Hi all!
UPDATED 1 year later! added some changes to the poop shelf roost bar nest boxes inside the coop stuff that after almost a year I wanted to work better in my set up! Pics of the changes at the bottom of the article
Almost 1 year in the actual kit itself is still fantastic zero structural issues and I screw a lot of stuff into it out of it onto it hang stuff from the roof etc. the actual structure itself is going great all of the changes and upgrades I have made since building it are primarily for the inside stuff that wasn't part of the kit. Now that we are almost through the winter I am very happy I went with the greenhouse kit the greenhouse roof has been amazing for warming up inside the coop during the day on those frigidly cold days.
Original start:
I've been reading these forums for months while I did research ahead of getting my first batch of 11 chicks and now is a new member, I'm filling out my account, and it recommends linking an article about my coop so attaching some pictures here. (And a 5 minute video linked below where you can see the entire process!)
Ive been notified that I need to include more information about the specifics of the build to not get negative ratings in here so updating the below, and adding updates as I go so if youre interested please feel free to keep scrolling through! Also let me know if there's any other updates you want me to put in here!
The structure is actually a greenhouse (a greenhouse kit bought on home depot, it's the 8 by 16 foot model i dont remember the brand name but if you type in cedar greenhouse on home depot itll come right up) but instead of putting in the plastic panels, I did hardware cloth. To build it just follow the instructions it comes with and just skip the plastic panels steps. The hardware cloth is 19 gauge and I secured it with screws and washers. I have Bears, Bobcats, raccoons, fisher cats etc so wanted to make sure it was as predator proof as it could be. (Obviously nothing is going to stop the bear but our neighborhood is all farms and there are better pickings for him down the road than on my property so I dont see him much)
The foundation is 4x4s cut to the 8 by 16 foot dimensions and I used sand under them to ensure they were square and level then I anchored them to the ground with 1.5 foot rebar (i used a 1/8th bit to drill pilot holes through the 4x4 and then used a sledge hammer to drive the rebar through at an angle so that it wont go anywhere in the wind). Then I just secured the greenhouse kit to the 4x4s with 4 inch deck screws. I also added a 4x4 center support post because the kit seems to think a 16 foot roof line doesn't need support without a one piece beam and the roof line sagged. So just wedged a 4x4 under the center of the beam. And it made for a good place to screw on the waterer and feeder.
And then I also buried hardware cloth under the foundation on the outside just screwed to the 4x4s with washers and screws and then covered it in gravel put some flower boxes garden beds and whatnot.
Inside is sand and the spent coffee ground bedding and first Saturday lime. The poop shelf is all of those things plus sweet pdz and the 2x4 Roost bar is removable so I can take it out and clean it. To do that you just screw joist hangers at the height you want and the 2x4s slide right in and out.
They've got some toys etc in there, I think I need like a big stump or something where they can get high enough to actually see out the window since the first like two and a half feet is a wall.
I just covered all the sides up with plastic for the winter because I'm in New England, and we get a lot of snow and cold temperatures here and the babies will be ready to be out there full time come december! I just used clear plastic tarps and also secured those with screws and washers.
if Im missing anything or you have questions just let me know!
UPDATES:
photos of it being built were requested so those are now below (theyre screenshots of videos as i didnt take photos during the build only snapchats and it wont let me upload the videos). Also approximate costs were requested. The greenhouse kit was $1440 and all in with flower boxes lights feed bins tarps gravel lumber tools etc i probably spent about $3500 total on the project.
Adding more photos! I went around my property to find some good sticks and stumps!
I put all my Snapchats together into one video and added some voiceovers explaining what I'm doing if you want to spend the 5 minutes watching it let me know what you think!
I switched stuff up inside the coop I feel like I wasn't using my square footage well and was using up a lot of the space that the birds could use to move around and hang out in there for removing some of their floor space square footage and during the winter when they're spending most of their time inside I want them to have as much space as possible.
