So i've decided to build a coop

[Gridguru]

Spent the last few hours sealing every piece of wood i cut with Timber-Pro UV Internal Wood Stabilizer.

http://www.timberprocoatings.com/wood-finishes/wood-stabilizer.html

 

[Gridguru]

So now i pretty much just wait until March 12. That is the day my friends and I will assemble the coop. Good thing too, the chickens come on the 10th. They'll be in the brooder a while, so i will have a few weeks to get things in order on the inside of the coop.

Today i finally finished the big barn window. I primed and painted it this week. I didn't sand it or fill in the cracks or gaps as i wanted it still to have a rustic look. Here it is in the wall it will eventually be located. That's the big door behind (helps gauge the size of the window)



I also did the foundation for my coop. I am using 4in concrete blocks. The ground here is very rocky and my yard in very uneven, so i did a lot of digging, laying down pea gravel, leveling, etc....

You can see some of the trees i am considering incorporating into my run the background. You can also see the shadows of other nearby trees in the yard. Shade will not be a problem. Again, the front of the coop, leading to the run, will be open underneath, so the chicks can use it for shade, etc...



Finally, i built a simple brooder cover using scraps and hardware cloth. We're using a borrowed livestock waterer as our brooder.



Probably not too many more updates until a couple of weeks from now.

 

[Gridguru]

Side note: I NEED a better tool for cutting 1/2" hardware cloth. Man, the old, dull, non-spring loaded wire cutters took forever and killed my hand, even on this small of piece.

Any suggestions?

 

[aart]

By-pass metal shears for cutting HC.
Something like these.
I rolled out the HC on the garage floor and was able to push the shear handle against the floor, helped a lot.
Using flat hard floor with edges of mesh weighted down with gallon jugs of water and using lengths of 1x for bends.

Used something like this but 4" and no torque levers to bend over and flatten sharp pointy edges.

Keep in mind that chickens will dig next to and under those blocks, I throw some regular bricks alongside and all around blocks so they don't undermine the blocks.

 

[Gridguru]

By-pass metal shears for cutting HC.
Something like these.
I rolled out the HC on the garage floor and was able to push the shear handle against the floor, helped a lot.
Using flat hard floor with edges of mesh weighted down with gallon jugs of water and using lengths of 1x for bends.

Used something like this but 4" and no torque levers to bend over and flatten sharp pointy edges.

Keep in mind that chickens will dig next to and under those blocks, I throw some regular bricks alongside and all around blocks so they don't undermine the blocks.

Thanks again.

I have rocks galore in my yard, i plan to line the run with them, but i'll be sure to put them around the inside of the foundation as well. I better do that today, as i don't want to be crawling under my coop to do it later.

 

[easterpenguin08]

How many chickens are you getting? Just interested

 

[Gridguru]

How many chickens are you getting? Just interested.

Eight in total. Two each of four different breeds.

 

[Gridguru]

The 8 chicks are on their way home as we speak.

The brooder is ready for them.



The only work I've done on the coop in the last week is adding hardware cloth to the bottom of the base. I almost forgot to do this. If i had waited until after i assembled the coop, i would have had to crawl under that thing to install it. Either that or just install it to the outside of the thing, which would have looked like crap.



I also found locks for the nesting boxes that i liked (and would work). Simple hooks wont work as raccoons can open them. These have spring locks which i hope will be enough to dissuade them. There are two on either side of the nesting box. I've seen others have used these with success. We'll see if it's enough.



Chicks will be here soon. Then hopefully, if the weather cooperates, the coop will be up this weekend. They'll spend a month or so in the brooder, so I've got a little time.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I can see you are a perfectionist, my husband is too, both of you do better work than my "that's good enough" way, even your brooder looks nice. I'm very impressed.

 

[Gridguru]

I can see you are a perfectionist, my husband is too, both of you do better work than my "that's good enough" way, even your brooder looks nice. I'm very impressed.

Thanks!