Alright, to start off, the coop doesn't look like an airplane unfortunately. I wish I had the craftsmanship to be able to do that. I named it the Boeing coop because we started with a box that Boeing plane parts came in. My husband and I set out to make the cheapest coop we possibly could. Well, that idea was quickly thrown out the window.
Anyways, we started with this box..
We got it for $50 from a guy that was a contractor for Boeing. Originally, I thought this box was going to be great. It only needed one side and a roof, simple and easy, right? Of course not! When my husband started construction this box was in essence inside out. The 2 by 4's were on the outside of the plywood. So we, and when I say we I mean my husband ha ha, took off the 3 sides and reframed the whole thing. My husband also added on to make the coop bigger. He also elevated it off the ground by about 3 feet. We figured it could provide a nice amount of shade in the summer time for them.
All together our coop ended up being 10'x8'. We decided to go with a tin roof. It wasn't our first choice but it ended up being the cheapest, and we actually like it more than we originally anticipated. We also have a 6 panel window, which I absolutely love. The door we decided on I absolutely hate because it is so little.I think we might end up switching it out eventually.
There is my wonderful husband putting up the metal roofing. Our German Shepherds think that we are building them a giant dog house. They will be pretty disappointed when they figure out it isn't for them. The one in the picture is our silver sable male. He is my husband's favorite. Anyways, back to the chickens.
After much debate we decided to insulate the coop. In Kansas the winters can get pretty cold so we wanted to be safe than sorry. I read many things on BYC that said ventilation was key. So in our coop we have ventilation going on along the top. I think it is about .5 inch or 1 inch between the roof and siding. My husband is going to out up some mesh so nothing can blow in the gap. We figured this would provide enough ventilation without being too drafty in the winter time. We also did a tile laminate flooring. We figured it would be easier to clean that way and would keep the OSB from rotting. Of course, we put wood chips and straw on top of that.
Our nesting boxes are going to go on the opposite side of the door. I think we are going to do about 8 or so boxes. Our chicks are only about 6 weeks old so we figured we still have some time. We haven't quite gotten the design down yet.
A roost will go by the window. I figured they would like to look out the window sometimes. My husband thinks I am crazy for even thinking that idea ha ha. We are also going to put some roosts on the right side of the door along that side. We have 30 chicks so I think that'll provide enough space for them.
The run will be about the same size as the coop. We decided not to do a bigger one because we plan on letting them free range most of the time. They will also be able to go under the coop so there is a little extra space.
We made a PVC feeder. We didn't put a slope on the bottom part of the L so we have to hang it at an angle in the coop. For he most part they seem to love it. I believe my husband made 6 2 inch holes from them to eat after. I was amazed at how fast they knew what to do with it. We just have a store bought waterer for now, but we are going to do a 5 gallon bucket with the little water cups.
As you can see we are still in the construction stage, and I haven't gotten all of the pictures taken yet. I will update it as we go. We just put them out there a couple days and they seem to be doing pretty well. They out grew their box in the garage, so we needed to get them in a bigger space. This is the first big project we have taken on, construction wise. We have learned a lot through the process and it has taken WAY longer than originally anticipated. I would love to hear what you think and any suggestions you might have.
