Southeast Louisiana
Very hot/humid
8x8 coop- sand floor
16x24 run- sand floor
Materials:
-3 4x8 Tin roof 2ft overhang
-1 4x8 Polycarbonate skylight in middle
-4x8 multi purpose siding from Lowes
-4 6x6 corner post on coop- 2- 8’. 2- 9’
-8 4x4x8
-2 4x8 plexiglass cut to size in order to winterize all the windows
-2x4’s to stud the walls
-2x6’s for ceiling joist
-1/2 black vinyl coated hardware cloth 48x 300’ 19gauge
-3/4” metal roofing screws- had buckets of these saved up from building my metal shop. Figured they would work because they already had a large lip and compared equally to a screw and washer but in one piece.
-Quick-crete for the 6x6 post
-2 4x8 1/2” plywood for floors
-cheap vinyl siding for floors and poop trays
-20x30' 12mil heavy duty tarp
Before:
After:
So I must say a couple of things first:
1. I had no idea the extent of this project. It was bigger and more difficult than I thought, but if I can do it- so can you. BYC and Google was a tremendous help during my questionable “staring in the dirt” episodes.
2. I did this by myself and probably wasted more time staring at the ground or at an uneven corner, wondering what the heck to do next and how…
3. I initially wanted to build a pallet coop but the 10pallets I secured…the wood was so crooked and warped that nothing would square and line up.
4. This project served dual purpose- if I ever sell my house then the next family that comes in will have a neat 8x8 club house for young girls/boys. That is… if they do not want chickens.
5. I have experience with using tools but never have built something like this.
6. The oscillating multi tool is a life saver! It cuts everything and made cutting 1/2 hardware cloth easy.
I gave up on pallet wood but the majority of wood used is from neighbors old dog houses they wanted to scrap and large crates that cabinet shops were discarding.
I did purchase the multi-use panel siding, nails, screws, 4 bags quick crete, various “straight” 2x4’s. Also the 1/2 black vinyl coated hardware cloth.
The roof tin and skylight panels, as well as, all large headed screws were left over from my past metal shop build.
The 6x6post used on the corners of coop are some old post I’ve had for years.
Ventilation:
I knew being in hot, humid South Louisiana weather…I had to have plenty of ventilation. So I figured the ridges in the tin roof, two triangle portions in upper left/right walls, two windows on opposite walls and a large double window on the front wall would be adequate.
I think this is plenty for the summer and I have cut plexiglass inserts to fit in all windows during the winter to prevent cold drafts.
- east/west wall- windows 21x34
- south side wall- window on floor 60x33
- north wall- nest box with screen vents on top.
-will keep the tin roof ridges open on all sides for ventilation during the winter.
Build up and level:
Had to bring in 3 pickup truck loads of river silt to build up a low spot under three large oak trees.
Quick crete the 6x6’s in to have a good solid anchor. I had no idea how important it is to have both bottom and tops of the 8x8 frame “square”….I sure did later on when putting up siding and metal roof and it did not square or equal on the
sides. Ugggh… learned a valuable lesson there.
Walls and siding:
Putting up the walls and figuring out the windows. Tbh, I had no plan or blue prints on any of this. I just said…hey this looks like a good spot for the window. I did, however, try to stay symmetrical on all sides so it wouldn’t be confusing to one’s eye.
Roof:
-2x6x12’ for anchoring ceiling joist
-1x6x12’ decking boards for cross slats
-4x12 sheets of tin
-4x12 sheet of polycarbonate skylight
Not squaring the bottom and top of the 8x8 square here really messed me up with the ease of putting the siding and roof on. I had to do some finagling cutting and placing to get it to line up on the edges- should have been a lot easier than I made it to be.
Polycarbonate Skylight:
Nesting boxes:
The nesting boxes are on the back North wall. I knew I wanted 4 nesting boxes with 11hens- nesting boxes are 15” wide add 1” for spacing dividers and that gave me the length of the nesting floor and the size to fit it in the North wall.
