Would you spend thousands of dollars to build your chickens a multi-story, solar-powered, fully automated, “smart” humidity controlled luxury townhome coop? What about one that comes with live video surveillance, automatic egg collection, reports on your chickens’ moods based on the sounds they make and predator notifications from an AI system called Albert Eggstein ? Or maybe wallpaper and a chandelier? How about a hobbit hole-inspired design? Spurred on by a pandemic boom in backyard bird-raising and increasing emotional bonds between people and poultry, the world of chicken coop design has expanded rapidly. While many Maine homesteaders still take a no-frills approach, larger and more decorative coops with automated features are growing here. “There’s some outrageous ones out there,” said Bruce Colman, a Saco-based chicken coop builder with customers from Machias to Cape Cod and farther south.
At minimum, chickens need a safe place to roost, sleep and lay their eggs. They can also have doors that open and shut on timers, solar-powered water heaters, fully wired electricity, multiple stories, automatic wheels and a foundation. Some of those don’t work as well in Maine, coop builders said, because of limited winter daylight and frequent power outages.
Advanced design features aren’t always for fun. Brad and Shira Roberts built a 10-by-10-foot coop, covered run, two outdoor runs and duck house in East Dover for their first backyard poultry several years ago, w.