.Raising the structure 36" off the ground provides a dry hang out for the birds when the weather is wet and a place to hang the feed buckets that wont ruin the mash.

We cut a gap in the fence with our neighbors so we can move the chickens between the coop and the new Run being built on the other side of the fence, We used the cut out to fashion a door that can be raised and lowered to allow access between our properties.

Heres the finished result, happy birds on the new roost. They seem to like the outdoor roosts better then the ones in the coop we installed.

Our access ramp is made of some old plywood decking and strips of wood runners ripped from scrap 2x4s. two long wood struts run the length of the ramp to give it rigidity underneath. Its top edge is hinged so it can be lifted up and latched closed to confine the birds in the coop during storms (we live in sunny hurricane friendly Florida) and other bad weather

.Raising the structure 36" off the ground provides a dry hang out for the birds when the weather is wet and a place to hang the feed buckets that wont ruin the mash.

With the floor deck in (notice the trap door for access), we mounted the egg boxes agaisnt the wall with the Egg Door in it. All six boxes can be reached thru then smaller door in the wall behind the boxes. We made our boxes 12 x 14 inches each and the birds seem to like the room.

Here we are constructing the frames for the egg boxes. Again, all from recycled pallet wood. We are aiming for a 6 chicken coop, so we will be adding three pullets to our chix clan soon...our neighbors are also involved, building a Chicken Run on their side of the fence so the birds can have some Day room and hosting the old coop while we built this one. One oof ur neighbors girls, Emily, is our official Chicken Helper and comes over to feed and help clean up daily. We will soon be sharing the eggs and care/feeding on an alternating day basis...

We started with a post and deck design, mostly taken from a BYC Coops design selection, called the Maxwell House. THANKS Guys, its a great design and a good place for our project to start, even though we added some of our own ideas to it. We actually bought new posts and cement, but the floor boards and walls are all recycled wood from pallets. Our aim was a 75% recycled content or higher for the design and construction...we actually came in around 50%, just because used wire is NO FUN to work with...

W

.Raising the structure 36" off the ground provides a dry hang out for the birds when the weather is wet and a place to hang the feed buckets that wont ruin the mash.

wtrivers
Jun 21, 2012

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