I put in screws with a lip to be able to secure and be able to slide dividers out for cleaning or whatnot.
Roost bars/poop board:
I really wanted to put roost up near the window so the hens could enjoy the breeze and view. A lot of conflicting thoughts here: roost bars too high at 51” off floor? Too many roost bars at different heights will cause conflicts and bullying during roosting? Poop boards/trays are useless- still scooping poop regardless if on floor or directly under roost? One roost vertical or diagonal slanting ladder roost?
Many reasons I did what I did here.
1. Two 92” 2x4 boards next to the window 12”from window and diagonally below other roost bar.
2. Added poop board so won’t have to bend over as much to scoop poop in sand and also give a lower point to fly up/down from to prevent foot and leg injuries
3. I did add a ladder.
Doors:
Both doors are made of discarded fence pickets from the last hurricane Ida that blew down a lot of our fence.
Coop Door:
Not for sure to be honest...I think it is 12x12
I don't think an automatic door is in the future...I feel confident that my entire coop and run is predator proof.
I may construct a string to a pulley and manually open/close.
The Run:
16x24 minus the 8x8 of the coop in there.
-8 4x4’s 8’
OMG…this ground was so darn clay hard, it took me 1hr of chiseling away to get the 4x4 post 22” deep.
Put hardware cloth on outside of run to fully predator proof it.
-used old 1x6 fence pickets as middle/bottom braces and something to attach hardware cloth to.
Run Roof:
The above picture is a make shift scaffolding rig I made. It allowed me to put an aluminum ladder on top so it would hold my weight and I could screw in the hardware cloth.
I know I could have used bird netting for the roof but so far I have gone 100%. Roof is laid with hardware cloth for no questions, zero doubts or regrets with this build….also with the added strength and security, I am hoping it will help some to keep everything stronger during our hurricane system.
Putting the tarp on:
-20x30 heavy duty 12mil tarp from Harbor Freight
I added some fun things for the little chicks to play on:
-multi-roost bar
-roost bar in front
-roost bar on east side
-a swing
and I am so happy that they started to use them:
I don't know if you can tell but in the picture to the above left...I added a large piece of cardboard between the tin roof/hardware cloth and the 12mil tarp. did this to try and protect the tarp from tearing against the tin and hardware cloth. The wind was blowing pretty fierce that day and it cued me to try and provide some kind of protection.
Final product:
Measured Drawing:
Things I would do differently:
1. I would attach that little wire to the door latch and feed it inside the coop asap. The wind blew the coop door shut and I was locked in the coop for 1hr.
2. I would make sure the coop 6x6 post were square not only on the bottom but also on the top. Adding siding and tin roof to unsquare sides/roof is a pain in the butt...so much easier to line up at 8' rather than 7' 10". Very frustrating.
3. I would splurge and rent that post hole digging auger. Took me an hour per hole. Used too much time, energy and sweat on that, exhausting!!
4. Learned a good lesson with trying to use pallets- not good wood at all- made the job 3x difficult.
5. Go ahead and start with screws. Had a bunch of old nails and thought I was going to be thrifty. No....I made way too many mistakes to use nails. So much easier to remove screws if you mess it up.
6. I learned a lot from trial and error frustration of complete DIY. Would have been easier and a lot more time efficient if I had a plan, blue prints to go on.
Dedication:
I dedicate this project to my late black Doberman Ragnar- in the first picture. He passed during this build. Damn, I miss that monster....
Thanks & Acknowledgment:
I want to thank a couple of my Doberman Forum members that gave me a lot of advice and information:
Rits, Ravenbird, Kdwoodssue
I want to express great gratitude for the BYC members who were awesome enough to answer all my questions:
@jus10inla @3KillerBs @Kiki @Bananabread @Krugerrand @perkolator @SourRoses @Saveria @Folly's place @Allsfairinloveandbugs @rosemarythyme @Birdinhand @Sally PB @Ridgerunner @alwaystj9 and sorry if I missed anyone else.
