Welcome to the Queen Bee Coop-on Tour. Every day for the next couple weeks or so I’ll be featuring a different chicken coop! These were all sent in by Queen Bee readers. I’m excited to feature this chicken coop because I’ve actually seen it in person! It was part of the Tacoma Urban Chicken Coop tour that I went on last weekend and I even had the pleasure of meeting Becky, the owner! This place has electricity, a front patio and even a welcome mat! I wish I had taken a photo of those elements, but take my word for it – it was posh!
Cost: About $650
Who built it: My husband built our coop. I wanted something that was pretty to look at as well as functional. I was very concerned about keeping our girls safe from predators so we have a very secure coop.
Chickens: We started with three baby chicks last August; Honey, Henrietta Cluckington and Gertrude. When they were five months old we got our first egg. We get an average of two eggs a day. That is enough eggs for my family of three but we love to give our amazing eggs to family and friends so we added two more to our flock this spring. We named the new chicks Atilla the hen and Buffy the worm slayer.
Favorite features: I love the removable screens on the run that give me easy access for cleaning. We added gutters, outdoor lighting and a small patio just for fun.
Tips for new chicken owners: Chickens are a blast! Mine spend long hours in my yard when we’re home. They love to hunt for bugs. They have silly personalities and will follow us around when we’re doing yard work. My favorite sources for chicken information are Backyardchickens.com, the folks at Garden Sphere in Tacoma and the book Chick Days: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens from Hatching to Laying.
Becky’s husband built this coop with a flower bed as a school auction item. What a beaut! The owners added a a large run off each side of the coop and they have 8 chickens (see photo below). The materials were donated but would have cost about $500 to build.
Kids love the chickens – here they are playing in the Becky’s backyard.
Everyone I have talked to says that kids love backyard chickens and the chickens love the kids! It’s a big part of why we are getting them.
Thank you Becky for sharing your coop with us! I just love the attention to detail including the porch lights, the patio and even the welcome mat. It’s a fantastic coop!
Just joining us? You can check the earlier coops out here:
- Chicken Coop Tour – Mother’s day gift, nestled in the garden, three chickens (Olympia, WA)
- Chicken Coop Tour – DIY coop, four chickens, cost about $400 (tongue and groove cedar!)
- Chicken Coop Tour – South King County, nine chickens, about $200 to build
Do you have chicken coop? I’d love to see photos and you can be featured here on Queen Bee! Email it to me at thehive@queenbeetoday.com with the subject line coop tour.
Chicken resources:
- Building Chicken Coops For Dummies – $12.03 (reg. $19.99)
- Chicken Coops: 45 Building Ideas for Housing Your Flock – $13.48 (reg. $19.95)
- The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit (The Joy of Series) – $14.95
- Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, 3rd Edition – $12.36
Feed and water:
- Hanging Poultry & Gamebird Feeder with Feed Pan, 30 Lb Galvanized Steel – $23.97 (reg. $27.99)
- Little Giant 11 Lbs Plastic Hanging Poultry Feeder PHF11 – $19.99
- Little Giant 3 Gallon Plastic Poultry Fountain PPF3 – $33.50 (reg. $39.99)
donna stuebing says
Your coops are so cute, and my mom needs my husband and I to build her one. Thank you for posting.
Donna and Joe Stuebing
Cleburne, TX