So who's the most famous chicken coop architect? Mies van der Rooster? I. M. Peck? Christopher Hen? No, it's Jeff Troutman, a graduate of the Colorado at Boulder School of Architecture.
Troutman designed the coop as a school project and it was subsequently displayed in the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. A number of museum visitors expressed interest in buying it, so Troutman and Eric Millinger, an evironmental engineer, founded Colorado Chicken Coops. The company now sells a modified version of the original coop on their web site.
The coop is shipped in a flat container and customers then assemble it using supplied hardware. The pieces slide together in tongue-and-groove fashion, and are held together with screws and metal brackets. Based on the video on their web site, it appears very easy to assemble, so those with limited construction skills should feel comfortable purchasing this coop. The design also allows owners to easily access the nest box through and exterior door and to clean the coop via another larger door on the back.
The Colorado Coop measures approximately 3 feet x 3 feet and the optional adjoining pen is 7 feet x 4 feet. This makes it a great size for the urban or suburban farmer who wants to keep 3 to 4 chickens and has limited space. (For those considering adding chickens to their backyard garden, each young hen lays an egg a day during most the year.)
In my opinion, the feature that really distinguished this coop from others on the market is it's handsome design. You can buy a Colorado Coop for $699 + shipping. The coop and run package is $949 + shipping.
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