No homestead is complete without a chicken coop, and we had been without one for far too long! With the little kids getting older we wanted to revisit incubation, and chick raising, and impetuously brought home 25 Barred Rock chicks. The feathered fowl flourished under the kids’ abundant attention, and eventually got to that obnoxious age when they had outgrown their little coop, and rudely disturbed the landscaping and pooped on the porch! Once again, the urgent need for infrastructure made itself evident. We needed a new coop! It needed to be mobile, secure, and of course pretty!
The chickens had been living in the orchard ranging all over the place. We weren’t able to collect eggs from one location! They pooped on our porches, and were in danger of becoming a tasty snack for some predator, or stray dog! After googling the hundreds of coop plans and ideas, we identified our needs for a coop: an attached run that would move with the coop, a safe, warm home with exterior nesting boxes so we could collect eggs with ease, and a beautiful addition to our orchard scenery.
Next came research. Mom and Dad looked for a nice design, but didn’t find any with the fairy tale charm they were looking for. So, in Rose fashion, they decided to make their own! In the end they designed a 6×8 gypsy cart on wheels, complete with arched roof and intricate artistry. Once the idea was struck upon, construction went quickly. A repurposed wheel base from an old wheel barrow was fixed beneath a frame covered in remnant linoleum for easy clean up. Dad angled the walls outward a slight 13 degrees to add that bit of gypsy whimsy. Height was determined by having the little boys stand up inside, as they would be the ones to clean and tend the coop. OSB was at an all time high in the Fall of 2021, so we ended up keeping the building short 😉 . Mom drew a fanciful curve for a false front, and PVC conduit pipes were bent over some ripped down trim boards for the roof line. A hinged flap was placed outside the nesting boxes. This feature was important to Mom, as she did not want to have to climb into the dwarfed structure to fetch eggs. Roosting sticks were secured above the nesting boxes. Dad made an escape hatch out of the bottom of the box, which could be pulled closed via a cleverly placed rope that could be pulled from outside, thus locking the chickens in the cart for movement. First baffled with how to finish the roof, a glance through our resource pile came up with a tarp remnant that we were saving for something special… The hardest part, and the part we aren’t totally satisfied with, was the attached run. By putting the cart on wheels, we accessed all the real estate under the cart. Also, it provided a place where chickens can scratch in dirt, and is also shaded in summer, and free from snow in winter. But how do you allow for it to move with the cart? The solution was four chicken wire panels that can be removed for relocation. At first we tried loose chicken wire, but soon realized that would not provide predator protection. In order to provide more space for sun and running, another 6×3′ skirt was added to the back of the run to allow easy opening for food and water.
Painting was the most time consuming part! Everyone painted a part using exterior grade latex paint to withstand the rain and sun. The Little folk painted the circles surrounding the bottom, which became a pomegranate chain. One sister painted the front, another the back, while Dad filled in the logo lettering with great patience. A chicken silhouette was painted on the sides, and roses were added to the sides of the nesting boxes for a finishing touch. Finally, everyone’s hand prints were turned into flowers, and the lettering of the verses applied. After a long week and a half of ornate embellishment, our dream of a quaint gypsy cart was complete!
To wrap up this account I’ll tell you the assessment of the final product after the chickens have lived in it and it’s gone through some winter weather: The things we didn’t love are, that the run made the coop not very movable, and it’s a little difficult to clean out. But, the positives are, clean and accessible eggs, a good combo of open air & containment, and it’s super cute coop!
~Katherine
Rosehaven Homestead 
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