Beginnings:
My husband gave me that familiar raised eyebrow look that said “here we go again” as I carried the 10, two-day-old chicks through the front door. I resorted to my usual strategy of reassurance.
“Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Don’t get your feathers ruffled. We have TWO WHOLE MONTHS before we have to have that old stall converted into a coop. Plenty of time! Now look at them—aren’t they amazing little fluff balls?”
When we purchased the property in eastern Idaho, we were pleased that the small pole barn had a stall that had once housed chickens. Long since abandoned, the roughly eight-foot by nine-foot stall on the southwest corner of the building contained nest boxes, a couple of roost boards, a waterer and a feeder. While they were dusty and dirty and obviously in need of a good cleaning, to my naive eye all we had to do was clean things up a bit and add chickens. A lifelong dream of a backyard flock of laying hens could come true!
The novel coronavirus arrived in the US, things shut down, and we decided to cancel our late winter travel plans. It seemed like a great time to add a few laying hens, and check that off my bucket list. The lack of eggs in local grocery stores, though certain to be short-lived, was added incentive. I soon discovered that others had the same idea, and getting chicks turned out to be easier said than done. Yet a call one evening from a local feed store where I had left our name and contact information “just in case they had extra chicks not already spoken for” instantly changed the situation. In the span of one short call, and despite all the research on breeds, we went from “I guess this just wasn’t meant to happen,” to “I’ll be there to take whatever you have tomorrow morning when you open.”
That’s how I came to be walking through the front door with a mixed flock of pullet chicks from Dunlap Hatchery via Flat Creek Saddle Shop—a.k.a. The Grove Creek Girls.
Assessing the Situation
Within a week we had the brood box built and installed next to a window in a spare bedroom, and the chicks snugly moved in from their original cardboard box home. Waiting for four feet of snow to melt gave us time for research. I spent hours pouring over postings here on backyardchickens and reading books and articles about coop design. On a warm spring day we went out to the barn to look at the project before us. Predators were on our minds.
During our year on the property, we’ve seen a menagerie of avian and terrestrial predators. As professional biologists and nature lovers, we have delighted in watching a pair of red-tailed hawks successfully fledge their young from a nearby nest. When a Cooper’s hawk and goshawk occasionally swoops in to take a Brewer’s blackbird from the colony across the street, we witness nature’s triumph and defeat play out before our eyes. We’ve watched from a kitchen window as an ermine in a sleek coat of white skillfully hunted in the deep snow banks along the edge of the porch and just moments later emerged with a vole nearly half it’s size. Great horned owls serenade us every evening. On his morning walks, my husband regularly sees martins, fishers, and on occasion the back end a mountain lion or a bear. Not to mention the more common raccoons, skunks, red foxes, and coyotes. Recreational users of the nearby public lands rarely have their dogs on a leash, and more than one has explored our property, ignoring their owners calls. Now, at least in our minds, they would all be looking for a chicken dinner, and perfectly capable of helping themselves to one of the Grove Creek Girls. And with a desire to live in harmony with the very creatures that attracted us to our mountain home, now it was our responsibility to go the extra mile to keep The Girls safe.
Looking at the gaping openings in rafters and along the clay floor, it became quite obvious that there was a lot of work to do. As my husband slyly observed, previous owners may have had chickens, but probably not for long.
Clean-out and sanitation
The first question: is the stall large enough for 10 hens? At 72 square feet, that would be almost double the four square feet per heavy breed hen recommended by Gail Damerow in her immensely helpful book A Guide to Raising Chickens. Sigh of relief: the answer was yes.
Question two: what did we want for the Grove Creek Girls? Safety and good health, which meant besides security from predators, natural sunlight, good ventilation, ease of cleaning, and ability to prevent diseases and parasites. And all on the cheap. (Cheep?)
Oh boy, it was becoming pretty obvious that once again I had gotten us into “something.” At that point, I wasn’t sure just how much of an adventure it was going to turn out to be.
A Clean House Is a Happy Home
The stall had become a convenient place to stash stuff, and we hauled everything out. The two rows of five nest boxes came out next. The only thing that was really worth saving was a dusty nipple waterer—provided it still worked; to be determined.
We removed and composted what little remained of the old straw bedding mixed into the dirt floor, careful to take anything that looked like fossilized droppings. Then, using a hand held pressure washer, the walls and floor got a good soaking of a 10% bleach solution to kill any remaining disease organisms or parasites that had hitched a ride on who knows what.
