
My only contribution was running to Home Depot four thousand times, painting (and painting and painting) and adding the cutesy details.
I loved working beside them, listening to them joke and problem solve and holler with triumph when something worked. More than once Erik and the boys said to me– “Thanks for giving us such a cool project to work on.”
We moved the chicks into the coop about 7 weeks ago (no, they haven’t been living in my bathtub all this time) but didn’t get it quite finished until Memorial Day weekend.

First, you ring the bell– “Good morning chickens!”
it makes it’s own noise with an old-fashioned shopkeepers bell ($9 Lonestar Hardware)
nobody’s there (all those photos of coop perfectly pristine coops on BackyardChickens? Someone took those before the hens moved in.)
Every stereotype about chickens seems to ring true. They love each other and are always together. When we let them out of the coop they move in a cluster and cluck with concern when one moves out of sight– they really, really remind me of thirteen year old girls.
The farmer’s store has signs everywhere. “You must buy at least three chicks.” They’ll die if left alone. I’m finding all kinds of meaning in that concept.
Sometime in August, we’ll open the upper door to collect eggs from the nesting boxes. The bottom doors are simply storage.
Despite their ever-increasing size (can you believe they are not quite three months old?), the chickens are as gentle as chicks and happy to be held.
Selwyn
Oh WOW!
Too, too cute.
And very manly construction, guys!
Shelah
Holy cow (I mean chicken). That is just about the cutest thing I have seen!
Melinda
Ok, thank you, thank you for posting about this. We collected some great ideas from this post. We’ve got a weathervane and a star for our coop and i’m glad to know that you added your cutsie details as well. Love it! So many coops are eye sores and yours isn’t one of them!
Carla
Terrific setup! Love the red coop. We’ve four illegal hens, and the neighbors love them. I can’t see being without chickens ever again.
PS I’d *love* to see more posts. Your little girl is adorable.
Michelle
Oh. My. Wow. Is there a chicken coop building contest y’all could enter?
🙂
Sue
Very impressive!
Major props to the guys.
=)
jendoop
That is the most amazing chicken coop I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a few. We had a friend in CO with a chicken coop nicknamed ‘The Taj Mahal’. They wanted to make their chickens as comfortable as possible so they’d lay lots of eggs.
(The best trick was a light in the winter to fool the chickens systems)
Tracy
Oh wow – I am impressed, I had no idea how big a chicken coop would be. Truly a labor of love and family. LOVE it.
xoxo,t
Debbie
I had chickens growing up and my favoirite thing to do would be to call them… “Chicky Chicky Chicky…” and have an apple in my hand. They would all come up and eat the apple from me. They knew when I said that what was coming. Your daughter should try it. Cute chicken house!!
Debbie (Melinda Curtis’s Friend)
Claudia
You would think you lived in Tooele or something. Looks like farm country.
LoVE Mary’s red gingham, the AmaZING coop and of course the chicks! And your analogies are spot on.
You guys are awesome!!
Rachelle
The quaintest chicken coop ever! And Miss Mary is adorable with the chicks.
Jeanelle
Oh Michelle, it turned out just DARLING! I love it. Beautiful pictures too, as always. Oh and I never commented but LOVED your sons’ “boys camp” or whatever they called it. I was thinking one day should include movie making too since they are so good at that!
Annie
Love this, Michelle. What great ideas. And photos. If I were a chicken, I would be thrilled and content to live at the L-ardt house.
Natasha
I love the photo where your daughter is hugging the chicken and also the one right below it.
Jess
You are about to send me over the edge to purchasing chickens! Since your boys probably couldn’t come here to build me a coop, would they be able to sell me their plans? I love that coop!
Travelin'Oma
You are a cool chick.
Nells Bells
Wow
Diana Eville
amazing!
JWright
Oh this is the Heather Bullard Coop…I love it
Ishmael Graham-Yaeger
could you possibly send me the rest of the pictures you have of the coop and how many chickens can live in there? business19man86@gmail.com
love the design working on a ranch/farm setup… i appreciate it…
Jacquie
Hi Michelle!
We are in the midst of building my chicken coop. The chicks are 1 week old and so my husband and kids have a few more weeks to get it done. I just love the color red you chose. Would you mind sharing the paint name? It is such a happy color and perfect for a hen house. Thanks so much! Jacquie
Jami
I would love to know the name of the paint and color! And if you wouldn’t mind sharing the prints for the coop! You can email to me. I love this coop we are planning on building one this fall! And this looks perfect!! Thanks
mlehnardt8@msn.com
I’m so sorry– we didn’t have any blueprints. We just made it up as we went. And I don’t remember the paint color but it was something like Barn Red.