The Coop

This is the final product (minus the painting and a few other finishing touches).

The view from the back shows the external nesting box with hinged lid for easy egg collection.  

Making the nest box external freed up floor space for the chickens.  

The nest box is 1'x2' divided into 2 12"x12" boxes.

The view inside the coop shows the roosting bar, nest box and vent holes. 

I used 1/4" wire mesh to fence in the run and cover the vent holes.  

Most people would assume you should use chicken wire on a chicken coop.  

However, the holes in chicken wire are large enough for predators like raccoons to stick their arm through.  It's also easy to break chicken wire with your hands.  

Imagine what a dog's mouth could do!