fàilte gun taigh chearc!!
("welcome to the Henhouse" in Scottish Gaelic)
We began our coop building with no real formal building training; however, my husband did have *basic* framing knowledge. I just want to say that nothing on this coop came out exactly square LOL and it took alot of tweaking to get it to come together, but in the end, I was and am super pleased with it. The chickens seem pretty happy too ("welcome to the Henhouse" in Scottish Gaelic)
![Wink ;) ;)](/styles/byc-smilies/wink.png)
The dimensions of the coop are 8' long, 4' wide, 5' high, with an inner height of 3' in the actual coop itself. The coop is set on 2' legs.
First he just built a box, then added the legs with supporting brackets.
![1c76cd32.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2F1c76cd32.jpg&hash=9004a000b161e6f9c30af80aae0b5f05)
Then he framed the walls.
![bfd8b3a2.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2Fbfd8b3a2.jpg&hash=162dd9ab33ba9af866c698c482dc068c)
Next, we added the back and side panel (the right side) and the perches!
![43d9990f.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2F43d9990f.jpg&hash=ef4c1b83de6680b046bd57d069818c9a)
Now for the roof. We still haven't finished it yet- we will be adding shingles or a metal top soon. But here's us putting on 2 layers of fiberboard.
![392da829.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2F392da829.jpg&hash=004da943de30759651d37873bdb44a44)
It took us a good day to get the nestboxes the way we wanted them. I wanted them on the outside, and it took some time to get it just right.
![f2e54a3f.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2Ff2e54a3f.jpg&hash=54bb0ef2e6a7e43bda815cfc08b754f1)
We made 3 boxes, each roughly about 12x12x14.
Here's the painted project, with trim around both doors and the painted chicken ladder
![smiley-cool.gif](https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif)
![April08036.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2FApril08036.jpg&hash=dc1a5ed060349b8b2d98a03f60e2011e)
And now the window. We got this for $30 from a glass/window shop as an old close-out that never sold. We had to put it in upside down to make it work for us, but thats okay!!
![April08034.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2FApril08034.jpg&hash=95246c2cb1787e510ca4e1fe55093154)
Now, add a dash of foliage and voila!
![38ba52eb.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2F38ba52eb.jpg&hash=bf207178e955873fc942824234bd449d)
![e08b60df.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi82.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj273%2Fmothersin2ition%2Fe08b60df.jpg&hash=eee8039af4f29fbabf4fdb4dd73e3e3a)
For the run, we just used the green stakes and ran 2" heavy wire netting around it. I didnt think about it at the time, but chicks this young can and do easily go in and out of the fencing. It wont be too long though, before they're too big.
The run dimensions are 40 square feet total.