Thank you very much!
Very hot/humid
8x8 coop- sand floor
16x24 run- sand floor
Materials:
-3 4x8 Tin roof 2ft overhang
-1 4x8 Polycarbonate skylight in middle
-4x8 multi purpose siding from Lowes
-4 6x6 corner post on coop- 2- 8’. 2- 9’
-8 4x4x8
-2 4x8 plexiglass cut to size in order to winterize all the windows
-2x4’s to stud the walls
-2x6’s for ceiling joist
-1/2 black vinyl coated hardware cloth 48x 300’ 19gauge
-3/4” metal roofing screws- had buckets of these saved up from building my metal shop. Figured they would work because they already had a large lip and compared equally to a screw and washer but in one piece.
-Quick-crete for the 6x6 post
-2 4x8 1/2” plywood for floors
-cheap vinyl siding for floors and poop trays
-20x30' 12mil heavy duty tarp
Before:
After:
So I must say a couple of things first:
1. I had no idea the extent of this project. It was bigger and more difficult than I thought, but if I can do it- so can you. BYC and Google was a tremendous help during my questionable “staring in the dirt” episodes.
2. I did this by myself and probably wasted more time staring at the ground or at an uneven corner, wondering what the heck to do next and how…
3. I initially wanted to build a pallet coop but the 10pallets I secured…the wood was so crooked and warped that nothing would square and line up.
4. This project served dual purpose- if I ever sell my house then the next family that comes in will have a neat 8x8 club house for young girls/boys. That is… if they do not want chickens.
5. I have experience with using tools but never have built something like this.
6. The oscillating multi tool is a life saver! It cuts everything and made cutting 1/2 hardware cloth easy.
I gave up on pallet wood but the majority of wood used is from neighbors old dog houses they wanted to scrap and large crates that cabinet shops were discarding.
I did purchase the multi-use panel siding, nails, screws, 4 bags quick crete, various “straight” 2x4’s. Also the 1/2 black vinyl coated hardware cloth.
The roof tin and skylight panels, as well as, all large headed screws were left over from my past metal shop build.
The 6x6post used on the corners of coop are some old post I’ve had for years.
Ventilation:
I knew being in hot, humid South Louisiana weather…I had to have plenty of ventilation. So I figured the ridges in the tin roof, two triangle portions in upper left/right walls, two windows on opposite walls and a large double window on the front wall would be adequate.
I think this is plenty for the summer and I have cut plexiglass inserts to fit in all windows during the winter to prevent cold drafts.
- east/west wall- windows 21x34
- south side wall- window on floor 60x33
- north wall- nest box with screen vents on top.
-will keep the tin roof ridges open on all sides for ventilation during the winter.
Build up and level:
Had to bring in 3 pickup truck loads of river silt to build up a low spot under three large oak trees.
Quick crete the 6x6’s in to have a good solid anchor. I had no idea how important it is to have both bottom and tops of the 8x8 frame “square”….I sure did later on when putting up siding and metal roof and it did not square or equal on the
sides. Ugggh… learned a valuable lesson there.
Walls and siding:
Putting up the walls and figuring out the windows. Tbh, I had no plan or blue prints on any of this. I just said…hey this looks like a good spot for the window. I did, however, try to stay symmetrical on all sides so it wouldn’t be confusing to one’s eye.
Roof:
-2x6x12’ for anchoring ceiling joist
-1x6x12’ decking boards for cross slats
-4x12 sheets of tin
-4x12 sheet of polycarbonate skylight
Not squaring the bottom and top of the 8x8 square here really messed me up with the ease of putting the siding and roof on. I had to do some finagling cutting and placing to get it to line up on the edges- should have been a lot easier than I made it to be.
Polycarbonate Skylight:
Nesting boxes:
The nesting boxes are on the back North wall. I knew I wanted 4 nesting boxes with 11hens- nesting boxes are 15” wide add 1” for spacing dividers and that gave me the length of the nesting floor and the size to fit it in the North wall.
