I never dreamed I would find myself saying one day "I want to build a chicken coup!". Actually it was my wife who, after visiting several of our neighbors with chickens, sheepishly admitted "I think I want to get some chickens..." and I replied with an equally sheepish and excited "Me too!"

This all started with an overhaul to our shed. Initially, we had big, big plans to make this very nicely designed new "Yard Barn" (see right). This design had a green house for her, and a nice lumber loft for him. When a husband gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from his wife to build a new shed in the back yard, he will stay up until 3am researching every possibility for a shed. And so I did.

But as things got underway, we ended up simply clearing our our existing shed, which is 8x12. We gave it a face lift, added a small loft, and in a "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" moment, we decided "this little shed isn't so bad!". And then the chicken genie came, and we have both excited to get some chickens.

So now, the plan has changed to build a chicken coupe! So this past Saturday, I found myself using my maven superpowers in the "Poultry Wire" aisle at Home Depot. There is something about building a chicken coupe appeals to many of my engineering senses. An inherent challenge with very practical rewards.