In this video, we’ll take you on a tour of our brandnew chicken coop and explain why we decided on the American Coop from Carolina Coops (despite its higher price tag compared to many of the other coops we looked at).

After we decided to add chickens to our homestead, we thought about building a coop ourselves. But considering that neither my wife nor I are gifted woodworkers, we decided to buy a coop instead.

We wanted one that would meet the following requirements:

Offer enough (roosting) space for 12 to 14 chickens.
Have an enclosed run so the chickens have a safe area (protected from aerial predators) to eat and drink.
Support an automatic chicken door that would open at dawn and close at dusk.
Be compatible with a watering system that doesn’t have to be refilled every few days.
Allow for easy access to the hen house for cleaning.

After conducting significant research, we decided to go with the American Coop from Carolina Coops, which offers the following standard features:

Premium Douglas fir lumber with pressuretreated ground contact base.
Deep litter bed in the henhouse (which means no cleaning for at least a year or longer).
HDPElined deep litter bed with flipdown cleanout door for easy cleaning.
One egg hutch with three HDPElined nest boxes suitable for 16 hens (with removable dividers).
Two sixfoot roost bars (removable for easy cleaning).
Henhouse screen doors with tiltup (cantilevered) doors to keep out cold and rain.
Halfinch black PVC coated hardware cloth wire
Metal roofing in Black or Galvalume and exterior black hardware (latches,
hinges).
Covered walkin runs have sixfoot walls (7.5 feet at the peak) to keep the flock shaded and dry.
Human access door can be placed on the front or side of the run.
Chicken stairs with hooks (removable for easy cleaning).
Predatorproof design.

Additionally, we got the following upgrades:

Dutch door to run (because we like the look and it might come in handy if we ever decide to get a dog).
Automatic run door (ChickenGuard Premium).
Heated circulating poultry watering system (we ended up rebuilding the system using nonplastic materials).

We also asked our electrician to add two doublepower outlets (one in the henhouse and one in the run) to power the heating plate, water pump and bucket heater.

Overall, we’re super happy with the coop. But if we decide to increase the size of our flock (or add meat birds), we’ll probably get only a hen house next time since all of our chickens are free range (which means we don’t necessarily need a run).

Here are links to the coop and addons we have:

American Coop (Carolina Coops): https://carolinacoops.com/shop/americ...
Industrial Hemp Bedding: https://carolinacoops.com/product/hem...
Heated Circulating Poultry Watering System: https://carolinacoops.com/product/hea...
Chicken Guard Automatic Coop Door Opener: https://carolinacoops.com/product/chi...
RentACoop heating plate: https://shoprentacoop.com/products/hp...

[Chapter Markers]
0:35 How we prepared the foundation for our coop
1:39 Exterior features of the American Coop
3:14 Black mesh wire siding provides protection and it looks good
3:53 An egg hutch that doesn’t startle our chickens
5:21 Windows and ventilation
6:24 The henhouse and deep litter system
10:19 Our zeromaintenance poultry watering system
12:57 The inside of the coop
14:21 Our 15lb feeder and automatic chicken door
16:05 Copper water pipe with nipples and recirculation pump
17:11 How much is the American Coop?

[Additional Links]
How We Built the Best Chicken Waterer on the Market:    • How We Built a PlasticFree Chicken W...  
How Xenoestrogens Make You Infertile and Sick: https://michaelkummer.com/health/xeno...

To follow along with us as we learn the ropes of beekeeping and suburban homestead living, check out our Instagram account (@kummerhomestead), where we share the useful tips and tricks we discover.

#Chickens #RaisingChickens #BackyardChickens