6 x 12 coop, built in 8 days with the help of my 13 yr old son and my Father-in Law
When I first started doing research on our new coop I spent a great deal of time on BYC looking for ideas and suggestions. I owe a great deal of credit to the following coop's as they formed the basis of my plans.
Day 1 We laid the foundation and added the crush stone
and added few sheet of chicken wire below the stone
for unwanted critters trying to dig under the coop
We also started framing, got most of the framing done in one
day
I was very proud of my 13 yr old son, who really gave it his all and
he wanted to screw every screw he could, he really wanted to
play with the drill!
He even learned a bit about leveling and ensuring everything
was nice and straight
He had the drill again, I had a hard time keeping him away
from the drill, but he laid into it pretty good
Day 2 We got a lot more of the framing done, my father-in law
knocked out the roof frame and my son and I worked on
the hen house floor frame
My father-in law is a mad man when it comes to wood. I am
pretty good, but he is great I guess that comes with age.
Getting ready to put the last board on the roof frame
Getting started on the roof, we decide on a metal roof
Actually pretty easy to install
She was ready to get in her new home
They are ready for their new home also, be patient!
Day 3 Roof finished, my son again had the drill, he screwed every screw
in the roof. Every time we looked for the drills he had them.
Day 4 Finished up the interior with the floor, walls and coop
roost along with some wiring of my automatic door
Day 5 We installed all chicken wire along with building doors,
windows and finished installing doors, that was a task.
Day 6 Finished framing out the nest boxes after installing them
Day 7 Went through and did a lot of fine tuning and got my
new door opener installed and set, no more early mornings.
I had to thank my wife for that, she was happy for me!
Day 8 There was a lot of fine tuning and moved in all of the sand
for the coop floor, built the ramp and added all of the door
hardware along with the window hardware
Rear of the coop picture
Nest boxes actually came out pretty nice, very roomy!
I used the remainder of the sand around the coop, just
so we wouldn't have to walk through mud to get the eggs.
I had a moment of clarity and it hit me I was done, well for
the most part good enough to get the girls in and I still had a few
more things I want to do when time permits.
I think all in all it came together pretty good, so I sealed it
to keep the original color, we didn't want to paint or stain it, so I
used a clear coat.
Well the Dozier's hope you like it, we can tell our girls like it!
-Thank you to my father-in law and my son, they were a big
help.
Added changes since the build
1/2 line comes in off the valve that is gravity fed to the cups
they are constantly filled and they shut off automatically by the
yellow float
3 cups are more than enough for the girls, they always
have clean fresh water.
