Backyard flock

Eckert Ranch Coop Upgrades

This is the finished coop as the plan now describes it, sized for 10 to 25 hens. The henhouse has a ridge roof with a big overhang, tiered roosts and a bank of 9 nest boxes, and it's smaller than the run attached at one end. Spin the model, press Inside to look in, then check the questions at the bottom.

Rev
K · red wood, door + side gaps sealed
Date
Oct 27, 2026
Henhouse
8 × 10 ft · 80 sq ft
Run
16 × 10 ft · 160 sq ft
Pitch
4:12 (plan target)

3D model

Drag to orbit · scroll or pinch to zoom

One front panel of the run is left open as a sample. Press Door to see the sealed door gaps up close, or Panel detail to zoom in on the sample panel, then Close the sample panel to watch it swing up and lock. Uncheck Winter (fully enclosed) to fold every upper panel down for summer. Turn on Cutaway or press Inside to remove the henhouse's front wall and the front half of its roof and look in. Inside, the middle column of nest boxes shows its closure dropped for the night; the other two are raised for the day. The model shows the shapes and where things go, not finished carpentry. The oak overhead is left out so it doesn't block the view.

Elevations

Scale ≈ 1 ft = 30 units · circled numbers key to the list below
26 RUN HENHOUSE 8'-0" henhouse 16'-0" run ≈25'-4" overall incl. overhangs 8'-2" ridge 6'-6" eave 6'-0" wall 7'-8" ridge 1 2 3 7 8 10 12 23 25 13 14 16 19
Front elevationLooking at the long side in winter: the whole run wall is solid, except the sample bay, which shows its upper panel folded down for summer (dashed). The henhouse ridge runs left to right, so you see the long eave side. The run's roof tucks in under the henhouse's run-side overhang, and the waterer (dashed) hangs at the back of the run in the shade.
12 4 10'-0" wall 11'-4" with 8" overhangs 8" 6'-6" eave 8'-2" ridge 1 2 3 4 6 8 9
Gable endThe henhouse seen from the far end, away from the run. The 9-box nest bank bumps out through this wall, with one egg door per row. The blue arrows show hot air rising through the gap under the metal and out the vented ridge.
WINTER · FULLY ENCLOSED barrel bolts lock it to the top rail upper panel, closed hinge on 2×4 mid rail fixed lower panel ½" hardware cloth, full height INSIDE 3'-0" hinged 3'-0" fixed SUMMER · TOP HALF OPEN breeze folds down 180° turn buttons hold it flat
How the run panels workA cut through either long side of the run. The lower 3 ft is a fixed plywood panel. The upper 3 ft is a plywood panel per 4 ft bay, hung on two strap hinges along its bottom edge on a 2×4 rail at 3 ft. In winter it stands up and two barrel bolts lock it to the top rail, so the run is enclosed. In summer you slide the bolts, fold the panel down and out, and it hangs flat over the lower panel, where two turn buttons keep the wind from flapping it. The hardware cloth stays full height behind everything, so the run is predator-proof either way.
DOOR FROM OUTSIDE 1×2 top stop 1×2 latch stop door closes on it door sweep 2×4 threshold flashing over hinge-side gap plywood filler over the wire plywood filler over the wire CUT SEEN FROM ABOVE INSIDE THE RUN OUTSIDE hinge post latch post door flashing covers gap 1×2 stop laps door ¾"+ nothing over ½" anywhere
Closing the door gapsKeynote 26. The gaps around the screen door get closed for good with screwed-on wood and metal, not foam a rat can chew out. On the latch side and across the top, a pressure-treated 1×2 is screwed to the frame so it overlaps the door, and the door closes against it. The hinge side has to swing, so a strip of galvanized flashing covers that crack instead. At the bottom, a 2×4 threshold and a sweep on the door close the gap underneath. The narrow strips of wire on either side of the door frame get full-height plywood fillers, so the whole wall around the door is solid in winter. The cut is drawn larger than life so the overlaps show.
  1. 1Vented ridge cap over vented closure stripsPh 1
  2. 2White 26 ga corrugated metal over a furring air gap and radiant barrierPh 1
  3. 38" eave overhang: the metal runs past the wall on its own, with no rafter extensions, fascia or gutterPh 1
  4. 48" overhang at the gable ends, also unsupportedPh 1
  5. 5No gutters: rain drips straight off the edges (optional gravel drip strip below)Ph 3
  6. 6Two screened gable-end vents (exhaust), set to either side of the nest bankPh 2
  7. 7Low intake vents, front and backPh 2
  8. 8Fold-down fermented-feed stationPh 6
  9. 9Bank of 9 nest boxes (3×3, 12" cubes) with one exterior egg door per rowPh 6
  10. 10White 26 ga metal run roof, 4:12, 8" overhang at the eaves and far end, tucked under the henhouse overhangPh 1
  11. 12½" hardware cloth on both long sides of the run, full height, with a buried apron all aroundPh 4
  12. 13Misting line along the runPh 5
  13. 14Existing screen door, re-skinned in hardware clothPh 4
  14. 15Pop door and ramp from the henhouse into the run (3D model)Ph 2
  15. 16Sand or wood-chip footing, graded to drainPh 3
  16. 17Tiered roost ladder along the back wall: 3 flat 2×4 rungs at about 2'-7", 3'-5" and 4'-2", about 23 ft of roost in all (3D model)Ph 5
  17. 18Droppings board with a lip under the whole roost ladder (3D model)Ph 6
  18. 195-gal bucket waterer with horizontal nipples, hung in the shaded runPh 6
  19. 20Warm LED strip under the ridge beam (3D model)Ph 6
  20. 21Solar exhaust fan, high on the back wall, optional (3D model)Ph 2
  21. 22Sliding nest closures: one panel per column, raised in tracks by day and dropped at dusk (3D model)Ph 6
  22. 23Upper run panels, hinged at their bottom edge on the 3 ft mid rail: bolted up to the top rail in winter, folded down over the lower panel and held with turn buttons in summerPh 4
  23. 24Solid run end wall (T1-11, gable included) with a screened vent up top (3D model)Ph 4
  24. 25Fixed plywood lower panels on both run sides, outside the hardware cloth, all year. The screen door gets a fixed lower panel and a clear insert for winter.Ph 4
  25. 26Gaps around the screen door closed for good: pressure-treated 1×2 stops on the latch side and top (the door closes against them), galvanized flashing over the hinge-side gap, and a 2×4 threshold with a door sweep at the bottom. The strips of wire on both sides of the door frame get solid plywood fillers, full height and painted red, so winter rain and wind can't blow in beside the door. No gap over ½" anywhere.Ph 4

