I have made some modifications to the design of the Red Roost Inn, such as adding a drop down door in the back, for easier cleaning, and revision of how the nesting box doors open. We decided to begin building the coop at my father's house, and make each wall modular so that we could easily take it apart, and reassemble it once it was delivered home. This worked out perfectly. Everything fit in the back of the truck in one trip. Once home, we began setting the posts, and reconstructing the walls once painted. I raised the coop from the plans of 19" to 24" making it easier for me to get into the coop for cleaning. We still have to paint the roof, put the soffit on the main coop, build a few ventilation windows and repaint the run door, but this we hope to have completed by next week. I added reenforcement screen around all the top areas of the coop and run to thwart off any unwanted intruders, and just placed brick pavers around the coop for now, but will work on a nice paver walkway soon. As a result of raising the coop to the 24" height, I had to rethink the nesting box lid opening, since I'm only 5'3" tall I could not get into the nesting box to gather my eggs without a ladder. Now I did think of adding a fold up ladder under the nesting box, but thought better of it and just relocated opening the nesting box from the front. I really like this option, and plan on adding the trim soon too.
We are still not finished with the coop, but as of today, the girls are now moved in!
Here are some photos of our coop building process.
