Once all of the outer walls went in, we trimmed around them to clean up the edges and laid galvanized corrugated metal roofing. As you can see, the outer wall of the coop area is trimmed around edges of access doors that allow us to retrieve eggs from the nesting areas without ever having to step foot in the run.

We ended up switching out the 2x4 with a simple branch that was cut with screw eyes. After manually placing Popeye (the Barred Rock) up on the swing to check it out, one of our more adventurous Australorps, Luna, decided to jump up and check it out as well.

We created a couple of dust bathing areas, using a combination of sand, soil, diatomaceous earth, and wood ash. This would give some areas for the chickens to clean themselves of any potential mites and fungus. As you can see, we also hung a chicken swing; using a rounded 2x4 and some nylon rope. The chickens didnt seem interested at all in checking out a floating 2x4 so I would eventually change it.

On the inside of the run, we also trimmed around access doors that allow us to easily open the coop up and sweep out the litter into the run. This makes for quick and easy cleaning, and also gives the chickens a chance to compost the litter even more before it is raked out into the yard.

Once all of the outer walls went in, we trimmed around them to clean up the edges and laid galvanized corrugated metal roofing. As you can see, the outer wall of the coop area is trimmed around edges of access doors that allow us to retrieve eggs from the nesting areas without ever having to step foot in the run.

We also ended up ordering a pair of 12"x18" windows from Amazon. These windows provided the perfect amount of light and ventilation for the center portions of the coop. We also cut small 4"x12" windows out along the top of the nesting area walls, and then covered them with hardware clloth and framed them in as well.

We then started building the ramps that would connect the floors. Simple plywood with 1x2's for the rails and steps made for sturdy entries to the second floor. You can see the Popeye has already discovered how to get up to the second floor.

Once the second floor was put in, we decided it was time to started fastening the hardware cloth around the run area, and hang the door. The hardware cloth is 1/4" galvanized mesh. This is a finer mesh square than most hardware cloth setups on coops, but this mesh was also a heavier gauge, which made it mush stronger than the average hardware cloth. The mesh was stapled down the vertical runs on the studs, and then eventually covered by a 1x4 "fascia" piece that was painted the same color. This added additional reinforcement of the mesh.

Once all of the outer walls went in, we trimmed around them to clean up the edges and laid galvanized corrugated metal roofing. As you can see, the outer wall of the coop area is trimmed around edges of access doors that allow us to retrieve eggs from the nesting areas without ever having to step foot in the run.

tbonius
Feb 24, 2016

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