THE CHICKEN COOP

This chicken coop’s building material is made up of 95% of recycled material and salvaged scraps from job sites and garbage bins. This coop was built out of anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, Love, excitement, hope, and joy. Reusing is always badass but requires more thought, patience, time, and energy. I spontaneously bought 10 chickens the day before Pennsylvania’s lockdown during the Covid-19 Pandemic in March 2020. I was very unsettled about the direction of the world. So to keep my sanity and myself occupied, I built this chicken coop the first month of the Pennsylvania Covid-19 lockdown after work in the evenings. During the day I was building a seven-bedroom house in Southern Lancaster County.

I had a lot of anxiety and fear inside being developed inside of me. So I transferred the negative energy into something physical, attainable, productive, and sustainable. The build didn't necessarily take me away from thoughts. It only led me further down a rabbit hole but allowed free movement for me as I explored and examined my mind. I focused on evolving painful feelings into productive and positive thoughts. Sometimes it took all day or days to get there. But I became more precise in where thoughts and feelings were extracting from and why vs feeling overwhelmed and consumed in standing still while the world was collapsing around me.

The chicks lived in a bathtub for the first month in my bedroom and yes, we drove each other nuts. The coop is insulated on all sides & floor except the 2nd pitch. Insulation isn't necessary for hens but I had the material to do so. The 2nd roof pitch was designed for air ventilation. The fencing sits south for natural warmth & light purposes when the chickens are cooped. I have (3) 2x4x6 roosting bars staggered for sleeping, dominance, & safety. I built eight nesting boxes as well. I built the coop & fencing tall so I could easily navigate through & clean my coop without having to do so in a tiny space. I wrapped this project up by building poop boards under the roosting bars for easier cleaning maintenance, a 32 FT L x 8FT T fence and a door at its entrance, lastly a set of stairs at the entrance of my coop.

My hen’s names are Laurelin, Spit, Henrietta, Mekala, Bo, Juniper, Bobby Jo, & Doe, and Penny the rooster. They are free-range and only cooped when I'm on trips. The drawing pictured below was my original vision.