After a lot of angst and looking at many choices, we decided to keep the dirt floor, at least for now. It gets very cold here, so we were concerned that concrete or concrete/dirt mixed flooring, as suggest by Damerow, would be too cold for our girls. Adding a wood floor would make this tightly timed project even longer, more complicated, and more expensive. And we couldn’t figure out how to easily construct it so it wasn’t a welcome harbor for our healthy populations of mice, voles, and ground squirrels. So it will be interesting to see how that decision works out.
Every robin nest at the top of the wall in the rafters was a possible source of parasites and disease. The first robin scouts had arrived for the spring, but hadn’t yet laid eggs or hatched young, so now was the time to get their old nests out, sanitize, and keep them from building any new ones.
As we knew, the robins were anxious to move back in, even if they had to rebuild. Keeping them out became a priority. And every reference emphasized the need for good ventilation in the coop, even in our harsh winter climate. We decided to treat areas between the rafters on the north and south sides of the barn differently. On the north side, we filled the gaps with plywood. On the south side, we stapled 1/2” hardware cloth purchased from the local building supply store. In both cases, we knew that there were other ways a determined predator could get in, but this was mostly to keep any climbers and wild birds out of the barn. And our goal was to make the stall-turned-coop inside the barn an impenetrable cube.
From Top to Bottom
Now that the rafters were secured, it was time to get the shovels out and start digging. The barn had many places that would provide easy access to even lazy four-legged diggers, so we focused on securing just the stall. Besides, we are lazy two-legged diggers. There was no way we were going to do this all the way around the barn. We dug a trench at least a foot deep around the stall: two walls inside and two outside.
The soil we removed was beautiful and rich, and ended up being moved wheelbarrow load by wheelbarrow load to what would become a new raised bed. (You know how one project leads to at least two more?). Of course, that meant that we had to collect rocks to backfill the trench. But first, it was time to add hardware cloth, using care to secure it to the walls and turn it outward on the bottom, away from the coop. The hardest part was the corners. As we rounded the square corner posts set on round concrete supports, we had to be careful to leave no holes that would allow our crafty resident ermine to squeeze through.
After we got the bottom of the two inside walls secured and attached the hardware cloth to one of the outside walls, we got a welcome window of beautiful weather. That put the hardware cloth project on hold, while we addressed the sad condition of the exterior barn walls.
We pressure washed, then stained the sun-faded T1-11 siding on the south and west sides of the barn.
Once the weather turned more normal for the northern Rockies in May (read “it started to snow again”), and with the chicks turning into rambunctious teenagers, it was time to address the ceiling and walls. We tackled the ceiling first.
Fortunately, there were structural 2x6” supports placed pretty much on 24” centers that we could attach the ceiling to. I say “pretty much” because nothing in this barn was straight, square, or level. We got pretty good at one of us using a wooden brace to hold the big sheets of 1/2” plywood while the other person screwed them into the supports. Thinking of our ermine friend, we tried to butt them up close together so there wouldn’t be any cracks providing entry from above.
Another warm day provided an opportunity to use some leftover blue paint to spruce up the ceiling.
We left a six-inch wide, coop-length section of the south side open to the attic and rafters above, and covered it with hardware cloth for added ventilation. If it is too drafty this winter, it will be easy (ha!) to make hinged covers we can open and close as necessary. We can also insulate the ceiling if our -20* temperatures prove too cold for our girls.
The two interior stall walls had been constructed of overlaid clapboards. There were lots of gaps where they had warped over time. We laid and leveled pressure-treated 4x4s along the hardware cloth we’d attached to the bottom clapboards. The hardware cloth and tamping the soil first helped the 4x4s stay level. We then ran vertical 2x4s spaced on 16” centers to make typical walls. We used metal framing braces to secure the 2x4s to the base and ceiling. Then we covered the studs with 4’x8’ sheets of oriented strand board (OSB), butting it up as close as possible to the ceiling, and making sure it was well secured to the stud we’d screwed into the square corner post. In that manner, the gaps between the clapboards didn’t matter, because the inside of the wall was solidly attached all around and would keep the wiley ermine out. We added firring strips along the edges as an insurance policy.
