In the summer of 2010, William bought the 1930s home that he had been renting for several years. Soon afterwards, he enlisted the help of a friend-of-a-family-friend— Jack Sanders, founder of Design Build Adventures—to convert an old garage into an outdoor music space and create a safe home for his chickens. What William didn’t realize at the time was that has working with an architect and artist whose design and fabrication work can be seen at the likes of Austin’s Hotel San Jose and Marfa’s El Cosmico.

 

The Funky Chicken Coop Tour (FCCT) interviewed William Scoular and Jack Sanders to learn more about their coincidental chicken coop collaboration.

 

FCCT: William, in broad strokes, how did your chicken coop evolve over time and how did you find Jack Sanders?

 

William: I dated a girl who got me into chickens—nothing kinky. I had free-range chickens and a flimsy coop that led to many chicken deaths from predators, like my neighbor’s dog. My coop was more of an open-air roost that was made mostly from falling apart plywood. So I needed something more.

 

I am a value investor for a living and had a couple of great years coming out of the stock market crash. So I decided to buy the house I was renting and undertake a couple of projects outdoors since that is where I spend most of my time. Jack married my good family friend Ann Tucker. I had heard through the grapevine that he was talented at designing outdoor living spaces. That was an understatement. He has a gift.

 

FCCT: What was the general concept for your project with Jack?

 

William: I originally approached Jack and told him that I wanted to convert the old garage in my backyard into an open-air, screened-in structure for playing music— playing banjo is one of my hobbies—and that I wanted the Fort Knox of chicken coops. My idea for the garage was inspired by some of the hang-outs I used to see years ago in old East Austin, where families and friends would sit under garages with the walls ripped off and barbecue and drink.

 

Jack was into the idea and proceeded with a design. However, there was a hang- up with city, so we had to tear the garage down entirely and build an open-air, screened-in “picking porch” from scratch. While the project got a lot more expensive as a result, it’s also much cooler than the original idea.

 

FCCT: Jack, what was it about William’s project that appealed to your sensibilities as an architect and an artist?

 

Jack: Chickens and banjo music around a fire pit is what I want all my projects to be about. I also liked the idea of designing a screen porch not just for William, but a screen porch for the chickens too.

 

FCCT: How did you and William arrive at the dogtrot design for the coop, and how was this traditional design adapted for this project?

 

Jack: It just functionally made sense for what we were trying to do. We wanted to create two different environments for the chickens and at the same time create an exciting and accessible entrance from the alley. One side of the coop is the roost and the other is more like the yard and a removable “chicken chute” connects the two.

 

FCCT: Do the chickens use the coop as you expected?

Jack: We were confident that the chickens would use the coop in simil

ar ways to the previous one, and even that they would continue laying eggs. It was only the chicken chute that gave me any concerns. After all this work, what if they just stayed on one side of the coop?

 

It was just an hour after the welder was turned off—a really nice, orange–pink Austin sunset—and two sips into my second Modelo when the first chicken hopped up there and crossed the bridge. Chickens are wonderful as clients. I swear that on that first night they were enjoying the fire pit and the banjo music just as much as I was.

FCCT: So how have you been using your picking porch, William? Do your hens have any favorite songs or musical styles?

 

William: I have dinners, house concerts, and square dances in the porch. My hens have a variety of musical tastes. They like old-time music, in particular the song “Cluck Old Hen.” 

 

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Take some time out this Easter weekend to check out all of the wonderful coops on The Funky Chicken Coop Tour®. The self-guided tour will take place on Saturday, April 7, 2012 and will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., rain or shine. For more information visit: http://austincooptour.org