So we decided to get some chickens to help feed our family and a few of our neighbors who we started a community garden with. My carpentry business was remodeling a house for a client which required the removal of a bunch of materials. We decided to re-purpose as much of it as we could into our house and run. The design was inspired by the "coop-de-ville" design we found on this site.
The house is 6x6 with the run being 6x18. The roof line is a 4 pitch which is 22' long. We started by removing all the nails and screws from the recycled materials. We then set the 8 posts using batter boards and tied the tops together with 2x4 studs. We then framed the floor and walls up. Next we manufactured trusses and set them at a 2' spacing. Then we strapped the trusses with purlins and screwed down the leftover metal roof from our new porch. Next we bought new GP Smart Siding for the exterior of the house and sheeted it. Using some recycled insulation bats we packed the walls full from the inside and caulked any air gaps in the frame.
Next came the nest box which was built using recycled 3/4 plywood scraps and the new siding. It was set to the house like installing a window and secured with screws. It is topped with old barn tin and a handicap bar to lift the lid. We jambed out the windows and doors and hinged the recycled windows with recycled door hinges. They all open up where they can be hooked to the rafters for ventilation.
We then sheeted the inside walls with recycled plywood and gave it 3 coats of white oops paint from the hardware store. Next came the hardware cloth to secure the windows from predators and the fence around the run. The door for the run was a miss-buy from the business and had been sitting in the basement for way to long.
I then built the access door from scrap and hung it with some old hinges. My wife was trying to decide what color she wanted me to paint our real house so she had me test it on the chicken house (I'm in the process of painting it now). We place river rocks, which use to be part of our chimney, around the perimeter of the fence to discourage digging predators.
We got 15 chicks 2 weeks ago from a local greenhouse and decided to brood them in the house under a 250w lamp. I just opened up the brooder last night and gave them free run of the entire house and they are all happy and healthy. The next thing to do is to build the ramp at the pop door and get some course sand for the run.
One of my neighbors asked another neighbor what he though of my chicken house. He said "That's not a chicken house, it's a chicken resort!" an thus Cluck Med was christened.
The house is 6x6 with the run being 6x18. The roof line is a 4 pitch which is 22' long. We started by removing all the nails and screws from the recycled materials. We then set the 8 posts using batter boards and tied the tops together with 2x4 studs. We then framed the floor and walls up. Next we manufactured trusses and set them at a 2' spacing. Then we strapped the trusses with purlins and screwed down the leftover metal roof from our new porch. Next we bought new GP Smart Siding for the exterior of the house and sheeted it. Using some recycled insulation bats we packed the walls full from the inside and caulked any air gaps in the frame.
Next came the nest box which was built using recycled 3/4 plywood scraps and the new siding. It was set to the house like installing a window and secured with screws. It is topped with old barn tin and a handicap bar to lift the lid. We jambed out the windows and doors and hinged the recycled windows with recycled door hinges. They all open up where they can be hooked to the rafters for ventilation.
We then sheeted the inside walls with recycled plywood and gave it 3 coats of white oops paint from the hardware store. Next came the hardware cloth to secure the windows from predators and the fence around the run. The door for the run was a miss-buy from the business and had been sitting in the basement for way to long.
I then built the access door from scrap and hung it with some old hinges. My wife was trying to decide what color she wanted me to paint our real house so she had me test it on the chicken house (I'm in the process of painting it now). We place river rocks, which use to be part of our chimney, around the perimeter of the fence to discourage digging predators.
We got 15 chicks 2 weeks ago from a local greenhouse and decided to brood them in the house under a 250w lamp. I just opened up the brooder last night and gave them free run of the entire house and they are all happy and healthy. The next thing to do is to build the ramp at the pop door and get some course sand for the run.
One of my neighbors asked another neighbor what he though of my chicken house. He said "That's not a chicken house, it's a chicken resort!" an thus Cluck Med was christened.