With the two interior walls finished, it was time to move to the exterior west and south walls. We decided to make “skinny walls” on these sides because we didn’t want to mess with the horizontal 2x6s that provided the support for the T1-11 siding (typical pole barn exterior wall construction—see “before” photo). On the west outside wall, where we had already attached the buried hardware cloth to the T1-11 siding, we screwed a 2x6 even with the bottom of the siding horizontally on it’s side . We then ran the 2x4s perpendicular (vertically) on their side, to create regularly-spaced uprights between the horizontal 2x6s. (Sorry, I can’t describe this well and I didn’t take any photos.) Because our weather comes mostly from the southwest, we added sections of 1 1/2” rigid foam insulation between the “on edge” framing (real builders probably have a name for this) on the outside west and south walls. Then we screwed on sheets of OSB to finish the west wall.
One other note about that west wall. It can get hot here in the summer, and the outside pasture slopes gently toward the barn on the west side, so we left a 4” gap between the floor and the bottom of the west and did the same on part of the south wall. This allows for air movement and prevents the wall boards from contacting soil. As winter approaches, we can cover these gaps with 2x6s on edge. When it’s hot, the boards are easily removed for added ventilation; the buried hardware cloth providing security from our ermine and all her larger chicken-loving friends.
Working on the relatively easy outer west wall gave us a chance to practice before we tackled the more complicated south wall. The barn stall/almost coop was very dark—even more so now that the ceiling and three walls were in. As we described the progress on their coop, the Grove Creek Girls told us they loved natural daylight and cool breezes on hot summer days. So even with our limited carpentry skills, we did our best to oblige.
Months before, I had picked up a couple of $5 used windows from our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. (See, I’d been hatching this plan for a long, long time.). We pulled them out of the garage, and went to work. Since they were going on the “skinny walls,” we made simple rectangular frames out of 2x4s and attached the windows to the frames with two inexpensive 3”-long hinges to the top of the frames we bought at the local hardware store (buy local, especially during a pandemic). We attached them at the top so they would swing out, awning style. Even though there was an extensive roof overhang, we wanted our girls dry, because the roost would be directly adjacent to one of the windows. While I worked on the frames for the windows, hubby worked on framing out the south wall.
Framing the south wall was indeed complicated, and tested our rudimentary carpentry skills. It needed to accommodate not only the two new windows, but a pop door for the girls, and a hatch door for easy access for future coop clean-outs. And the siding was attached to those two horizontal, but certainly not level, planks that ran from both corners (8x8” posts). It was a bit tight to fit both windows side by side, but he was able to frame them with 2x6s, again running upright on their sides, separated by a 2x4 in the middle so they would fit. We put them directly above one of the original horizontal 2x6s, added another 2x6 to run the length of the wall above, spaced so to provide support to the frame and window. Once I had the window frames made and we knew the dimensions, he used a jig saw to cut the siding to accommodate the windows and frames. We held our breath when we put the windows in, and VOILA! They fit!!!
After screwing the window frames in, we added weather stripping and caulking on the outside before we stained 1x4s then trimmed the windows out. I added a sliding bolt to the front side of each window to secure them closed, and stapled hardware cloth to the inside of the window frames before we added sheets of OSB for the interior wall. Inexpensive chains attached to an eye screw with double-ended clips make it easy to hold each window open at varying heights.
We’ll eventually get around to staining the outside of the windows themselves to match the barn, which will help protect them from the weather.
The clean-out hatch was next. You can see the pressure treated 4x4 frame for it on the photo above. We didn’t want to have to haul soiled bedding through the 30” human door, then the length of the inside of the barn to get it to the compost pile. And the dirt floor slopes nicely away from the human door. And we wanted to put a poop deck below the roost, and below the poop deck would be trays to collect all the wonderful chicken poop our girls were going to produce. Hence the hatch, or “Poop Door.” Hubby framed it with 4x4 pressure treated timbers since we wanted something sturdy to withstand all that. We had already ordered the trays that would collect the poop online, so the clean-out door was sized slightly larger to ease moving the trays in and out. I used 1/2” plywood with firring strips around the outside for the door, and framed the door opening so we could secure the door. I made a interior frame that was 3/8th” smaller than the door frame so the door would fit snugly in the hole, as we figured this would be a “weak link” in our security system. We didn’t want a raccoon, or a bear, to figure out how to get the door out! We had to sneak the poop door under an existing horizontal 2x6, so it’s a little low. But we didn’t want to mess with the horizontal 2x6 that secures the siding, and it still works. We put some extra knobs we had laying around on the door to make it easier to grab.
