Well we started this adventure almost 5 weeks ago with a box of fuzzy butts and dreams of farm fresh eggs. We started this project bass ackwards like alot of people on BYC and bought the chickens before we had even designed, let alone built the coop...
Well as our luck and fate would have it, we discovered that lil fuzzy butts grow FAST!! REAL FAST!!
So I got on the "chicken information super highway" aka BYC and did hours of pain staking research and finally settled on a plan, got the material list, made about 50 trips to various hardware/home improvement stores looking for sales and scavenging through thier "dunnage piles" to gather all I would need to build our "Garden Coop". The whole time this stage is occurring it was sunny and beautiful spring weather here in central/southern Indiana then came construction day.....and it started to rain!!
and it rained, and rained, and rained some more, so, feeling the magnitude of the situation I decided to start the build in the warm dry confinds of my 2.5 car garage which meant the 2.0 cars must stay out ( the .5, my Harley, got to stay in
to the dismay of my better half). After getting this framed up it was STILL RAINING...so I thought I'll build a little more, then a little more...It can't be too heavey...build a little more...VERY CAREFULLY measured the garage door opening making sure not to exceed that in build height. Keeping that in mind I opted to leave the roof package above the rafters off until it was moved out.
Well after 4 rainey weekends in a row, it was time to move the "coopmahal" out of the garage, and in to place. I had literally done all I could inside. After CAREFUL planning, I invited 6 of my bestest buddies over for a good ole fashioned "coop moving party" complete with cold beers, and burgers and dogs. What I didn't plan for was the Nickleback Concert they all went to the night before and all stayed out drinking till 4 in the morning!!
Needless to say when it came time to move the coop all I had was myself and my father in law....too older gentleman with bad backs!!!!
Well with the help of some 1" galvanized pipe sections to work as rollers, we began to move the beast...all was going well, then flash back!! : "VERY CAREFULLY measured the garage door opening making sure not to exceed that in build height" unquote!!! It was 3/4" too tall to clear the garage door opening!!
...well being the very wise man my father-in-law is he recommended removing the top piece of trim from the garage door opening, and what do you know!! It squeeked under with a 1/16th to spare!!
Well we continued to roll it in to place, put the concrete pads under it, and dug the one foot ditch around it to bury the hardware cloth,
and put the roof on it in one day!!
I am so glad it out of the garage, and move in day is next weekend!! Here are some of the pics showing the progress, or lack there of...lol!! Enjoy!!
Framing under way!!
Rafters installed after carefully measuring the garage door opening..LOL!!!!
Installing all the 1/2" hardware mesh......PAIN IN THE BUTT!!! Entire coop including the roof is covered in the stuff.
Framing in the plexi-glass windows..
Installing the siding...going for that "rustic" look.
egg door
egg door
Clean-out door
pop door
clean out door finished
interior "floating" walls painted, they can be removed for cleaning and for adding insulation in the winter.
Flooring added...later I put linoleum down over this for easy cleaning.
Outside....FINALLY!!!!!
ditch filled in
buried hardware mesh
Roof on, and door installed!!
my EMPTY garage....whoo hoo!!
I still have to install the chicken ladder to the pop door, and mount some roosts and poop boards both in the run, and in the henhouse. Nesting boxes will come later as the girls are only 5 weeks,,,,got a little more time to accomplish that!!
I will be putting sand in the run with some pine shavings mixed with some DE, if I can find it, and there will be pine shavings in the hen house with some more DE.
Feeder, and waterer will be hung up under the henhouse..I will post the updated pics after moving day.
Thanks to all my BYC friends for all the advise and ideas, please feel free to make suggestions for improvements, and share lessons learned.
*****UPDATE!!*****
Well we finally finished the rather lengthy "to do" list to finish the Coop Mahal. Last night was moving night for the girls, and was a complete sucess. As you will see in the pictures, the girls loved thier new digs, and figured out the new feeder instantly. Now using the ramp up to the henhouse was a different story, that took a few treats and some coaxing to get them in last night!!
This morning I went out and raised the pop door and they all stood in the door way looking puzzled until the "big bully", our roo named Bill, shoved one of the girls out the door as if to say "you first!" She rather ungracefully desended the ramp and instantly began munching on the scratch I had put out for them. When the others saw this it was a mad rush down the ramp!!
Any way here are the pics of "OPERATION MOVING DAY" Enjoy!!
Checking out the new feeder
right at home
ramp and pop door
The Coop Mahal
The "auto-matic" door opener....one human required, not included....
The Chicked Saloon
Home Sweet Home!!
Well as our luck and fate would have it, we discovered that lil fuzzy butts grow FAST!! REAL FAST!!
So I got on the "chicken information super highway" aka BYC and did hours of pain staking research and finally settled on a plan, got the material list, made about 50 trips to various hardware/home improvement stores looking for sales and scavenging through thier "dunnage piles" to gather all I would need to build our "Garden Coop". The whole time this stage is occurring it was sunny and beautiful spring weather here in central/southern Indiana then came construction day.....and it started to rain!!
Well after 4 rainey weekends in a row, it was time to move the "coopmahal" out of the garage, and in to place. I had literally done all I could inside. After CAREFUL planning, I invited 6 of my bestest buddies over for a good ole fashioned "coop moving party" complete with cold beers, and burgers and dogs. What I didn't plan for was the Nickleback Concert they all went to the night before and all stayed out drinking till 4 in the morning!!
Well we continued to roll it in to place, put the concrete pads under it, and dug the one foot ditch around it to bury the hardware cloth,
and put the roof on it in one day!!
I am so glad it out of the garage, and move in day is next weekend!! Here are some of the pics showing the progress, or lack there of...lol!! Enjoy!!
Framing under way!!
Rafters installed after carefully measuring the garage door opening..LOL!!!!
Installing all the 1/2" hardware mesh......PAIN IN THE BUTT!!! Entire coop including the roof is covered in the stuff.
Framing in the plexi-glass windows..
Installing the siding...going for that "rustic" look.
egg door
egg door
Clean-out door
pop door
clean out door finished
interior "floating" walls painted, they can be removed for cleaning and for adding insulation in the winter.
Flooring added...later I put linoleum down over this for easy cleaning.
Outside....FINALLY!!!!!
ditch filled in
buried hardware mesh
Roof on, and door installed!!
my EMPTY garage....whoo hoo!!
I still have to install the chicken ladder to the pop door, and mount some roosts and poop boards both in the run, and in the henhouse. Nesting boxes will come later as the girls are only 5 weeks,,,,got a little more time to accomplish that!!
Feeder, and waterer will be hung up under the henhouse..I will post the updated pics after moving day.
Thanks to all my BYC friends for all the advise and ideas, please feel free to make suggestions for improvements, and share lessons learned.
*****UPDATE!!*****
Well we finally finished the rather lengthy "to do" list to finish the Coop Mahal. Last night was moving night for the girls, and was a complete sucess. As you will see in the pictures, the girls loved thier new digs, and figured out the new feeder instantly. Now using the ramp up to the henhouse was a different story, that took a few treats and some coaxing to get them in last night!!
Any way here are the pics of "OPERATION MOVING DAY" Enjoy!!
Checking out the new feeder
right at home
ramp and pop door
The Coop Mahal
The "auto-matic" door opener....one human required, not included....
The Chicked Saloon
Home Sweet Home!!
