A new kind of coop made possible by technology…

There were several motivators that drove the design goals of the Urban Chicken Coop™. With material and labor costs skyrocketing in 2021 we wanted to make a small coop that would be more affordable but worthy of the Roost & Root brand that we have so carefully crafted. First, we started with the notion that the shape of an egg would be both fun and beautiful. We wanted a fun clear roof. Big views to watch the birds. But we quickly learned, there are extreme challenges in manufacturing something that has no straight lines. The precision of polymer materials, CNC cutting, and 3D printed parts were required to realize objectives. Food-safe materials were painstakingly sourced. Next was extensive testing and design goals around feeding, watering, cleaning and in general caring for a small flock. Thousands of hours of prototyping and dozens of generations of coops yielded a working design. We had packaging goals to make it as reasonable to ship as possible. And of course, it had to be rugged, long-lasting, and maybe most of all… pretty! We’re 100% confident that your hens will enjoy their new Urban Chicken Coop™… it’s our most sincere hope that you will too. We pour ourselves into what we do so that you can enjoy what you do.
		Purchased as a DIY Kit. Shipped in one box door-to-door via UPS or FedEx. Designed to not exceed standard-sized box limits so as to avoid shipping surcharge costs.
		Computer machined from cedar and food-safe polymer products. Will last many years (target of 10) outdoors without special considerations.
		Can be assembled in 3 to 4 hours with only a cordless drill and a hammer. All hardware, fasteners, and bits needed are included in the box as part of the kit.
		Provides 4 ft² of run space per hen, integrated roosting space, egg box, watering, and feeding all in one highly designed easy-to-maintain unit.
		Watering, feeding, and egg collecting are ergonomically friendly. Requires no stooping or bending over to manage your hens daily. The complete egg box “unit” comes out to allow for raking out of the ground under the coop.
		Well-ventilated roost assures the respiratory health and safety of your hens in hot or cold climates. Available (suggested) inclement weather Storm Panels enable year-round protection for your Hens in all weather conditions (see regional info tab below).
		Standard integrated EZ-Fill Feeder² and EZ-Fill Waterer. Feed and water your flock standing up outside the coop! No cleaning of stinky waterers or messy feeders and they don’t take up valuable run space. No-Poop 3+ day water supply that can be optionally freeze-protected. No-Poop 3+ day feed supply that automatically delivers pellets or crumble type layer feeds.
		Built with all-weather polymer and cedar wood materials. Rugged long-lasting tangible quality. Cedarwood legs can be treated in a non-toxic micro-siliconized sealer at the ground contact point that will still allow the legs to naturally patina.
		Made with a single 10-foot long piece of 19-gauge galvanized predator-resistant hardware cloth section that installs in a way that even if compromised your hens stay inside of its protective cocoon.
		A fully protected egg box allows for easy outside egg collection access. And if you heat your water in the winter, it warms the egg box too! If they had too, all three adult hens could huddle into the eggbox and if standing under it, they are afforded additional protection.
		A sliding-style turn-out door on the backside of the coop allows your hens to free range and then put themselves up at night.
		Standard-provided anchoring stakes are good for winds up to tropical storm force (35 mph – 40 mph) in soft soils and even more in harder soils. Longer stakes are available for softer grounds or stronger wind areas.
		Special Predator Safe Notice: Due to the lightweight design of the Urban Chicken Coop™ it is not suitable to standup to predators greater than 60 lbs or so. It will effectively protect your hens from racoon, skunks, possums, < ~60 lb or so domestic dogs coyotes, wolves and flying predators. Protection from larger predators will require you to invest in something stronger. All of our Round-Top™ model coops have the ability to protect from larger predators… but they cost quite a bit more as they are made very differently. And just to be clear… nothing will stop a bear or some other large predator from getting to your chickens other than a steel cage.

We calculate hen population based on ~4 ft² per bird run space (free range by Gov’t standards) adequate roost bar space, egg box space, and quantity and number of feed and water units.

Dimensions:

• Run Area: 45 1/2″W x 61 5/8″ Long
• Egg Box: 20″ Deep 24″ Wide 14″ Tall
• Overall Height 46″ | Overall Roof Length 65″

Weight:

• Fully Assembled ~60 lbs (weights given are approximate)

Chicken Capacity:

• Standard-sized adult hens…
• Up to 3

Shipping:

• Boxed pieces as a DIY Kit Delivered via UPS or FedEx door-to-door.
• DIY:  1 32x48x8  custom box weighing about 60 lbs

Feed & Water:

• Standard: About 6 lbs of feed
• Standard: About 1 gallon of water

Materials:

• Roof: 6mm twin-wall polycarbonate polymer
• Wire: 19 gauge galvanized wire mesh
• Egg Box Unit & Trim: various thicknesses of recycled HDPE food-grade polymers
• Legs: western red cedar.

 Wind Load:

• Standard 8″ stakes, optional 12″ stakes. In soft ground, optional stakes must be used to protect the coop from toppling in winds greater than 35-40 mph (tropical storm force). In the hard ground, standard stakes are suitable. A properly staked coop will withstand winds upwards of 75 MPH (hurricane force)  without coming apart.  Gusts greater than 60 mph, it is recommended that you relocate the coop to the protected area temporarily.

