Welcome to Happy Coops, where each chicken coop is handmade, aesthetically pleasing, and designed to last, so you can provide your hens with a comfortable and predator-safe environment.
Based in Fremont, California
Coops for Your Chickens and You!
The Happy Coops Story
Hi! My name is Dru.
For north of 16 years, I've been building and delivering coops and runs throughout the 9 Bay Area counties and beyond. Having spent a career as a carpenter and rigger, a certain fate of irony occurred those same years back as finding myself laid off. Having collected a good bit of lumber stock over the years, I set out building a dog house which I posted on Craigslist and sold straightaway, as did several others that followed. Then, running low on material, I opted for a more extravagant design, employing some rather old and weathered barn wood I'd long set aside for another project. I cut the roof at a 12 and 12 pitch and overlayed it with cedar shingles. I guess you could say it was the cat's meow compared to the others I'd sold.
That day or the next, I received a call from a lady in Berkeley asking me if I could do this and add that to its design, to which I eventually replied, “But it's a dog house….what….?” “Oh no,” she said, “it would be for my chickens”. Within hours I received still a second call from a teacher in Concord asking essentially the same questions. We talked for an hour with her ultimately declaring I had no idea as to what I was missing as the sustainable backyard farming movement of the Bay Area was just beginning in earnest.
(Toddler pictured is not Dru)
Soon after I would attend a weekend seminar on coop building and chicken husbandry at the University of California at Santa Cruz, followed by my first coop patterned after the popular British-styled Ark coop. I then, after much cajoling, started raising 6 hens of my own. That experience alone would prove invaluable in the years to come as my coop designs would reflect my experience with the “girls” in that it's more than just a roof, a roost bar, and a lay box in making your chickens an enjoyable endeavor…if not passion.
My coops and runs are not cheap, as after taking on my initial 6 hens I transitioned from the simplicity that is a chicken coop to that of a small house to accommodate design changes, like a sliding floor, functioning windows, and a hen door that was opened and shut from outside the run. The redwood legs would soon extend through the floor to the roof, for added structural integrity, and generous roof overhangs became standard to allow for greater water-shed and depth. Virtually all the coops are transported via dollies as their inherent weight and girth require such. This does not hold true to most all runs, as they can be built in panels at my shop needing only the roof added at your abode.
So, welcome to Happy Coops, where each chicken coop is thoughtfully made, aesthetically pleasing, and designed to last as you provide your hens with a comfortable and predator-safe environment.
-Dru
Our Materials
Locking Mechanisms
All coops arrive complete with locking mechanisms that are guaranteed to keep your hens safe, providing they are secured each night with the padlock, hasp, or carabineer of your choice. This includes your access door, hen door, as well as the nest box lid.
Slide-Out Floor
The coop de view and coop de grand come standard with a slide-out floor for ease of cleaning. For even greater ease of maintenance, ad added vinyl covering, similar to a kitchen floor, can be found on the add-ons page.
Suntop Polycarbonate
Both the nest box lid and roof sheathing are covered with lifetime waranted Suntop Polycarbonate panels which are affixed with galvanized rubber grommeted specialty screws. All plywood is 1/2” exterior grade.
Doug Fir Frame
All interior coop frame materials is either 2” by 3” or 2” by 4” Doug fir with the exception of the four inside corners of the coop de view and coop de grande — as they are a continuation of the legs that run through to the bottom of the rafters helping to provide a sturdy structure. See coops in the building phases.
Con Heart Redwood
All legs, ramps, window frames, and trim are constructed with locally sourced, Con Heart Redwood, and is of a higher-grade than redwoods found at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Our redwood is milled from the center of the tree, with the telltale deep red coloring, to provide you with a coop that lasts longer.
Galvanized Hardware Cloth
All our runs and coop under panels are overlaid with 19 gauge 1/2” hardware cloth. The cloth is used in the application of our predator-proof galvanized hardware cloth skirts, because, at the end of the day, chicken wire is merely an aperitif for the likes of a raccoon or similar predator. See the extra page for more information.
Paint vs. Stain
I do not paint the coops per se, but this can be added as an extra if you prefer to enhance the grain of the wood with a top-of-the-line product called pennofin.com. If you’d like to paint your coop in an array of colors, take a look at the custom coop page.
Plexiglass Windows
All windows are inlaid into a redwood frame at a 1/8” thickness. When long, hot summer nights prevail, open windows at the roost bar will be an added relief for your hens. And fear not for their safety, as the open windows are protected against intrusion via trimmed-out hardware cloth screens. Your hens are safe.
Based in Fremont, California
Servicing the 9+ Bay Area counties
Happy Coops,
Happy Chickens.
Interested in talking coops, or want to learn more? Contact us at any time!