Our Heritage Home - Coop Sweet Coop!

A couple years back, when hubby encouraged me to replace my pet hen that crossed 'the rainbow bridge' (and I came home with 6 pullets!!) he was kind of persuaded to come up with a hen house for my girls.  I set up a brooder, as described HERE, and when they got a little larger, I made them a home in a barn-shaped plastic dog house for a few more months.

3 of my Pullets - Lizzy (front), Marilyn (right), and Cleo (rear)

They would huddle together at night, snug as bugs in a rug!  But as they grew even LaRgEr, they needed something a little more substantial.  Something for Pullets that would soon be ready to lay.  Something more DIGNIFIED!  He did some figuring and measuring, and talking to me to see what I thought about sizes, clean-ability, and what would be necessary and essential to the girls' needs.  Since he was a contractor, building houses was nothing new to him - but HEN houses - well....that required a little different thinking and planning for. 

Our "Prototype"

Above you can see the first hen house he built for the girls...I had 5 names on the house and was in process of making the 6th one at the time this picture was taken.  I was enthralled with this little house!  I began to list them as Heritage Hen Houses - and once people saw the photos, they would come out to see it, and the orders started coming in.  
After using that little house for nearly a year, I came up with suggestions to upgrade the girls living standards - improvements for ease of egg collection, ease of cleaning, ways to protect against frost bitten toes, better ventilation, and even an easier way to move it around the yard.  Hubby went ahead and sold the prototype, and the girls' housing was down graded to mere dog kennels for a week while he designed them their new Chook Castle -

Finished house ready for transport

Advertising Brochure for our Heritage Hen House

Back door for cleaning

Front entry way for the Working Girls

I loved the NEW house, and so did the girls!  An instant hit!  This year we've sold many of these gems, and Hubbs had so many orders this past spring that he didn't know if he was coming or going!  Everyone that came out to see the house in person was charmed by them, and they basically sold themselves.  Hubby finally got caught up on the orders, and even squeezed in time to deliver 2 houses to a couple that were starting their certified organic farm.

Heritage Hen House goes to the Fair!

One day we were contacted by the Fair Board - they offered us an opportunity for free advertising in exchange for displaying our hen house near the Poultry barns during Fair Week.  What could be nicer?! 

Currently I'm writing and drawing up plans to sell, so folks can build a coop like this for themselves.  The dimensions and drawings are intended to be do-able for someone with a little experience working with wood, but that person would not have to be a master builder!  Hubbs has recorded sizes, angles, dimensions, and tips on easy ways to put it all together, and it's up to me to write it down in a form that is easily understood.  This hen house has been the perfect design - so quick and easy to clean, and makes fast work of egg collection!  The roosts are designed so there's enough space for all the hens at day's end, and can be closed up during FOWL (foul?) weather, too.  I think everyone should have something that's so simple to service every day - it takes less than 10 minutes to "change the sheets"!  Hopefully soon I'll have the plans available for folks that live outside of our delivery area, and for the Do-It-Yourself-ers that enjoy a fun family project!

Happy Trails!
the Chicken Wrangler