The little Roost ladder and swing is now over by the window by the front door over where their dust bath area is that way they have another place where they can look out the window and it frees up a lot of floor space since they were already using that corner for the dust bath the ladder being on top of it doesn't affect how they use that space just more usable space
UPDATED 1 year later! added some changes to the poop shelf roost bar nest boxes inside the coop stuff that after almost a year I wanted to work better in my set up! Pics of the changes at the bottom of the article
Almost 1 year in the actual kit itself is still fantastic zero structural issues and I screw a lot of stuff into it out of it onto it hang stuff from the roof etc. the actual structure itself is going great all of the changes and upgrades I have made since building it are primarily for the inside stuff that wasn't part of the kit. Now that we are almost through the winter I am very happy I went with the greenhouse kit the greenhouse roof has been amazing for warming up inside the coop during the day on those frigidly cold days.
Original start:
I've been reading these forums for months while I did research ahead of getting my first batch of 11 chicks and now is a new member, I'm filling out my account, and it recommends linking an article about my coop so attaching some pictures here. (And a 5 minute video linked below where you can see the entire process!)
Ive been notified that I need to include more information about the specifics of the build to not get negative ratings in here so updating the below, and adding updates as I go so if youre interested please feel free to keep scrolling through! Also let me know if there's any other updates you want me to put in here!
The structure is actually a greenhouse (a greenhouse kit bought on home depot, it's the 8 by 16 foot model i dont remember the brand name but if you type in cedar greenhouse on home depot itll come right up) but instead of putting in the plastic panels, I did hardware cloth. To build it just follow the instructions it comes with and just skip the plastic panels steps. The hardware cloth is 19 gauge and I secured it with screws and washers. I have Bears, Bobcats, raccoons, fisher cats etc so wanted to make sure it was as predator proof as it could be. (Obviously nothing is going to stop the bear but our neighborhood is all farms and there are better pickings for him down the road than on my property so I dont see him much)
The foundation is 4x4s cut to the 8 by 16 foot dimensions and I used sand under them to ensure they were square and level then I anchored them to the ground with 1.5 foot rebar (i used a 1/8th bit to drill pilot holes through the 4x4 and then used a sledge hammer to drive the rebar through at an angle so that it wont go anywhere in the wind). Then I just secured the greenhouse kit to the 4x4s with 4 inch deck screws. I also added a 4x4 center support post because the kit seems to think a 16 foot roof line doesn't need support without a one piece beam and the roof line sagged. So just wedged a 4x4 under the center of the beam. And it made for a good place to screw on the waterer and feeder.
And then I also buried hardware cloth under the foundation on the outside just screwed to the 4x4s with washers and screws and then covered it in gravel put some flower boxes garden beds and whatnot.
Inside is sand and the spent coffee ground bedding and first Saturday lime. The poop shelf is all of those things plus sweet pdz and the 2x4 Roost bar is removable so I can take it out and clean it. To do that you just screw joist hangers at the height you want and the 2x4s slide right in and out.
They've got some toys etc in there, I think I need like a big stump or something where they can get high enough to actually see out the window since the first like two and a half feet is a wall.
I just covered all the sides up with plastic for the winter because I'm in New England, and we get a lot of snow and cold temperatures here and the babies will be ready to be out there full time come december! I just used clear plastic tarps and also secured those with screws and washers.
if Im missing anything or you have questions just let me know!
UPDATES:
photos of it being built were requested so those are now below (theyre screenshots of videos as i didnt take photos during the build only snapchats and it wont let me upload the videos). Also approximate costs were requested. The greenhouse kit was $1440 and all in with flower boxes lights feed bins tarps gravel lumber tools etc i probably spent about $3500 total on the project.
Adding more photos! I went around my property to find some good sticks and stumps!
I put all my Snapchats together into one video and added some voiceovers explaining what I'm doing if you want to spend the 5 minutes watching it let me know what you think!
I switched stuff up inside the coop I feel like I wasn't using my square footage well and was using up a lot of the space that the birds could use to move around and hang out in there for removing some of their floor space square footage and during the winter when they're spending most of their time inside I want them to have as much space as possible.
The little Roost ladder and swing is now over by the window by the front door over where their dust bath area is that way they have another place where they can look out the window and it frees up a lot of floor space since they were already using that corner for the dust bath the ladder being on top of it doesn't affect how they use that space just more usable space
