I had a plan, an item shopping list priced out and all my research done!
Sadly my husband does not work like that!!!
Designs are figured out in his head and materials purchased as needed.
To keep our marriage a happy one, he is refusing to tell me how much the project ended up costing us
The whole coop is 6x4 and will house 6 Golden Comets and 2 Bantams.
At this stage I could not picture what he was going for!
We must have used hundreds of screws on this project!
Not one single nail...
Thank God our 15yr. old has not started Football yet! He had time to help his father.
I am severely allergic to saw dust and no help building anything made of wood!
The frame went up pretty fast. Took the two just a few afternoons before Hubby had to take off for work.
My Chicken Guard (our dog Dexter) checking on the progress!
I was a big fan of the look of T1-11 till it was time to paint it!
Two very roomy nest boxes.
He simply cut out the windows and doors. The lower part in the back (at the fence) can be opened.
The trim took almost all weekend. We had a few rain showers!
Taadaa!!! Door
The roof and top of the nest box was a perfect excuse to buy a new air compressor
and staple gun!
We ended up adding more vents to the top. There are 4 in the front and 4 in the back now.
First time I got to do something! Primed the whole coop. Inside and out. Found out why T1-11 is a pain to work with!
Deep creases look cool, but they are a pain to paint
Decided to go with Hunter Green, Black and Avocado Green.
During the summer the entire structure is in the shade, thanks to the huge trees in our backyard and I am hoping that the dark colors will help
soaking up sun during the winter.
Two perches in this picture. We added another one (a big branch) a little later.
I closed off the nest box till we open it for business.
I kept my Bantams in there till the they got used to the 2 week older Golden Comets.
They could see each other for 2 weeks, but not touch
We had no injuries once we put the two groups together!
The coop is filled with 3 inches of sand with some Sweet PDZ.
Cleaning takes me about 5 minutes in the morning, using a rake and a cat litter scoop.
Decided to go with a light minty green on the inside.
Before we filled in the run with more sand, we screwed wire mesh into the bottom of the run.
Some of my babies soaking up some sun.
Sadly only 2 of the Bantams will stay with us
Some of my art work
The finished Coop with Run. I planted Lavender in the front and lots of Mint in the back. There are two hanging baskets with flowers on the two tall posts, facing to the left. (Did not make it onto the picture)
The little planter next to the gate is held in place with zip ties. There are solar lights on the posts and next to the 'Homelet' sign.
We decided to go with the bigger fencing. I am not very worried about predators in this area. Every property is fenced in.
We are currently working on a wintertime roof for the run. One that we can put on during the winter and take off once the snow is gone.
Hawks did worry my a bit, but our dog is watching the babies all day long while they free range and they are save in the run.
Besides that, with all the trees in our backyard, a Hawk will have a rough time spotting the birds.
It takes heavy rain about 30min to get through the foliage!
There is a PVC pipe feeder and a bucket with Chicken Nipples. In about a week we will upgrade that to a Chicken Fountain
My clean up bucket hangs from the bottom of the nest box.
It is nothing fancy... But it does the job!
A lot of work for something the Chickens only spend the night in.
The run gets very little use. Maybe 30 minutes in the morning when I let my Legion out of the coop and feed fresh greens.
The rest of the day is spent roaming around our backyard and taking naps under our porch
Sadly my husband does not work like that!!!
Designs are figured out in his head and materials purchased as needed.
To keep our marriage a happy one, he is refusing to tell me how much the project ended up costing us
The whole coop is 6x4 and will house 6 Golden Comets and 2 Bantams.
At this stage I could not picture what he was going for!
We must have used hundreds of screws on this project!
Not one single nail...
Thank God our 15yr. old has not started Football yet! He had time to help his father.
I am severely allergic to saw dust and no help building anything made of wood!
The frame went up pretty fast. Took the two just a few afternoons before Hubby had to take off for work.
My Chicken Guard (our dog Dexter) checking on the progress!
I was a big fan of the look of T1-11 till it was time to paint it!
Two very roomy nest boxes.
He simply cut out the windows and doors. The lower part in the back (at the fence) can be opened.
The trim took almost all weekend. We had a few rain showers!
Taadaa!!! Door
The roof and top of the nest box was a perfect excuse to buy a new air compressor
and staple gun!
We ended up adding more vents to the top. There are 4 in the front and 4 in the back now.
First time I got to do something! Primed the whole coop. Inside and out. Found out why T1-11 is a pain to work with!
Deep creases look cool, but they are a pain to paint
Decided to go with Hunter Green, Black and Avocado Green.
During the summer the entire structure is in the shade, thanks to the huge trees in our backyard and I am hoping that the dark colors will help
soaking up sun during the winter.
Two perches in this picture. We added another one (a big branch) a little later.
I closed off the nest box till we open it for business.
I kept my Bantams in there till the they got used to the 2 week older Golden Comets.
They could see each other for 2 weeks, but not touch
We had no injuries once we put the two groups together!
The coop is filled with 3 inches of sand with some Sweet PDZ.
Cleaning takes me about 5 minutes in the morning, using a rake and a cat litter scoop.
Decided to go with a light minty green on the inside.
Before we filled in the run with more sand, we screwed wire mesh into the bottom of the run.
Some of my babies soaking up some sun.
Sadly only 2 of the Bantams will stay with us
Some of my art work
The finished Coop with Run. I planted Lavender in the front and lots of Mint in the back. There are two hanging baskets with flowers on the two tall posts, facing to the left. (Did not make it onto the picture)
The little planter next to the gate is held in place with zip ties. There are solar lights on the posts and next to the 'Homelet' sign.
We decided to go with the bigger fencing. I am not very worried about predators in this area. Every property is fenced in.
We are currently working on a wintertime roof for the run. One that we can put on during the winter and take off once the snow is gone.
Hawks did worry my a bit, but our dog is watching the babies all day long while they free range and they are save in the run.
Besides that, with all the trees in our backyard, a Hawk will have a rough time spotting the birds.
It takes heavy rain about 30min to get through the foliage!
There is a PVC pipe feeder and a bucket with Chicken Nipples. In about a week we will upgrade that to a Chicken Fountain
My clean up bucket hangs from the bottom of the nest box.
It is nothing fancy... But it does the job!
A lot of work for something the Chickens only spend the night in.
The run gets very little use. Maybe 30 minutes in the morning when I let my Legion out of the coop and feed fresh greens.
The rest of the day is spent roaming around our backyard and taking naps under our porch