Urban Chicken Coop ™

Airflow in a chicken coop is your biggest concern whether it’s summer or winter. Chickens are much more susceptible to respiratory infections from stagnant air than they are getting too cold.  Our storm panels are used to provide extra protection from either excessive wet periods or excessive cold periods and are designed to fit loose enough to still allow for airflow. Any snow or rain that gets by is reduced to an amount that is not problematic. The following information is intended to give guidance for the use of this coop and if our optional storm panels are needed or not.

Snow/Storm Panels:
Extreme storms can bring too much of a good thing to the outdoor areas of any coop. Our snow/storm panels are for the run areas of your coop and add temporary extra protection for extreme sideways-driven stormy weather in hot or cold seasons. Panels keep sideways rain and wind-driven snow from making things too sloppy in the run areas that chickens hang out in during the day. They are designed to be attached and detached during inclement conditions in warm or cold seasons, only when needed.

Panels are thin so they can bend to the shape of your new coop and are “translucent” to let light in. Where needed, ventilation is added to panels to make sure they do not cut off too much air circulation while still being able to protect your flock from… umm, fowl weather. Panels will not make your coop “waterproof” but will knock out the vast majority of wind-driven snow and rain in the “outdoor” run areas.

Freeze Protection:
All coop waterers are shipped with a slotted cap that allows the water to breathe air as the water goes down. We make the slot big enough to allow a cord of an immersible heater to go through too. Based on feedback, submersible fish tank-style heaters work best. Presumably, it keeps the body of water in the tank warmer.

Poultry Nipples: Keeping the water from freezing is half of the battle. The nipple can freeze too if exposed to a direct sub-zero wind chill. That’s why we create and sell a No Freeze 3D Printed Poultry Nipple that you may want to consider as an optional upgrade if you live somewhere cold.

Considerations for Zones 2-3

Unless in a well-protected area, we do not recommend the use of the Urban Chicken Coop™ in these regions as winters are just too extreme. You should opt for one of our Round-Top Coops™ if you live in zones 2 or 3.

Considerations for Zone 4-8

Adult well-adjusted region-appropriate full-sized breeds will do fine in this coop with the use of our storm panels during periods of extreme cold or rain.

Considerations for Zones 9-10

Adult or juvenile region-appropriate breeds as well as bantam breeds will do fine in this coop with the use of our storm panels during periods of extreme cold or rain or if birds are fully grown and not a bantam breed, use of storm panels would be considered optional.

How to Keep Your Chickens Cool in the Summer Heat

Live somewhere cold? No problem, we’ve got you covered. Almost every breed of adult chicken when kept dry and out of the wind chill are very, very cold hardy… even in sub zero temperatures. So if you can keep the water from freezing, the snow from accumulating in the run areas and keep sub zero winds off your flock… they’re good to go. And our Storm Panels let in critical light during short winter days. Attach and detach 3D-printed retaining clips from wired panels.

Coop waterers are shipped with a slotted cap that allows the water to breathe air as the water goes down.

We make the slot big enough to allow a cord of an immersible heater to go through too.

Multimedia Assembly Page

There is no cheating the about 4 hours it will take to put together this coop.  The second one you could do in 2 hours. Many (if not all) building techniques are uncommon.  Consider watching the full length video. Then when you get to the PDF or printed instructions, they will make much more sense.

The Urban Chicken Coop™ can be assembled in about 4 hours by 2 people of ordinary skill with a cordless drill, flathead screwdriver, and a hammer. Everything else you need is provided. A flat-level area is a very important requirement for assembly. These instructions will always be the most current. Study the instructions. You’ll get your time back. Uncommon practices are used throughout the assembly.

Handyman Hotline: If at anytime you (or your handyman) needs support that the instructions or videos don’t answer, just call us. You can even have your handyman call us in advance so that when they show up to assemble your greenhouse they’re already up to speed.

Urban Chicken Coop^TM Latest Instructions PDF  Rev 1.2

Urban Chicken Coop^TM Online Supplemental Instructions

Urban Chicken Coop^TM YouTube Full Length Assembly Video

Whether you’re a first-time backyard chicken rancher or a seasoned veteran, we want you to have a premiere experience with Roost & Root. We realize our coop is a significant investment for most people and take seriously making sure you’re satisfied and hope you will tell others.

First Contact – If you don’t order from us over the phone, you should expect an email or call after you place your order on our site to let you know we got your order and that we understand everything correctly.

Delivery – Your exact ship date is shown after placing order and in your order confirmation email. You should expect to receive large boxes or on larger or assembled coops a palletized motor freight shipment.

Coop Assembly & Setup – Written instructions are provided with every coop and on each coops product page too. We get calls with questions from less than 5% of customers when they are setting up their new coop. Just know that if for any reason you need help, we answer our phone at all but the rudest of hours and are happy to assist. In the rare event that there is shipping damage, a missing part or a mis-manufactured part, we ship out a new part right away. We hand-make your coop so it is possible that we make a mistake. It is rare, but it does happen. Coop assembly overview videos are available on-line at YouTube.

Getting Your Hens Situated In Their New Home – If you’re not already experienced, we expect that we will be one of your main resources for you to get comfortable with keeping hens. We expect that you will contact us with questions about chicken keeping until you know what you need to know to be comfortable. We as a family have hundreds of hens at any point in time, and use our coops to house many of them. Chickens are incredibly hardy and after you get to know how it all works you’ll be amazed how little effort it is and how much fun it can be. Each of the instruction sets have particular suggestions for getting started with that coop.