G'day from Australia! First Coop in the making.

Gday,

Long time reader, first time user.

I've just bought my first house here down under, and i've started building my first ridgy didge chicken coop!

Its coming along well, and I have gained alot of knowledge and you-beaut ideas from all you fair dinkum people here on BYC.

I based the design off alot of other coops I have seen on here, and not being an astute tradie, I didnt want to make things too complicated.

Here's the Garden before hand:




I had planned to build the coop elsewhere and let them scratch around in the bushes, but Im glad I pulled it all out, it was too dense. So after I removed the greens, I dug in some garden bed sleepers as my base to build the chicken coop on.

Don't worry, ill be replanting a hedge or climber to run along the fence line, which will give the girls some protection.




I started with a basic frame, and ran the sizing of the sleepers, measuring as I went. I had a general idea of what I was after, but no hard plans. I think it may be a little over engineered, but better to be safe then sorry!



Then yesterday I only got an 2 hours in, but I managed to build a Human door, and a door to clean the roost. First time making a door, and it turned out reasonably square - and they work!!



From here I plan to ply the roost, and then put on fence pailings for decorative purposes. A fence will run along side the coop, and will allow them to free range in an area about 40sqm (430sq).

Hoping to have 6 girls, and I imagine the coop will be of sufficient size to house them even without the yard area.

Im stuck on what to do for a roof. Should I use corrugated iron, or a clear style roof? Any thoughts on either?

Also, my partner wants 2 silkies in the mix, how would they get on with 4 isa browns?

Thanks again for everyones participation on this forum, its what makes such a difference!

Cheers,

Thomas

So a quick update today.

Just got home from work and managed to get a coat of paint on the frame.

We're expecting rain tomorrow afternoon, so i'll wait until the week starts to get another coat on and continue with construction.

Thoughts and feedback encouraged!

Looks good!
Yeah I've just got corrugated iron sheets on all my shed roofs, works great.
If you have 2 silkie then they'll probably just chill within themselves. Isa's may peck on them as they tend to be a dominant breed but it'll be fine.

Well!

Its been too long since I last posted about the coop.

It consumed me for so long that I forgot to update the forum!

So, here is is in all its glory, with chickens and eggs!

Welcome Dave and Barry (Isa Browns) and Lulu, Goose, Gemima and Shaniqua (silkies) to the family.

Theres a step in between which I haven't shown, and that is under the recycled wood, is a plywood lining.

The recycled timber on top is just for aesthetics. The front of the sleeping quarters opens outwards to allow for easy cleaning.

The coop is covered in hardware cloth too, as well as the fence I built to separate their run, to the rest of the backyard.

The silkies (now pushing 5 months) are hit and miss with Eggs. 2 of them haven't even started laying yet.

Also, the silkies still sit in a huddle right next to the door, on the floor, to sleep. Not sure why they aren't using the roost like the others. Is it possible it may be too high? (see last pic).

The Isa browns are reliable as ever, an egg a day, and one or two double yolkers per week!

Let me know what you think, keen for some feedback/improvements.

Found some pics of the door, and the plywood if anyone was interested!

Wow! That's a lot of hard work! Love the Silkies.

Nice coop. My wife old love the recycled siding look. Good job!

That looks super awesome!! I did recycled barn siding too - I'm not quite finished - I have the coop part done and the gals installed, but the run is still under construction. Bravo to you! Did you install the wire fence yourself or have someone else do it? I've been thinking about wanting to fence mine off, but am torn on how hard it would be to do on my own.

Nice work Kelly, make sure you show us some pics when it's done!

I did the fence too. First time doing that, it wasn't as difficult as expected, but took about 2 days to do on my own. I used posts in concrete 600mm deep, and notched out the back of the posts with a saw so the rails just fell in from behind, then screwed in.

I've always had the idea to do some research and give it a go. If it doesn't work out, you can always get someone to help you, or pay someone to fix it. But if you manage to do it yourself first, then you save yourself money, give yourself some confidence, learn a thing or two and then you can help someone else later down the track! It's worked for me so far!