Well, I’ve been working hard on my new coop every chance I’ve had. And I’m loving every minute of it. It’s been abnormally cold around here and this coop project has corresponded wonderfully with slightly warmer weather.
I studied a lot of coops I found online, both here and elsewhere, and ended up going with something similar to this coop: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=11883.
It’s been lots of fun, and I’ve changed 1000 things as I built the coop, but I think it’s coming along nicely.
The supplies (and costs) were:
12 – 2” x 4” x 8’ à most of these were cut down to 1.5” x 1.5” (12 x $2.57 = HD)
2 – Hardiboard (donated!)
2 – 4” x 4” x 8’ (2 x $6.97 = HD)
1 – ½” OSB Sheathing($9.47 HD)
2 – 4” T1-11 Siding (2 x $20 HD)
1 – 30lb roofing felt (1 x $10 CL)
1 – Bundle 3 tab shingles (donated!)
1 - ½” hardware cloth, vinyl coated ($16)
The footprint is approximately 3’ x 7’. The nesting box extends about 16 inches from the side, making the interior footprint about 3’ x 5.5’, or 16.5 sq. ft.
The nesting boxes are about 16” x 16” x 12”.
There is a storage area above the nesting boxes where we will keep food and other supplies.
The roof is pitched at 11°. I’m a geometry teacher and I had trouble figuring out how to cut the angles. In the end I set my table saw to 11° and cut a 2” x 2” just shallow enough to leave a full width after the cut. The large piece went on the top of the front of the coop, slanting backwards, and the small remnant piece went on the back of the coop to accept the rafters.
I planned the roof so that it was exactly 4’ x 8’, allowing me to use one whole piece of plywood. I regret using OSB for the roof, but I cheaped out at the store. =/
One thing I didn’t deliberately plan but lucked into was making my walls measure less than 32”. This allowed me to get three studs or three passes out of my 8’ siding instead of two. (8’ x 12” = 96”; 96”/3 =32”)
I studied a lot of coops I found online, both here and elsewhere, and ended up going with something similar to this coop: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=11883.
It’s been lots of fun, and I’ve changed 1000 things as I built the coop, but I think it’s coming along nicely.
The supplies (and costs) were:
12 – 2” x 4” x 8’ à most of these were cut down to 1.5” x 1.5” (12 x $2.57 = HD)
2 – Hardiboard (donated!)
2 – 4” x 4” x 8’ (2 x $6.97 = HD)
1 – ½” OSB Sheathing($9.47 HD)
2 – 4” T1-11 Siding (2 x $20 HD)
1 – 30lb roofing felt (1 x $10 CL)
1 – Bundle 3 tab shingles (donated!)
1 - ½” hardware cloth, vinyl coated ($16)
The footprint is approximately 3’ x 7’. The nesting box extends about 16 inches from the side, making the interior footprint about 3’ x 5.5’, or 16.5 sq. ft.
The nesting boxes are about 16” x 16” x 12”.
There is a storage area above the nesting boxes where we will keep food and other supplies.
The roof is pitched at 11°. I’m a geometry teacher and I had trouble figuring out how to cut the angles. In the end I set my table saw to 11° and cut a 2” x 2” just shallow enough to leave a full width after the cut. The large piece went on the top of the front of the coop, slanting backwards, and the small remnant piece went on the back of the coop to accept the rafters.
I planned the roof so that it was exactly 4’ x 8’, allowing me to use one whole piece of plywood. I regret using OSB for the roof, but I cheaped out at the store. =/
One thing I didn’t deliberately plan but lucked into was making my walls measure less than 32”. This allowed me to get three studs or three passes out of my 8’ siding instead of two. (8’ x 12” = 96”; 96”/3 =32”)
