A labor of Love (finally a few pics)

[Yanna]

This really is a lovely coop. One could never tell from the photo that this was your first foray into carpentry. The design and the colors are very nice and I love that you chose to landscape it.

One suggestion, as long as you've taken the step of landscaping: Have you considered landscaping the coop with plants that could supplement your chickens' diet? Variety is the spice of life.

Thank you for posting your coop!

 

[C & A s Dad]

The landscaping was part of my agreement with my Wife to be sure the house was attractive to some degree. It is visible from our kitchen window and she wanted to be sure it was not an eyesore that she would be seeing everyday.

She is out of town right now and will be completing the landscaping with her own touch when she returns.

We have had the chicks in there on a trial run to see how they would do with Penny. They did ok but she made it clear that was here house and she did not want them in there. We will have to wait another couple of weeks before we actually move them in.

Once again, I do appreciate the gracious comments. I am looking for a sign or two now to put on the house as a final touch.

 

[asher]

Wow! That is GORGEOUS!!!

 

[akyramoto]

wow, thats one of those coops that really defines 'nice' I love getting to see coops like this. Look at all that beautiful shade!! ( sorry not many trees on my property )

 

[CarlaRiggs]

What a wonderful coop. You've done a beautiful job of building the coop and run. The entire scene has a very bucolic look to it; I can feel myself becoming calm! Just the thing a wife would like to see as she looks out her kitchen window. Nicely thought out design.... really a terrific piece of work.

Carla

 

[C & A s Dad]

Quote:
The woods are pretty heavy around the house and we really want a ton of ferns and hostas filling up all the areas that I have recently cleaned up. I can also see a bench and/or some outdoor furniture out there so we can just sit and watch them. However, our friends Mr. and Mrs. Mosquito make it difficult to be out there at dusk.

 

[ILoveJoe]

Beautiful.
I love the landscaping, it is nicer than around my house!

 

[La Banan]

What a very lovely coop - I'm bugging my fella to have a look! I went to the site you got it from too and it is also lovely but I think you improved it with the window in front. I really like that it has a big coop feel and proportions but is not too tall or large. Did you put any vents in or are you relying on the windows? And how did you decide to do the tunnel from the pop-door? And can I visit you??? Just kidding. You did a really swell job!!!

 

[lacysummer]

That is so cute, I love the color!

 

[C & A s Dad]

Thanks so much for the comments.

I used a continuous roof rige vent system on the very top of the roof. You can see how it sticks up on the top. The soffits are open and will have screen in them in a day or two. The system is used on many houses in my area. The air enters through the soffits, flows through the house and is drawn out of the very top through the ridge vent. Supposedly the hot air rises drawing in the cool air. I also built the window so they are simply "pinned in". I will be building 2 wire screen windows soon and will use them in the summer and put the windows back in in the winter.

The tunnel idea came about because I did not want the rain run off from the house to flow into the run. I moved the run back a few feet to avoid this and then connected the two with the tunnel.

One thing I failed to mention earlier that I hope will be a benefit down the road. My floor is 3/4" treated decking primed and painted on both sides with 2 coats of a premium paint. I cut the floor short about 8" down one of the side walls. This left a 8" hole or gap between the floor and the wall. I then cut a piece of plywood about 12" wide the length of the gap and attached it to the wall with a piano style continuous hinge creating a "trap door". My intention is to use this on "wash day" to wash the poo out under the house where it will drain right out the back,

You can see this "trap door" just barely under the waterer in this pic. We will see how it works soon.