8x12 Coop with Open Front construction

[jcoenen]

Progress of my 8x12 chicken coop. Didn't really follow a plan and kind of winged it. Took slightly longer than I expected and still a ways to go

Humble beginnings - "I'll probably have this thing mostly done today."

Chicken dance structural testing of the platform

It's amazing how much you can fit in a mini-van

Walls went up actually quicker than I expected

T1-11 installed

Chicken coop is a beast and survived 60mph storm with damaging winds that didn't budge the coop

My daughters favorite chicken getting a tour of the soon to be completed coop

I told my wife I would move the coop off the driveway once I got the floor on as I didn't want it to get too heavy, but it was so much more convenient working on it right by the garage. There was smoke but my wife's minivan was able to move it off the driveway. I ended up actually partially snapping one of my skids due to the insufficient lateral bracing and the fact that I had to turn rather sharply to get it headed towards the back yard. Sistered some 2x4's on the side and installed some 4x4 bracing in the middle. Still afraid to move it at this point.

Throwing some primer on the inside of the coop

Poop box built and BlackJack 57 installed on the floor

Nest box completed and chickens finally moved in.

Remaining ToDo
Move it off front lawn
Paint it
Install Gable Vent

We are actually headed out west for a 2.5 week vacation so our birds will be getting used to the new digs while we are gone and hopefully forget all about their first home (my garage). Normally they free range from sun up to sun down.

 

[oregonkat]

Great looking coop. How do the chickens get in an out, from the underneath?
Are your windows covered with hardware cloth against the inevitable predators?
Your kids are wonderful, BTW!!

 

[tjo804]

Great coop! Your Ladies will All be happy with this I think

 

[KikiLeigh02]

Oh my goodness, your kids are adorable! I was wondering how they're getting in and out too?

 

[jcoenen]

Yes there will be a chicken door in the front between the two windows (shoot another thing for my todo list). It wasn't a high priority as I just used the human door for now and I knew the first two weeks they'd be staying put so one less thing for me to worry about. I plan to do a guillotine type door between those two front windows and it's framed for it already.

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

Awesome build and great kids. I'd do some X braces from one side to the other to really stabilize the runners (2 x 4's should do nicely for that). You have really good support front to back but at least two x braces to prevent lean over would make dragging it a lot more stable.

 

[jcoenen]

Great looking coop. How do the chickens get in an out, from the underneath?
Are your windows covered with hardware cloth against the inevitable predators?
Your kids are wonderful, BTW!!

Yes front windows are all hardware cloth - kind of hard to see.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Nice job, love those huge windows and the large overhangs (and good job putting the kids to work!)