Another view of the nest box being built. I had to use very thick plywood because the plans call for the highest point of the sides to be 18". After four straight days of rain, I noticed one end of the access panel door has swollen and I will be replacing it with a piece of wood. since the height is just a little over 8". I will also be replacing the narrow strip above the access panel with wood.

The back of the original coop. I am not sure why it sloped down like that unless it was to shelter the chickens. At first I thought it might be an external access to the nest boxes, but it wasn't

Here it is...the original chicken coop-before any renovations. It does have character though. LOL

My first nest box build...I was pretty impressed that the instructions were so easy to understand and the pictures helped a lot! I think I am going to change the hinges to bigger ones just to make it more sturdy when opening the door. The project went pretty smooth other than trying to figure out how to notch out the side of the board I put on the wall that butts up against the nest box. Trying to notch it out with my Sonicrafter resulted in a trip to the UTC for a tetanus shot since I sliced my finger right down the area where the fingernail meets the finger. I didn't have to get stitches though because the cut was so straight and precise. They just used Dermabond liquid stitches to close it up. What a day that was! Made me second guess taking on this project.
Here is the link for the nest box plans/instructions.
http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2011/03/10/external-nest-box-plans/

Another view of the nest box being built. I had to use very thick plywood because the plans call for the highest point of the sides to be 18". After four straight days of rain, I noticed one end of the access panel door has swollen and I will be replacing it with a piece of wood. since the height is just a little over 8". I will also be replacing the narrow strip above the access panel with wood.

Beginning steps of my external nest box for easy access to the eggs. This was another idea I got from an internet search. I have always said, if I can "Google" it, I can do it!

My door-almost finished. It is clamped here since I used wood glue under the cross boards. I also have to run boards down the side, but my lumber got wet and I have to dry it out first.

The pieces for my coop door. I found a great piece of wood at Lowe's to use for the door, but it really wasn't wide enough (only 24" wide) so I used a couple of 1x3's and put one on each side of the door to make it wider. The cross bars hold those in place. I got the inspiration for this door from a great YouTube video tutorial by Michael Bronco. I have subscribed to his YouTube channel as he has numerous instructional videos on how to make doors, windows, etc. Here is a link to the video that inspired my door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCcBcek8DLU

He also has a video that shows how to make a garden fence. Although not the same, a chicken run could be built based on his video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svfIpO9EcfM

Another view of the nest box being built. I had to use very thick plywood because the plans call for the highest point of the sides to be 18". After four straight days of rain, I noticed one end of the access panel door has swollen and I will be replacing it with a piece of wood. since the height is just a little over 8". I will also be replacing the narrow strip above the access panel with wood.

nursedm111
May 7, 2013

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