pics of my latest coop project

it came out better than I'd originally planned. so that's great. LOL

made with 2x3's, 3 sheets of 3/8" plywood, some scrap boards, and 2 pieces of roofing picked up from lowes at discount because the edges were mangled. (half price at that!)

add on some hinges and 1x2 for nest box reinforcement and trim on the doors, 4 - 8' pressure treated 2x4s and some left over pvc conduit and some more 2x3's for the end frames. oh and a 150' roll of chicken wire marked as a 25' roll...  and on clearance at that too! LOL  i couldn't pass up on that. (150' roll for $15)

so i've got way more time than money into this now. LOL  didn't get many pictures along the way but here's what I did find.

framing is done, wire floor in, and plywood up on 3 sides. I cut the doors after it was all up and square.



added some paint, cut the doors on the back side, added reinforcing, and 3 perches length wise above the nest box tops, and roofs for the nest boxes.
the scrap boards were used on the ceiling, and then the roofing material nailed down to them, so it's got some ventilation built in but still nice and dry.



the coop and pen didn't meet up too close so i made an improvized ramp from some 2x4 welded wire and a scrap piece of closet shelving. J-clips worked for most of it but getting the wire and the ramp to connect was a challenge. so i just cut the wire and wrapped it around the edges of the ramp...

a pic of the inside after the girls (and guy) moved in. I couldn't figure a ramp for them to get up to the perches, but a milk crate seems to work just fine. and if it gets nasty, i've got more. swap it out let the weather clean up the first. LOL

the pen is pvc electrical conduit (15' sections) bent over and attached to a pressure treated frame. it was easier to just make square ends and put a door on one side, and we used 2x4 welded wire on that.  then i used 2 left over 1x2's and put them in for perches up off the ground. not the sturdiest (especially with several dorkings plus bantams all on it at the same time) but they don't seem to mind.

my laptop battery was about to go so I had to post and then come back and edit to finish this.
i've got some roofing left over to put over the nest box lids (hinged, they swing up and latch to check eggs), hope to get them on in the next couple days.

LOL  thanks for the laugh Donna.

it would help tho if the dogs wouldn't rump into each other so much.  between them rough housing and knocking stuff over while i was constructicating then more of the same inside as I'm trying to go in and out, they managed to knock my toolbox (aka milk crate) out of my hands and into the pond (indoor, above ground, wood slat frame). BLOOP! cordless drill, flashlight, both with new batteries, bowl full of assorted screws and hardware, my gloves, tape measure, you name it.  thought i'd fished it all out, but we were on the way to mominlaw's for christmas dinner. when we got home i went looking for the drill. found it still in the pond.

dried everything off best I could without disassembling them, and let them sit for 24 hours...  one battery was dead, but in the charger so we'll see if it was just down, the flashlight still works, the drill too, and one of the other batteries still had a good charge! used a magnet to get all the hardware out of the pond, and let everything else sit to dry. so far don't think i lost anything. *knock on wood*

and what did i get for christmas?  8)  $200 home depot gift card!  YES! more coops on the way! or tools if I need them. contemplating a cordless saw. that would make life much easier I think.