The name makes my silly little coop sound waaay more awesome than it is.
I built it all by myself with 3 sheets of recycled siding and the remains of a fence my mom's neighbor drove through. I did buy roof panels, a couple of cans of "oops" paint from Home Depot, and a few 2 x 3s. And I ought to mention that I have no experience building anything (does assembling IKEA furniture count?) and only a few hand tools, a miter saw that no longer miters, and a table saw I borrowed from my mom. Not a piece of wood lacked warping. No angles are 90°. I'm surprised it defies gravity. I built it over the course of a week, but I still make little changes pretty much every day. All for these babies (from left to right: Iris - standard cochin, Aster - buff brahma, Zinnia - barred rock, and Poppy - buff orpington).
It is 4' x 8' because those are the dimensions of a piece of siding, and it's big enough for my 4 pullets (at least what I *think* are 4 pullets). The floor is siding I coated a few times over with waterproofing compound I had left over from another project. I attached 1/4 inch hardware cloth to the bottom. It is set on a base of gravel and landscaping rocks that were placed in a shallow dugout. I had intended originally to do a dirt floor, but I am paranoid, and I caved to fear of rats. It has a hardware cloth apron, too. Don't know that's evident from the pics.
The framing is pressure treated fence boards. The sides are a combination of siding panels and dog eared fence boards. I cut the boards in half and made dog ears in any I cut to keep the scalloped edges uniform (well, relatively uniform, anyway). For the windows, I just cut holes in the fence boards and covered them with hardware cloth. The hardware cloth is sandwiched between the siding and the window framing. All of the roof vents are covered in hardware cloth, too. Almost everything is painted. Every joint is caulked.
I made shutters from the piece of siding I cut to make the door. They are hinged at the top so that I can close them and keep the rain out (hopefully).
I made nesting boxes from a couple of file crates I had left over from work. As you can see, they are not done. I have time because the girls won't begin laying for a couple of months. The top of the nesting boxes is an old vinyl table cloth I fastened to the coop using any screws I could find in the garage. The door is constructed from fence boards. It's the only door. I didn't add a pop door because I didn't know how, tbh.
I snagged a 2x3 and some OSB from our homecoming parade float and made a roost and poop board. I had intended to let their droppings fall to the litter, but that got old quick. The poop board has PDZ that I scoop every morning. The poop is added to a compost bin. The roost is a 2 x 3. It is only 3 ft off the ground since I have a couple of big breeds in my flock. All the goofy decor came from dollar and thrift stores. Oh, and a couple of things from Hobby Lobby. And a gift from my mom (the chicken hanger thing on the door).
The run is a store bought walk-in that was waaaay too expensive. I wanted to buy a chain link dog kennel and add hardware cloth to it, but my husband thought this would be better. I disagree, but he doesn't usually express any interest in my projects, so I jumped at the chance to accept his advice. It is approx 113 sq ft. I pimped it out with left over boards, a straw bale (also from homecoming), an old, dead peach tree, a home made chicken swing my brahma loves, and a dust bath of sand, dirt, and wood ash. I need to add more perches. I will do that soon.
It's still a work in progress, and the pics show it tarped up for a rain storm. I will update as things get finalized. Below are my yard art flowers I made from plates and construction adhesive. They are taped up while the adhesive dries. I'll be adding stems and leaves. And I made a coop sign from a pallet that came with our new dishwasher. That's in progress, too.
Still working on it. I hope to finish soon.
Oh, who am I kidding?! It will never be finished...
Updates! (as of 5/27/19)
Here are some of the changes I've made since Feathering Heights was constructed:
External nesting boxes (more space inside):
And the view from inside the coop...
More roost space (to accommodate more birds):
An isolation pen (under the poop boards):
Solar power (and fans for hot days):
Storage (using my kids' old toy hammock):
Shelves:
Tool box/first said kit (hanging from the rafters):
I built it all by myself with 3 sheets of recycled siding and the remains of a fence my mom's neighbor drove through. I did buy roof panels, a couple of cans of "oops" paint from Home Depot, and a few 2 x 3s. And I ought to mention that I have no experience building anything (does assembling IKEA furniture count?) and only a few hand tools, a miter saw that no longer miters, and a table saw I borrowed from my mom. Not a piece of wood lacked warping. No angles are 90°. I'm surprised it defies gravity. I built it over the course of a week, but I still make little changes pretty much every day. All for these babies (from left to right: Iris - standard cochin, Aster - buff brahma, Zinnia - barred rock, and Poppy - buff orpington).
It is 4' x 8' because those are the dimensions of a piece of siding, and it's big enough for my 4 pullets (at least what I *think* are 4 pullets). The floor is siding I coated a few times over with waterproofing compound I had left over from another project. I attached 1/4 inch hardware cloth to the bottom. It is set on a base of gravel and landscaping rocks that were placed in a shallow dugout. I had intended originally to do a dirt floor, but I am paranoid, and I caved to fear of rats. It has a hardware cloth apron, too. Don't know that's evident from the pics.
The framing is pressure treated fence boards. The sides are a combination of siding panels and dog eared fence boards. I cut the boards in half and made dog ears in any I cut to keep the scalloped edges uniform (well, relatively uniform, anyway). For the windows, I just cut holes in the fence boards and covered them with hardware cloth. The hardware cloth is sandwiched between the siding and the window framing. All of the roof vents are covered in hardware cloth, too. Almost everything is painted. Every joint is caulked.
I made shutters from the piece of siding I cut to make the door. They are hinged at the top so that I can close them and keep the rain out (hopefully).
I made nesting boxes from a couple of file crates I had left over from work. As you can see, they are not done. I have time because the girls won't begin laying for a couple of months. The top of the nesting boxes is an old vinyl table cloth I fastened to the coop using any screws I could find in the garage. The door is constructed from fence boards. It's the only door. I didn't add a pop door because I didn't know how, tbh.
I snagged a 2x3 and some OSB from our homecoming parade float and made a roost and poop board. I had intended to let their droppings fall to the litter, but that got old quick. The poop board has PDZ that I scoop every morning. The poop is added to a compost bin. The roost is a 2 x 3. It is only 3 ft off the ground since I have a couple of big breeds in my flock. All the goofy decor came from dollar and thrift stores. Oh, and a couple of things from Hobby Lobby. And a gift from my mom (the chicken hanger thing on the door).
The run is a store bought walk-in that was waaaay too expensive. I wanted to buy a chain link dog kennel and add hardware cloth to it, but my husband thought this would be better. I disagree, but he doesn't usually express any interest in my projects, so I jumped at the chance to accept his advice. It is approx 113 sq ft. I pimped it out with left over boards, a straw bale (also from homecoming), an old, dead peach tree, a home made chicken swing my brahma loves, and a dust bath of sand, dirt, and wood ash. I need to add more perches. I will do that soon.
It's still a work in progress, and the pics show it tarped up for a rain storm. I will update as things get finalized. Below are my yard art flowers I made from plates and construction adhesive. They are taped up while the adhesive dries. I'll be adding stems and leaves. And I made a coop sign from a pallet that came with our new dishwasher. That's in progress, too.
Still working on it. I hope to finish soon.
Oh, who am I kidding?! It will never be finished...
Updates! (as of 5/27/19)
Here are some of the changes I've made since Feathering Heights was constructed:
External nesting boxes (more space inside):
And the view from inside the coop...
More roost space (to accommodate more birds):
An isolation pen (under the poop boards):
Solar power (and fans for hot days):
Storage (using my kids' old toy hammock):
Shelves:
Tool box/first said kit (hanging from the rafters):
