I guess like a lot of things my family and I get into, chickens seemed like natural progression! We have a friend that we buy eggs from who has a flock of around 100 or so chickens. One day I thought to myself "why not raise some of our own?" From there we have not looked back! We will be receiving four Australorps and four White Barred Rocks the week of may 18th. Sweet! I am putting my limited carpentry skills to use in designing what I consider the Cadillac of coops for our new arrivals. I have it complete except for painting, finish work on the windows, vents, doors and putting the roof on. I think our girls will be very happy living in it.
4' x 8' vinyl floored, stainless doors and roof with three 12" nesting boxes as well as 78" of roosting space, with a nice window for them to look out while roosting and plenty of ventilation on those hot and humid New England days. During the winter months I plan on putting handy closures on the vents and keeping the winter out as much as possible. I am not going to heat the coop, however I do plan on having a heated water situation for them so it does not freeze. In the works I also have a generous 125', 6' tall totally enclosed (to keep out the red tailed hawks) run for them. Thats it for now.
Well, five of my friends moved the coop out of the garage into the back yard. It was real handy to be able to work on it under cover and not have to worry about the elements. I used a one piece solid sheet of metal for the roof. I decided to fasten it to the frame on top with liquid nails adhesive so there would be no holes for water to leak into the coop with. A little more caulking, some rain gaurds and paint touch up I will be ready to start the run!
4' x 8' vinyl floored, stainless doors and roof with three 12" nesting boxes as well as 78" of roosting space, with a nice window for them to look out while roosting and plenty of ventilation on those hot and humid New England days. During the winter months I plan on putting handy closures on the vents and keeping the winter out as much as possible. I am not going to heat the coop, however I do plan on having a heated water situation for them so it does not freeze. In the works I also have a generous 125', 6' tall totally enclosed (to keep out the red tailed hawks) run for them. Thats it for now.
Well, five of my friends moved the coop out of the garage into the back yard. It was real handy to be able to work on it under cover and not have to worry about the elements. I used a one piece solid sheet of metal for the roof. I decided to fasten it to the frame on top with liquid nails adhesive so there would be no holes for water to leak into the coop with. A little more caulking, some rain gaurds and paint touch up I will be ready to start the run!