Mother Clucker Manor, Nashville, Tennessee

We got some chicks, scored a free coop from a friend, and I proceeded to spend the next 4 months going nuts on the design. It was a ton of fun. I'm not a carpenter so I was reinventing the wheel as I went. Using reclaimed materials whenever possible I still spent about $300 on this thing.

All the info I needed came from this site. Thanks!


THE STATE IT WAS IN:
To be fair, it was built to stay inside a barn, so it was pretty flimsy. It was given to an employee of the Grand Ole Opry as a sort of gag gift along with some chickens. They painted a barn facade on the box as a reference to the Opry stage backdrop. We decided to retain the theme.


ARRIVAL:



ADDED FRAME AROUND THE BASE AND A SCREEN DOOR FOUND IN
THE ATTIC, ALSO CUT OUT STAGE:
I replaced the screen door screen with harwdware cloth. At this point I was still thinking of getting off easy and keeping the original box, but it was just too nasty and moldy in there so I trashed it.



MADE NEW BOX WITH NESTING AREA AND ROOSTS, PAINTED STAGE:
I later moved those roosts down a lot and added chicken wire under them to cover the poop tray. The nesting area has a sloped metal roof to keep the little poopers from pooping over there. Vent window to the left, vented access door to the right.



PAINTED OPRY BACKDROP, INSTALLED HARDWARE CLOTH AROUND OUTSIDE



EGG DOOR:



POOP DOOR:


SO QUIET YO'SELF AND STOP THAT FUSS. THERE AIN'T NOBODY HERE BUT US.
The poop door is behind them and the metal tray is under them. The wire is there to keep them off the droppings.The nesting area's opening to their right might be too low.



ROOF ROOF SHINY SHINY:
I scored free 8-foot 1X6's, screwed them to the frame, then bought the cheapest roofing material that I didn't have to cut. That's why it sticks out so far on one side. Not modern design but modern laziness.



FOOTLIGHTS:
I found really sturdy solar-powered LED xmas lights. They peck 'em but they can't break 'em.



DRILLED HOLES, RAN CONDUIT:
I used thin plastic conduit and as an added benefit the lights trapped in there illuminate the coop floor from underneath the box.



TAPED DOWN WIRES:
I used the actual tape made for ductwork (not duct tape), so it should be permanent. The girls can't get to this accept near the ramp. So far none of them have pecked at it.



THE STAGE IS SET:
Opry-style mic stand and a corncob microphone complete the effect.



FIRST BRAVE APPROACH:
Never saw a corn cob before. The pre-show jitters didn't last very long.



GET IN THERE REAL CLOSE AND SING FROM THE HEART, CHICKEE BABY:



THREE-PART HOMINY



LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FEATHERLY BROTHERS:
I know, I know. But "sisters" doesn't work for this gag.



TAKE A BOW, LADIES: