"It has gutters!" is often the first comment I hear. Indeed; and we'll get to the reason for that eventually. But let's start at the beginning. As my esteemed colleague and sometime-bartender Paul tells me: you can change a plan, but only if you have one.
Not to scale. 12' long, 6' wide, 8' tall at the center. This was intended to house six birds, who would be let out in the backyard when we're around and stay in the run when we're not. I sent this to my brother (architect and erstwhile chicken keeper) who said "looks nice" and my father (builder and erstwhile codes enforcement official) who responded by sending a copy of Army Field Manual 5-426, general carpentry. That manual was actually pretty useful, especially for determining what kind of fasteners to use. At the same time, as I found myself often repeating, "get a grip; don't worry; it's a chicken coop."
I changed my plan almost immediately. A couple buckets of gravel and some cinder blocks went in the ground, topped with ground contact pressure treated 4x4s. I levelled the whole thing pretty well because I was avoiding a task at work. 4xs got half lapped and screwed together, then attached to the cinder blocks with concrete anchors (aka "Tapcons").
Someone listed an old playset on Craigslist for free, so I talked my partner into helping me disassemble it and haul it home. Then I spent many happy afternoons ripping down the lumber into useful dimensions with my ancient & honorable circular saw. A lot of the fasteners were reusable, too -- waste not want not.
Three Buff Orpingtons and three ISA Browns soon found a home in my front bedroom. Yes, I should have finished construction first, but it was highly effective motivation. Next time I would brood them in the basement or elsewhere. I used the heating-pad brooder method, and they were happy and relatively quiet.
Framing the walls might have been the most fun. I deviated from the plans here as well -- three walls got studs simply 24" on center, and the fourth got a door opening in the middle. Diagonal bracing was installed with guidance from the Holy Ghost. The walls are nailed into the 4x4s, and I doubled the top plates to hold it all together.
I did all of this alone and despite assistance from FM5-426, couldn't totally figure out how to plumb the walls. A ratchet strap and convenient fence is probably not correct, but it sure worked.
Speaking of not doing things the right way: this stud was way off, preventing the wall from sitting flush. Some time ago I bought this ridiculous knife, and it's become one of my favorite tools. It's just the right heft and length for tasks like this, it was cheap so I don't mind banging it around, and the steel is soft so I can easily sharpen it. Plus it's called "FinnWolf," so it obviously has lots of sisu.
With the walls plumb, I started on the rafters. I sprang for all new lumber here, knowing it might be a little tricky. Sure enough, old Pythagoras chose this week to take a vacation. Despite triple-checking my calculations, re-reading FM5-426, and watching every bubba on YouTube, I could not get the rafters to work. My birdsmouths sat perfectly, but the other ends were 1 3/4" off. After much gnashing of teeth, I cut them down a little at a time until they worked and started nailing.
I lapped the ridge board and face screwed it through scrap plywood. The playset salvage worked great for rafter blocking with very little waste. With rain in the forecast I started painting the more susceptible framing members. Mis-tint paint was a good cost saver for this project -- everything I used was high quality exterior, but for about $10/gallon. The last lookout rafters went up on Palm Sunday, so I tacked up a bundle of palms from church in place of a sapling.
For purlins I used rough cut 1x4s from a mill in town. Compared to what was available from the big box stores it was better quality, quite a bit cheaper, and it held the roofing screws better. Throughout this project I found that local suppliers are often less expensive, not to mention much more pleasant and significantly more knowledgeable.
Speaking of knowledgeable, I am not. Trying to imagine how the drip edge would sit on the purlins, I figured they needed to be cut plumb. I tried my new favorite knife (too imprecise), a chisel (too wobbly), and a hand plane (too slow). A circular saw and a ladder was difficult, but fun in a masochistic way. Remember: let the tool do the work.
Rain delays and illness delays ensued, but eventually I was able to put up the drip edge and the roofing, and get all the plywood tacked up. My partner was pressed into service installing the hardware cloth, because doing so was filling my soul with hatred and despair. Promise I'll rent a pneumatic stapler next time, babe!
