Photo by Cindy Benkert
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Cindy Benkert for winning second place in the McMurray Hatchery Poultry Coop Photo Contest. She won second place and a $50 Murray McMurray gift certificate. Here is Cindy’s description of the coop:
This chicken coop was built and designed by my wonderful husband Dale. This past winter, I was reading through poultry magazines and always loved seeing the beautiful chicken coops in all shapes and sizes. Our 13 year old son Jordan is also a big chicken lover and shows chickens in 4-H.
This spring I convinced my husband it would be a great project for he and Jordan to build us a new chicken coop! Using pictures of coops from magazines as inspiration of things we liked, Dale planned out and designed the coop. Jordan helped with the construction, and I helped with the painting. When picking out the paint color, as soon as I saw the color “Egg Yolk Yellow” I knew that was the one!
One side of the coop has a large door that lifts upwards for easy cleaning of the coop. It also has a side entrance door for easy access to the food and water. The roof and top of the attached nest box area are shingled. The many windows allow nice air flow through the coop.
We have 5 laying hens and 1 bantam rooster in the coop but it could easily hold a few more. We let them out for a few hours each evening to roam about the yard for grass and bugs. When I go to close them in for the night I just peek thru the window and count them all lined up on the perch to be certain they are all in.
Chicken Coop Size
The dimensions of the coop are as follows:
The house itself is 8 ft long by 4 ft wide and has 4 ft high walls, but the roof peek is 6 ft. It is 2 feet off the ground.
The attached nest boxes are 16″ high by 1 foot wide and 8 feet long for a total of 6 nest boxes. The frame of the house is made of 2 x 2’s. The outside run is 4 feet high, 16 feet long and 8 feet wide.
I have attached a few additional photos to better illustrate the features. Our family loves are chicken coop and we thank you all so much!
Cindy, Dale, and Jordan Benkert
More Photos
Click any of the photos below to see a larger view.
Other Winners in the Coop Contest
To see the other winners in the coop contest, visit the link below
What a beautifully designed and built coop. May your chickens thrive!
What a wonderful project for a 4-H member, and it was so beautifully done. I admire anyone who can do this type of project, especially when they make it a family affair. Kudos to you for the prize, and the great chicken coop you’ve built for your birds!
I would have to say what looks like five laying boxes is a bit of over kill for five hens. My coop is same size. I have six hens, ‘leghorns’ and two nest boxes, and they all lay their eggs (six in total) in the same nest box every day with no problem. P.S. the roof peek is at least 10ft of the ground. I would not want more than eight hens in there. I think six is just right for the area.
My comment about coop photo contest is given below. I think it should be offered first place to Cindy Banket. Because Her coop design is very beautiful and very attractive