adding to the coop

[oldchickenlady]

I just finished my coop about 2 weeks ago. I am so proud of it! But...I can't stop doing things to it! I painted a name on it "the Biddy Barn" because it is barn red. Ok, I could see that. Then the other day I read a post about someone wanting add another level in their coop to enlarge the amount of 'floor space' they had. I thought, I could do that in the run! My coop is big enough for my 12 but the run is a little shy of the 10 sq feet/ bird. So, I found some shelving boards in my garage left from the previous owner and went to work. My chickens now have an interior partial second story loft area in their run. It gave me a place to hang a waterer, too. Then, after completing that, I decided to paint some eggs on the door of the coop along with "Eggs For Sale" . Then after that (this is all in one day) I started looking at ways to add on another run to the other side of the coop! What's wrong with me? I couldn't wait until I finished this thing and I can't seem to stop messing with it! Of course, I want some more chickens, but I haven't convinced my DH yet (wont be long )
Does anyone else have this problem/obsession/addiction?

 

[I-Have-Happy-Hens]

Yes

But, I am getting more chicks

in the spring so i kind of need to before it gets cold out.

 

[PhilErvin]

If you're looking for folks with the chicken addiction you have come to the right place. Our particular addictions vary but we are all bitten by the bug. I understand your pride, now PLEASE SHARE WITH US. Take the time to add pictures to your blog.

 

[fldiver97]

Started with a 'pre-fab' coop for 5 chickens.....then built a run with roof, roosts and nestboxes. Well, why not paint and decorate it.....?

Ohhh....will this be OK for winter? Let's convert the shed to a coop, move the run too.

The chickens will have more room in the winter, just in case they don't like to walk around in a few feet of snow....

Better expand the run a little bit....

All this in the first 6 months of chicken keeping. The next 6 months were less 'productive'.....remodeled the inside a bit more.....new 2 level roost, new ladder, new PVC type feeder, some chicken decor.......

More fun than shoe shopping.......And checking the BYC forum for more and better ideas - makes me a hopeless case

 

[oldchickenlady]

Quote:
Well, I had already posted pics when I finished but here is the story line...
While looking at a horse for sale at a man's house, I noticed he had some really pretty yellow chickens...I mean beautiful! I wanted some...but I resisted the urge to get some for 3 years, mainly because I already had enough on my plate to take care of. Well, with children growing up and bringing my horses home instead of boarding them, I decided last spring I had enough time and energy to get some chickens. I told my DH and he was NOT for the plan at all! I convinced him by telling him they would eat the ticks in the yard. Now I really had no idea if they would or not, but that's what I told him. I really didn't want too many, but to allow for losses I bought 12 sexed 3 day old chicks. 6 Buff O's and 6 RIR's. Here's pic of them in my horse trough brooder in the living room.

I picked them up on April 22, and was told to keep them inside for 3 weeks. So, not much time for deciding on and building a run, I found this website and starting lurking on here to find a good reasonably priced but totally secure run. I settled on a version of the pvc hoop run...partly because I could do the majority of it by myself, it would be movable (with help), and I could afford it. So, here it is...

I turned the horse trough onto it's side and let the chicks sleep in that at night and for protection from wind and rain. They lived in the run at night and free ranged during the day. Then in July I started thinking about building the coop. I initially thought about a short 4'x8' coop with a drop down door on the back for cleaning, but I knew that would be too small for 12 birds (I had no losses due to illness or predators) so, I decided on an 6x8, but then knew I might as well go whole hog! So, with very little knowledge of construction, I again prowled the coop pages until I found one I thought I could base my plans on and maybe build with minimal help. I wanted it to be 8x8, with vents high up and 2 windows. Well, in the process of building the floor, my teenage son said he knew a man who could help me build it for $150.00! I hired him and he helped me get the framing, the walls, the windows, door, and roof constructed. It was soooo worth it! So here are some pics of the process:

So now I have the walls, door, windows, and roof done. It is time to start painting and predator proofing. I checked the oops paint at several stores, but couldn't find a paint I could live with in sufficient quantity, so I took advantage of a paint sale at TSC and bought barn red. So I painted it barn red...

I thought it looked a little plain just painted red, so I decided to put some white trim on it to pretty it up somewhat (partly to try to appease my DH, since it is sitting in front of our house!).

Ok, now the outside is mostly finished, time to start on the inside. by this time my DH was feeling a little guilty that I had done ALL of this without any help from him, so he said he would help paint the inside while I was at work one day. I told him the inside was going to be white so it wouldn't be too dark in there in the winter. Well, he calls me at work and says he has all the studs painted inside the coop. He is so pleased with himself! Some little voice in the back of my head said "What color did he paint it?" So, I asked him. "Well, barn red of course!" I laughed a little and said that I wanted it white! He got mad and said he wasn't painting anything else! So I finished out the painting. The walls are white with red studs...the reverse of the outside! So now it is time to construct the roost and I wanted a poop board and nests. All the while this construction is going on, it is 98 degrees in the shade and humid as heck! I was wearing down! I figured out a way to do the poop board supports so they wouldn't be in the way for cleaning.

By this time I am very tired of spending every single day off working on this coop! Instead of building nest boxes as I had planned, I just put buckets inside for nests, thinking I could do better when it cools off!

So now I have to cut a pop door and attach the run to the coop. Fun stuff that was! Not one single level spot to put it! Oh well, good for drainage I suppose! How I managed to cut out that pop door and not cut a finger or hand off, I'll never know!

I wanted the door to lock, but I didn't want to have to go into the coop to open it, so I figured out that a sliding up/down door was my easiest option since I could not afford an auto door right now! With just 2 attempts at it, I figured out a way that wouldn't kill a chicken and would actually work.

Sorry about the poop in the picture, you know that is the first thing they did...poop in the doorway! Here is a pic of the 2 haystrings that control the door, one to unlock it, one to raise it!

The strings run out to the front of the run where I can open it from the driveway on my way to work!

So here is the finished product.

I guess you can tell I am pretty proud of myself for doing all this with minimal help from DH. I have painted "The Biddy Barn" and "Eggs for Sale" and a pile of eggs on the door to up the cuteness factor, but those pics are still in my camera and I cant find my camera cable to connect to the computer. So will have to post those later. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out how to talk my DH into another run and smaller coop for about 6 more chickens! Wyandottes! I want some Wyandottes!