The last detail of the south wall was making a pop door for the girls. After a bit of discussion we decided to put it there because we plan to extend the south-facing roof rafters to the ground, cover them with clear roofing, and get the snow to slide away from the barn, thereby making a sun room for the girls to have a place to get outside this winter. I guess that will be another post. Because we plan to use a deep litter method to provide some heat as it composts during the winter, we put the 10“-wide, 12”-tall pop door about a foot above the level of the dirt floor. It has two hinges on the top, flips up providing a little cover and rain roof, and has a secure latch on the bottom. We made little gang planks out of extra pieces of wood, and called it good. Since this photo was taken, we’ve filled the spaces between the rocks with washed gravel and construction sand.
Time to move inside and finish up that wall! We stapled hardware cloth to the inside of the windows, screwed on the OSB, trimmed the windows to add an extra layer of security over the edges of the hardware cloth, and the interior south wall was ready to paint. I got really anxious about that ermine getting in and causing a Grove Creek massacre, and so we used steel wool to fill any big cracks that remained before we added trim. And with a pole barn, no matter how careful you try to be, there are always cracks.
Some might question why paint? We had seen the girls get obsessed with pecking an imperfection or spot on the walls of the brood box. I could just imagine what chip board would do to their obsessive little minds. Why white? The previous owners left a bunch of old paint, and there was a whole gallon of “who knows what shade or how old it is” white. So white it was. It took two coats to cover it well enough that the girls wouldn’t find too many specks. And more importantly, to provide a durable coating to protect the OSB for future cleaning and disinfecting. While I painted, hubby worked on tightening up the access door to the coop. It took him a while so I took some liberties with the ceiling.
Furnishings
With the walls, windows and outside of the coop finished, the last step was to build a frame for the poop deck and set up the roost. We ordered plastic flooring (Dura-Slat Poultry and Kennel Flooring - 24” x 48” $16.35 @ from QCSupply.com) and cut them to size to fit over the plastic trays (source: Global Industrial, Rubbermaid #3351-92 Utility Tote Box without lid at $12@). We built a 2x4 frame with 10” high legs to make the poop deck, and screwed it to the walls to sit over the trays to support the plastic flooring on top. We saved the sections of flooring to use along the sides to allow air to flow without allowing access to the girls. We ran two scrap 2x6s along the west side of the poop deck frame to keep deep litter out of the tray area.
Scrap lumber placed on the dirt floor under the trays made them slide out a bit easier, and the scrap pieces of plastic flooring we had cut off were tied to the frame along one side to allow air circulation over the poop trays without allowing chicken access. All will be easy to remove come clean out time.
The roost was made based on the post Proper Design of Roost Bars by Howard E: level to reduce fighting among the girls, and constructed 2x4s that we ripped to make them 2x3s. Each bar was rounded by cutting off the corners, then sanded smooth, as suggested in the post. The bar closest to the south wall was 18” from the wall, and the remaining bars were placed 12” apart. The roost needs to be higher than future next boxes, but not so high they girls injure themselves when dismounting from the roost. The roost bars currently sit a bit more than a foot above the poop deck, making them about 3 feet off the base level of the bedding. But they can easily be raised (or lowered) in the future. We told the girls to step off the bars onto the poop deck to reduce the chance of injury, but they are strong, independent ladies and often just “fly off the roost” onto the litter.
The salvaged nipple waterer still worked, so we cleaned it thoroughly and disinfected it and hung it on the north wall immediately next to the stall door, where it would be easy to access. The girls seem to prefer their old waterer, so we’ve kept that in the coop for now. The hanging feeder was hung from the ceiling.
We added a thick layer of wood shavings mixed with well dried and cured grass from de-thatching the lawn. Not all of the girls were ready to use the roost when we moved them out to the new coop when they were 8 weeks, and with our cold springs we wanted to make sure they wouldn’t get chilled when we first moved them out of the house.
By then, hubby had finished re-setting the door so it would fit snugly against the frame, and the remaining trim was attached to the walls to cover any cracks. We added two sliding bolt latches to keep the warped old door tight against the frame.
We’ll add four or five nest boxes in the next few weeks. (“Don’t worry honey, we have a WHOLE MONTH to build and install those nest boxes.”)
And a permanent day run will replace our sorry, temporary, but so far secure, set up. (“Don’t worry honey, we have THREE WHOLE MONTHS to finish that sunroom run for the girls.”)
So that’s our stall to coop story. We hope at least some parts of this article will help someone as much as this community has helped us, and we look forward to your suggestions so we can make the Grove Creek Girls happy and healthy as we ponder the next project!
