Beginning coop construction...

[aart]

Looking good!
It just goes on and on, and on, and on, doesn't it?

 

[beautifulpirate]

Looking good!! I wish I was that close to done with mine.  

Looking good!
It just goes on and on, and on, and on, doesn't it?

Thank you both! I actually have foregone a couple cosmetic additions just because I want it to be done haha. I was going to add white trim at the corners, where the walls meet and I was going to add little coral colored faux shutters to match the ramp and door. Of course, we are building a small run for now that can easily be expanded on later. We literally built walls and erected them then attached them together. So when we are ready to expand, we can back the screws out, pull the walls out further and attach a wall extension as needed. So in theory, when we do that stuff, I can get in there to add my trim on later. The shutters I can still add on at any time since we lowered the portion of run connected directly to the coop so the windows could still be easily operated from outside the run. I just don't want to right now haha.

I started out with loads of enthusiasm for this project. Now it is dwindling and I am ready for a day off and I am dreaming of moving on to new projects haha.

 

[aart]

Get it functional, move the birds out, take a few days of rest, then ......


....building withdrawals will hit and you'll find yourself out there tweaking for functionality and applying aesthetics.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I started out with loads of enthusiasm for this project. Now it is dwindling and I am ready for a day off and I am dreaming of moving on to new projects haha.

I went through the same emotions when I built my coop. I swear I thought it was going to take only "A" weekend...not 3 weeks to finish.

aart has great advice, get it functional and usable...then take a break from it and come back to it later. Don't forget about it, just take a short hiatus from it.

...The project looks great by the way. I love it when a person takes such pride in what they do, you guys show great pride in your project.

 

[DreamsInPink]

@beautifulpirate

Very nice set up... I bet you are so excited to get those kids out on some grass! I know I am for mine. We are almost finished with the run.. just have to build a gate for us to go in and out of. Still have pop door, ramp, roosts, droppings boards and nesting boxes to do. Eesh. We did get the introduction pen finished the other day and got the teenage group out in the coop with the older ones...

I wish I could let them all out together!! Patience is NOT my strong suit. lol

 

[beautifulpirate]

The run is as done as it is gonna get this week. Lots of little things still to adjust and add but it was good enough for the chickens to go out in and play for the first time today. Which made me super happy. They seemed happy too. We have a 2 ft apron buried about an inch or so all around the sides. I need to tie some apron pieces in at the corners so we have some overlap.

The bottom four foot of the run is all 1/2" hardware cloth. The top is mainly 2" * 3" welded wire fencing. So it's not entirely predator proof but it is only meant to keep daytime critters out. The local neighborhood dogs and cats shouldn't be able to get in. The raptors probably wouldn't bother them anyway because of the tree cover, but this is extra for that too. The birds will be locked up at night in the coop which is pretty darn predator resistant. I'll try to take some better pics of some of the smaller aspects tomorrow.

First one to brave it...

But it didn't take them long at all...

 

[DreamsInPink]

Awwww!!! congratulations!! Yay! I bet they were sooo happy to get outside and play and just be chickens!!! So now you get to relax a little bit, right??

I can't wait to get mine outside! So did yours have any trouble coming back in at dark? That's my main concern. I have my oldest age group that's been in the coop for a week and a half... and I'm holding off putting them out in the run right away, ( even though the run isn't quite finished ) because I'm afraid I'll have a hard time getting them back in the coop. I really don't want to chase chickens.... hahaha

 

[beautifulpirate]

We actually chased them into the coop about fifteen minutes before dark. Hoping they will put themselves to bed tomorrow night on their own. My husband will leave for work tomorrow night well before it gets dark and there would be no way for me to round them up on my own lol so if that becomes the case, they may just be stuck outside over night.

 

[DreamsInPink]

Aw geez, yeah, that's exactly what I'm afraid of. lol I'm hoping by leaving them in the coop longer they will know that it's home and will be quicker to come back in. I don't know how long I need to do that though.

 

[beautifulpirate]

We had our s in the coop for probably a week and a half. BUT we put them up well before dark out. It is perfectly possible they would have gone up on their own once the natural lighting got down to minimal.