hungry hunter
Songster
We got several chicks last week from TSC and I immediately started thinking of a simple (and fairly cheap) coop build. We have a small coop/tractor, but there's no way it would accommodate our new arrivals. So I set down and drew up some plans for a new coop. Today I went and bought the supplies and made quite a bit of progress. I thought I'd share a few photos and see what y'all think.
Here is the before picture of the old coop/tractor in part of the run. The run extends along the fence to the left. I'm not sure on square footage, but it should be plenty big for our flock.
Since I want to minimize the amount of materials to buy, I've decided to use the wall of our garage as one of the walls of the coop. I just need to figure out a way to anchor it.
Here's a shot of most of the framing finished.
The coop is 5'x8', so I think it should be large enough for 7 standards and 2 bantams. I'll may still use the older coop as well since our older hen uses it now.
Here is all I was able to complete today.
I got the hardware cloth and OSB up on the sides and holes cut for the chicken door and the nest boxes. The nest boxes will go on the long side opposite the garage wall and be external to the coop so we can gather eggs w/o going inside. Since it will be a while before our new girls start laying, I cut the hole out for the boxes and nailed the cut out piece back in.
All I have to do now is hang the doors, find some metal for the roof, and paint it. I think I can find some salvaged metal from an old barn at work. Hopefully, I can find some cheap paint that isn't too awful of a color. So far, I have about $130 in it (hardware cloth is expensive!!), and I could have saved some money if I would have brought my scrap pieces of lumber to our new house when we moved...
I may end up putting OSB and hardware cloth on the 4th wall and adding a floor, but I'm trying to do a little at a time as money allows. I felt like I needed to get at least this much done quickly because the chicks will soon outgrow their brooder.
We don't have much of a predator problem here in town, just a stray cat here and there. The Blue Lacy is good at chasing those off. In the time we have lived here, the biggest pest problem I've had is house sparrows. I'm starting with keeping those out, and I'll upgrade is rodents start to become a problem.
I'll add some photos when I get the roof and paint on.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought I'd share my backyard chicken experience. This coop is no where near as fancy or nice as most of the coops I've seen on here. That being said, it did go up in about 6 hrs by someone who is in no way a carpenter. I'm pretty happy with how it has turned out so far, but I probably shouldn't quit my day job.
Here is the before picture of the old coop/tractor in part of the run. The run extends along the fence to the left. I'm not sure on square footage, but it should be plenty big for our flock.
Since I want to minimize the amount of materials to buy, I've decided to use the wall of our garage as one of the walls of the coop. I just need to figure out a way to anchor it.
Here's a shot of most of the framing finished.
The coop is 5'x8', so I think it should be large enough for 7 standards and 2 bantams. I'll may still use the older coop as well since our older hen uses it now.
Here is all I was able to complete today.
I got the hardware cloth and OSB up on the sides and holes cut for the chicken door and the nest boxes. The nest boxes will go on the long side opposite the garage wall and be external to the coop so we can gather eggs w/o going inside. Since it will be a while before our new girls start laying, I cut the hole out for the boxes and nailed the cut out piece back in.
All I have to do now is hang the doors, find some metal for the roof, and paint it. I think I can find some salvaged metal from an old barn at work. Hopefully, I can find some cheap paint that isn't too awful of a color. So far, I have about $130 in it (hardware cloth is expensive!!), and I could have saved some money if I would have brought my scrap pieces of lumber to our new house when we moved...
I may end up putting OSB and hardware cloth on the 4th wall and adding a floor, but I'm trying to do a little at a time as money allows. I felt like I needed to get at least this much done quickly because the chicks will soon outgrow their brooder.
We don't have much of a predator problem here in town, just a stray cat here and there. The Blue Lacy is good at chasing those off. In the time we have lived here, the biggest pest problem I've had is house sparrows. I'm starting with keeping those out, and I'll upgrade is rodents start to become a problem.
I'll add some photos when I get the roof and paint on.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought I'd share my backyard chicken experience. This coop is no where near as fancy or nice as most of the coops I've seen on here. That being said, it did go up in about 6 hrs by someone who is in no way a carpenter. I'm pretty happy with how it has turned out so far, but I probably shouldn't quit my day job.