The birds started enjoying the outdoors, and my urgency to get them out of the house redoubled. Time to cut some holes in this nice plywood box. The back is a cleanout door a few inches above wheelbarrow height, and the nest boxes are on the side facing the house. I had plenty of scrap lumber and plywood to make these, and they were remarkably pleasant to build.
The coop floor was not as pleasant. Again I used ratchet straps to take the bow out of former playground lumber, and installed the "floor joists." Cutting the plywood to fit around the various studs was an exercise in frustration. The right side of this is 1 1/2" higher than the left -- on purpose! I read that it might help with cleanout. Time will tell.
Steve is my friend and coworker, and the kind of guy that hears about a project you're working on and keeps you in mind. So when he was perusing a dumpster down the street, he noticed a bunch of vinyl tile and grabbed them for me. What a mensch! It turned out to be the exact amount I needed. I face screwed them along the tops (countersunk, since these chickens have standards) and caulked the joints pretty well.
I made the coop door out of some scrap MDF, roofing screws, and paracord. It's strung so that you can tie it off from outside if desired, but I usually go inside to check on them in the mornings anyway. Changes in the weather haven't made it bind (yet).
Time for a human door. Using the straightest 2xs I could find, I carefully measured and lapped the stiles and rails. Then I used the ancient joinery technique known as "Lots of Glue and Screws." The last of that scrap MDF was perfect for the bottom third. I thought about my great grandfather (born on a Finnish island in the 1870s) as I used his chisel to cut mortises for the hinges. My last three 8 penny nails propped the door up; when I installed it and it worked on the first try, I almost cried.
The stud walls are 6' high, so I bought 3' hardware cloth thinking it would be sufficient. In retrospect it's obvious: that did not leave enough for any overlap. I decided to overlap the cloth and cover it with a plywood strip. Then at the bottom I used the "predator apron" design and secured it with another plywood strip (not shown here).
With the doors hung and the perimeter secured, I moved the chickens into their coop. Among the humans there was much rejoicing. I left them inside the coop for a week or so to let them get comfortable, then built a ramp. At first I wasn't sure they'd understand how to use it.
But they picked up on it pretty quick.
About those gutters. I tried to design everything to take advantage of standard material sizing (this resulted in multiple nights of waking up at 3am and exclaiming aloud new revelations about plywood dimensions (and eventually, sleeping with the chickens)). Pretty early on I came across a fantastic deal on metal roofing, but it was mostly pre-cut. Thus my rafter lengths were determined. Not wanting to subject the base of my structure to undue water damage, I put up gutters. Against all odds, they work. The fascia is made from cedar fence pickets.
I re-read the instructions on this site, and cut more ventilation in my nice tight structure. I plan to add a window in the east wall so that they'll get more morning light, especially in the winter.
The chicken came first, then laid an $800 egg! I kept meticulous expense records at the beginning of this project. Sometime after the Great Rafter Challenge I stopped keeping track. I probably could have done it for cheaper, but I don't think I could have done it as well for less.
The top of the nest box needs some flashing, but it stays remarkably dry as-is. The cleanout door will get hinges and a latch, but for now it's held on as pictured. I painted the plywood for protection, but definitely want to put some siding on. I haven't decided exactly what; board and batten? Cedar shakes? You tell me!
This was a very enjoyable project, completed with basic hand tools: a circular saw, cordless drill, hammer, and surprisingly little profanity. I learned lessons, practiced skills, and ended up with a nice addition to the back yard that does a good job housing the chickens (all of whom survived into adulthood). I do have some very rudimentary building experience, but am a musician by trade -- if I could do this, I think anyone could. Just get a copy of FM5-426, make a plan, change it as needed, and consult backyardchickens.com for advice!
Bonus content for the tens of people who have read this far: a cheapskate's chicken feeder.
You drink cheap coffee and you have chickens to feed? Simply cut a few holes above the bottom rim of one can and secure it to a plant feeder or similar rimmed base with a bolt and a washer. Cut a slit in the plastic top, tape it to create a cone and place in the base. With a can opener, remove the bottom of a second can. Tape this to the first can (open side down...), cut holes for a rope, and fill with chicken feed. Go inside and put band-aids on your fingers.
