modern barn-red coop plays nicely off their birdhouse. Circular windows add a contemporary architectural touch.

Interested in cooping it up yourself? Check local ordinances and homeowner's association rules before making this leap — BackYard Chickens is a good place to start your research. If chickens are allowed, coops may have to be placed a certain number of feet from your house and from property lines. Talk to adjacent neighbors beforehand also to ease any qualms they may have about your coop.

More:
The Scoop on Chicken Coops
Raise Backyard Chickens Without Ruffling Neighbors' Feathers
Check out more great chicken coop designs

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