As we waited for our home to be built, we really dug into YouTube videos and blogs about homesteading. While other people were binge watching Netflix, we were binge watching videos about chicken coops, composting, and growing a garden. We basically were like runners at the starting line waiting for someone to yell "GO" so we could get started with all of the projects that we were dreaming about completing.
Some of our favorites to (still) watch are Roots & Refuge, Joel Saltin and Josh Sattin. They all have some really great ideas that we hope to implement over time. (I'm trying to get better at the whole patience and only starting one project at a time thing....) One of Sattin's videos included the footage of him making his chicken coop, the Chick-Chariot. We immediately knew that this was the design we wanted to use.
Our soil here wouldn't even be called "fair". It's truly worse than that. We have our work cut out for us. The Chick-Chariot (based on the Chick-shaw, a Justin Rhodes design) is on wheels which allow you to move it back and forth between different areas, spreading organic matter (ie: chicken poop) throughout your garden area. Doing this will allow us to build up our soil so that one day we can hopefully have an in-ground garden.
To optimize our space inside the coop and make egg collecting easier (and cleaner), we installed a Hen Gear Rollout Nest Box. Let me tell you what. I love that thing and think its worth every penny. We don't have to worry about dirty eggs or egg eating or even eggs getting broken because they were trampled on. It's pretty wonderful.
Overall I'm super happy how this turned out and would highly recommend this design to anyone who is looking for a movable coop. I would love to see your coop designs!