Urban Coop

The B’s were thriving. They seemed very content indoors, always finding interesting places to roost. The days were flying by, the B’s were growing, and before I knew it summer was almost over. Summer had definitely been a distraction. It’s easy to put things off when it’s 80 degrees out and the beach is calling your name. One day (with some help from my wife) I realized my days were numbered in the house if I didn’t move the B’s out. After scouring the internet for coop designs, I looked to Seattle architect Tom Kundig's work for inspiration. Why should my Urban B's live in a coop that resembles a shed? They’re 'special' chickens and they needed a 'special' home.

Fortunately, we had an existing 5' x 7' concrete pad in a great location, perfect for the coop. It is on the south side of our house and backed up to the fence separating our front and back yards. I imagined the B's happily clucking the days away, scratching about the coop or lounging on the deck - yes, my design included a wrap-around cedar deck complete with "roost rail". The hen house included a sectional sofa in the sitting area of the hen house (the B's really seemed to enjoy their time on our sofa). I sketched and planned the coop elements based on aesthetics, ease of entry and cleaning, and the needs of the B's (feeder, waterer, roost, nest, etc.). When the B’s arrived there was no established timeline for completion of the coop. I'd told Darnell the chicks would live inside for a maximum of 6 weeks. I wasn’t counting, but we were well beyond that. I was pushing my luck for sure.