6. Concluding Thoughts
~Thank you for viewing this post! -I hope you at least got a bit of help or inspiration for making your own chicken-coop and/or rabbit-hutch! If you have any questions, comments, or requests, please leave them in the comments section and I will try to respond as soon as I can.
If I made this again, here are some things I would change about the house itself, or about the process:
- I would make pretty much everything bigger, but keep the number of recommended chickens/rabbits the same (-3-8(max.) chickens/1-3 rabbits). I just think the animals deserve more space in general. -A bigger door entry, nest-boxes, higher ceiling, etc.. I would also make the vents bigger, and perhaps include another one towards the top(/roof?), so it can suck air through and out the house during the hot summer days.
- I would design the outer-window pieces so that replacing them would be easier, if necessary. The glass/window-material on the outside should be removable once the wooden trim is pried-off. Currently, if you removed the trim, the window piece would still be under a plywood lip, which you would have to destroy to get-out the window.
- I might design and build a vertical sliding-door for the front pen-door. This could be attached to one of those timered, automatic door-openers.
- I would use more power-tools during the process. (-Believe it or not, I didn't have a chop-saw to make this thing. Almost every board-cut was made with a handsaw, without a guide, -only lines to follow. -DO NOT repeat this. -Get 'proper' tools.) As far as power-tools are concerned, the 'minimum' I now see for this is: a drill, a chop-saw, a jigsaw, and a table-saw (...or circular-saw (-which is worse)).
- For the next one, I would probably just opt for making it only a chicken coop. I might design a designated indoor eating/drinking area as well. -Add a third roosting bar, etc....
- I might use rust-resistant locks and hinges, etc.. They might cost double or triple in price, but they're vastly superior in lifespan and ease.
- And, I wouldn't give it such a silly name, or a name at all... (-You can thank the GF for that.)
~Thanks again!
~And have fun building!
-Joe L.
- Previous page: 5. The Completed House
"(2022-3-4) Update/Clarification:
Since many people have pointed-out a size 'problem' with this coop, it is worth strongly emphasizing that this coop is designed to be placed within a giant, 9x9m (~30x30ft), 81m² (~900ft²)(!), predator-proof pen, -far more 'round-the-clock space per bird/rabbit than countless setups I've seen. Under ideal conditions, the bottom, boutique "pen" of this house should remain open at all times. Overall, if you believe only 3 chickens, say, should sleep inside this particular house at any one time, than that's your prerogative. Regardless, this was the first time I had attempted something like this, and of course I would change many, many things in future builds. ~Thanks for looking!"