I put in screws with a lip to be able to secure and be able to slide dividers out for cleaning or whatnot.
Roost bars/poop board:
I really wanted to put roost up near the window so the hens could enjoy the breeze and view. A lot of conflicting thoughts here: roost bars too high at 51” off floor? Too many roost bars at different heights will cause conflicts and bullying during roosting? Poop boards/trays are useless- still scooping poop regardless if on floor or directly under roost? One roost vertical or diagonal slanting ladder roost?
Many reasons I did what I did here.
1. Two 92” 2x4 boards next to the window 12”from window and diagonally below other roost bar.
2. Added poop board so won’t have to bend over as much to scoop poop in sand and also give a lower point to fly up/down from to prevent foot and leg injuries
3. I did add a ladder.
Doors:
Both doors are made of discarded fence pickets from the last hurricane Ida that blew down a lot of our fence.
Coop Door:
Not for sure to be honest...I think it is 12x12
I don't think an automatic door is in the future...I feel confident that my entire coop and run is predator proof.
I may construct a string to a pulley and manually open/close.
The Run:
16x24 minus the 8x8 of the coop in there.
-8 4x4’s 8’
OMG…this ground was so darn clay hard, it took me 1hr of chiseling away to get the 4x4 post 22” deep.
Put hardware cloth on outside of run to fully predator proof it.
-used old 1x6 fence pickets as middle/bottom braces and something to attach hardware cloth to.
Run Roof:
The above picture is a make shift scaffolding rig I made. It allowed me to put an aluminum ladder on top so it would hold my weight and I could screw in the hardware cloth.
I know I could have used bird netting for the roof but so far I have gone 100%. Roof is laid with hardware cloth for no questions, zero doubts or regrets with this build….also with the added strength and security, I am hoping it will help some to keep everything stronger during our hurricane system.
Putting the tarp on:
-20x30 heavy duty 12mil tarp from Harbor Freight
I added some fun things for the little chicks to play on:
-multi-roost bar
-roost bar in front
-roost bar on east side
-a swing
and I am so happy that they started to use them:
I don't know if you can tell but in the picture to the above left...I added a large piece of cardboard between the tin roof/hardware cloth and the 12mil tarp. did this to try and protect the tarp from tearing against the tin and hardware cloth. The wind was blowing pretty fierce that day and it cued me to try and provide some kind of protection.
Final product:
Measured Drawing:
Things I would do differently:
1. I would attach that little wire to the door latch and feed it inside the coop asap. The wind blew the coop door shut and I was locked in the coop for 1hr.
2. I would make sure the coop 6x6 post were square not only on the bottom but also on the top. Adding siding and tin roof to unsquare sides/roof is a pain in the butt...so much easier to line up at 8' rather than 7' 10". Very frustrating.
3. I would splurge and rent that post hole digging auger. Took me an hour per hole. Used too much time, energy and sweat on that, exhausting!!
4. Learned a good lesson with trying to use pallets- not good wood at all- made the job 3x difficult.
5. Go ahead and start with screws. Had a bunch of old nails and thought I was going to be thrifty. No....I made way too many mistakes to use nails. So much easier to remove screws if you mess it up.
6. I learned a lot from trial and error frustration of complete DIY. Would have been easier and a lot more time efficient if I had a plan, blue prints to go on.
Dedication:
I dedicate this project to my late black Doberman Ragnar- in the first picture. He passed during this build. Damn, I miss that monster....
Thanks & Acknowledgment:
I want to thank a couple of my Doberman Forum members that gave me a lot of advice and information:
Rits, Ravenbird, Kdwoodssue
I want to express great gratitude for the BYC members who were awesome enough to answer all my questions:
@jus10inla @3KillerBs @Kiki @Bananabread @Krugerrand @perkolator @SourRoses @Saveria @Folly's place @Allsfairinloveandbugs @rosemarythyme @Birdinhand @Sally PB @Ridgerunner @alwaystj9 and sorry if I missed anyone else.
Thank you very much!