Is this your coop?

Confirm or correct before buying

  1. Size for 25 hens

    Henhouse 8×10 ft (80 sq ft) and run 16×10 ft (160 sq ft). At 25 hens that's about 3 sq ft each inside, which works because your birds free-range by day and only sleep and lay in the henhouse. If they'll be shut in the run most days, 25 hens want about 250 sq ft, so the run would grow to about 24 ft long.

  2. Light in the run

    With metal over the whole run, it stays shaded and dry, which is great for hot summers, but darker. If you want some daylight, swap one or two run panels for clear polycarbonate of the same profile. Want that, or all metal?

  3. Run walls

    The lower half is solid all year. Each upper panel hinges at its bottom edge: in winter it's bolted up to the top rail, so the run is fully enclosed, and in summer it folds down flat over the lower panel. Awning-style panels hinged at the top would hit the run's roof overhang when opened. Does the fold-down work for you?

  4. Nest closures

    A 3×3 bank has no room for panels that slide sideways, so each column of three boxes gets one panel that slides up and down in tracks. Raise them in the morning, drop them at dusk. Would you rather have one panel per row with the bank laid out wider instead?

  5. Ridge direction

    I drew the ridge running the long way, parallel to the run, so one gable end faces the run and the other faces away. That's how the rafters look in your photos taken inside the henhouse. If the ridge actually runs across, the long eave sides swap.

  6. Roof pitch

    Drawn at 4:12, the plan's target for shedding rain. Your current roof looks flatter than that. Do you want to keep today's pitch and just add the overhang, or reframe to 4:12?

  7. The roof is metal now, not plywood

    Your inside photos show corrugated metal laid straight on the rafters, but the plan was written for a painted plywood deck. That changes how the Phase 1 roof layers go together. Once you confirm, I'll fix the plan.

  8. Gable-end edges

    The roof overhangs 8" all around with no supports. On the long sides the metal ribs make that strong. At the gable ends the metal is weaker, because there the panel edge bends across the ribs, not along them. If those edges flutter in wind, a strip of rake trim along each edge stiffens them. Fine to wait and see?