So I think the coop is officially done... Chicken "Roster" sign is up and my coop sign arrived yesterday. The 4 letters are the initials of our family members. My little butterfly daughter there is one of the M's. She's currently smiling sideways because she just lost her bottom 2 teeth! :)
Ha! I have one, you just can't see it in that picture because a tree is blocking it. It's over the garage on the left. That's where the great idea came from. Now I know why the contractor charged me so much for it! That is probably the first and last cupola I will ever build. :)
Then how about spicing up the house so you can build a great coop! :) I've seen some pretty cool home transformations around me with just paint and sometimes a few added details. One of the looks that is big right now is the dark/gray blue house paint with the white trim- what a pop. Takes a...
Hi, so last update here... because it's DONE! Woohoo! A 20-Day build. Started on 4/2 finished on 4/22. Excited to have it finished, for sure. I will probably write up an article in case my experience can help people on their builds.
Here are the final pictures and some extras to show how...
Lowes has a good 1x1 wire roll in the garden center. I really should look into getting sponsored from them with as much as I recommend their products haha.
It's 1x1 metal wire. It's plenty tough enough to keep predators out- but the wonderful thing is the poop (falling from 18-40 inches up) goes right through it. So I don't barely ever have to clean the coop- just rake the poop out from underneath, which is easy and takes just minutes.
I see...
Painting this one! Haha. I actually just finished building a pretty awesome treehouse... I think I am going to take a break. When I sold my old coop where this one sat on craigslist, it literally sold in 1 day with like 20 emails about it... which told me there is a lot of demand here in...
Here you go, price varies by area I assume. They usually stock these in big piles outside the lumber entrance.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Severe-Weather-Common-1-in-x-6-in-x-6-ft-Actual-0-625-in-x-5-5-in-x-6-ft-Pressure-Treated-Wood-Pine-Dog-Ear-Wood-Fence-Picket/3525606
Actually, I used treated fence boards from Lowes (6' dog-eared ones in huge piles in the outdoor lumber area). They only cost $1.65 per board. So if you do the quick math, you're getting 3 square feet of coverage for about 55 cents per square foot- and a great look in the process, plus it is...
Next set of pictures I'll open those all us. You have most correct.
- Top long one is my brooder.
- Bottom 2 are 4 boxes each.
- Right one is Storage.
- Other side 2 big doors are cleanouts.
Some updates- the finish line is in sight! I got the door trim on, the inside walls built (so there are no ledges of any kind they can roost on aside from the roosts... aka all poop goes down through the wire!). And of course they needed a porch swing, so I had to take care of that. :) Only...
Yep, the entire floor is wire. Plus the cupola is actually vented too, and the rafter tails above the wall are open with screen. So lots of ventilation but all as well hidden as I could make it.
Hi guys, here's an update! Made quite a bit of progress the last few days. The coop is probably at about 90% now- and enough that tonight is the first night the birds are moving in! They started going in theirselves the last few days and I didn;t want to chase them out so tonight I closed up...
Yeah temp housing is like... man I want to make this awesome but I just don't want to put too much into it. Just save all your awesome ideas for the non-temp one in a year- it will give you something to look forward to!
You'd be surprised. Plus it is the 100% best excuse to buy new tools. I mean... think of all the money you are saving doing it yourself! It's a little akin to chicken math! Makes complete sense to me.
Go ahead and challenge yourself! I'm not a carpenter either! I'm actually an IT Exec... with a serious case of OCD apparently that I learned while making this coop. :) Oh and some pretty sweet cordless dewalt tools.
These are windows I reclaimed from an old house. I am leaving them stationary. They are 75% for looks of course, but I actually use them to do flock checks at night when I close up the coop as well (I have one on my other coop) and they don't seem to bother the birds at all. I was going to...
Here's today's update- got the front on! I think this officially puts me on Day 10.
Need to figure out what to do above the front door there... big open space. Maybe a coop sign. Was also thinking of doing a little sign that said all the inhabitants and their names and possibly year added...
It's a lot of fun and very rewarding building something with your own hands, regardless of how big or small! You'll have to post pictures so we can see your progress!