A chicken rookie's coop project...

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Wow...that looks amazing already! Next you can fly up here and build me one!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

M&LO :

Originally....no. The hardware wire was just going to enclose the chickens. After working on this project for another 3 hours this morning....I'm having serious
2nd thoughts about even having a run. It would indeed be too hard to get in there and clean with my current design so now I'm thinking of taking a chainsaw
and cutting the run off altogther and just fencing in a large part of the yard.

NO! That's why you have grand kids! LOL It doesn't look that small in the pics?? Just make a gate and put lots of sand in there. You don't have to clean it that often--especially if you don't have too many chickens in there...just rake it once in a while.

 

[Sootsie]

yey grandkids love cleaning out the chickens and collecting eggs, then making egg and cress sandwhiches with the cress they grow in egg cups

 

[M&LO]

Another day of work completed...all of the staining is done on the surfaces that will be exposed and under the hardware cloth.....
There's a roof on the coop part and hardware cloth is installed on the front half of the run. The saga continues!!!

Oh yeah...the unstained part will be painted to match my little barn.

 

[NotAFarm]

You are doing a fantastic job!!

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

This is how I've had the ventilation and drafts explained to where I could understand it.

The ventilation is for air circulation. You need lots of it. What you DONT want are drafts that hit your birds directly. Imagine your bird perched in front of a draft. It's feathers would be ruffled by the wind, therefore disturbing the feathers natural ability to keep the bird warm. That help? I would imagine in Georgia (just visited there, beautiful and such polite people!!) that you'd need plenty of ventilation and the opportunity for a nice summer breeze to blow through the coop. Here's a pic of my covered run. I have a sliding window right at the roost level so that in the heat of the summer they get plenty of cool air on them. I can shut it of course when the icy cold air is hitting the coop.
Outside looking in and same window inside looking out. Oh, I can also keep the people door open on really hot days. Your coop is coming along beautifully!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Very nice job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't get rid of the run!!! I agree- put some sand or just leave it dirt and let the rain wash it clean....

You shouldn't have to go in there too often.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Looking good!

 

[BrattishTaz]

Wow! M&LO, that coop is looking really good!

I am also new to chickens and definately not a builder. (I voted to have Manual Labor deported a long time ago!)

Anyway, my mother and I have been building a new coop for a couple of days now. We decided to build the wall frames on the ground and then put it all together at once. We will also be adding hurricane straps since we live in FL. As for ventilation, we will have windows, the "gap" at the top of the wall, and a screened people door all covered with hardware cloth. Oak trees will provide adequate shade. I only hope it looks half as good as yours when we finish.

...and congratulations to your daughter-in-law....I hope she doesn't mind if we stare and drool a little.

 

[Sinfonian]

Wow, that's huge! Great, your chickens will love it. When I build mine, it'll be only 18 SF, 6x6x3 with a two-foot run underneath, very portable for moving around my yard as necessary. Mine will be only a tad generous for 4 birds, yours much more so.

I too am concerned about ventilation vs. drafts. Where oh where to place my vents to provide circulation but not ruffle feathers. Grrr.

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait until the next installment.