I kept having this silly notion that I wanted to keep some hens in the backyard to be able to have fresh eggs. I lived on a farm as a kid and always enjoyed having all manner of farm critters around. Since I live in town now, I figured chickens were out of the question. Lo and behold, something just possessed me to google "chickens mobile alabama" and I found out that there was no ordinance prohibiting hens in the city limits (no roosters allowed though). My house is located in a historic area of town though so I'm not sure about restrictions that may be imposed by the historical (aka "hysterical") society. So I figured my chicken coop probably shouldn't attract attention as being out of sync with the period architecture. I decided to modify a potting shed that was already in the backyard that was built originally with the house in 1929.
I used very little new stuff for the remodel. The wood was in surprisingly good shape for the age of the building. It is all very resinous southern yellow pine. I didn't realize that there might be folks interested in pictures of the construction process while I was remodeling so there aren't many pictures.
Below is the exterior of the the coop after its transformation
The windows were actually stored inside the old potting shed and added a nice touch. The coop area is 4ft by 6 ft and the floor is about 2ft above the ground allowing the run to extend underneath for a total run area of 6 ft by 10 ft. The exterior nesting box was for easy access to the eggs as well as to maximize space inside.
The page wouldn't be complete without a photo of the new inhabitants:
And to help with predator control we occasionally post a sentry:
What's the reward for all this fuss? :
I used very little new stuff for the remodel. The wood was in surprisingly good shape for the age of the building. It is all very resinous southern yellow pine. I didn't realize that there might be folks interested in pictures of the construction process while I was remodeling so there aren't many pictures.
Below is the exterior of the the coop after its transformation
The windows were actually stored inside the old potting shed and added a nice touch. The coop area is 4ft by 6 ft and the floor is about 2ft above the ground allowing the run to extend underneath for a total run area of 6 ft by 10 ft. The exterior nesting box was for easy access to the eggs as well as to maximize space inside.
The page wouldn't be complete without a photo of the new inhabitants:
And to help with predator control we occasionally post a sentry:
What's the reward for all this fuss? :
