Project: How to build a chicken coup for Australia

This is a great design if you are in Queensland where the weather is always warm and humid. This is not the ideal coup for areas that have cold winters as it is too open and offers limited protection from the cold.

We took this project on with the lowest budget $300. We had the roof iron but we could have purchased it from the recycle center as well as the sheet iron for the walls. You could enclose the entire structure but having it open resulted in good protection from the frequent rain, whilst keeping it cool even in the middle of a hot summers day. The concrete slab means the floor does not get wet which protects the chickens from "bumble foot" - a condition they get when their feet are always wet. The deep litter method ensures they are walking on something that feels like normal ground and they can scratch it too. The perches are high but spaced so the younger birds can get up into them. The nesting boxes are sheltered and have enough tin at the back and sides to keep any water off them. Chickens love SNUG for their nesting. The front piece of 3 ply is drilled in a series of holes. Today I cut the ties and lifted it up an inch as the chickens were still removing the straw. I made this entire thing to be adjustable.

In another 4 months the boys will have started crowing and have been removed from the flock leaving about 14 good hens. Ok.. we have a Bantam hen by accident.. but we don't have the heart to remove her. Our chickens are treated better than most people treat their cats and dogs. Today they received a treat - watermelon and a few cobs of corn. When I feed them treats I use the same whistle so I ensure they always come when I whistle.

They do get the yard on most days. The more time they spend in the yard the less seed/feed they eat. This saves me a lot of money. They only reason they remain in the pen for half the day or the small yard.. is for their protection from a fox that took two hens last week.