Building 4x4 Barn style coop with 4x8 run

[tbatz11]

After drawing up a plan for the run and doing a little online research I decided on the roofing for the coop and run roof.

For the run well use green steel panels like on a barn. I think they'll hold up better than the plastic ones i've seen.
http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...siding/10-l-pro-rib-steel-panel/p-2365272.htm

Then for the roof of the coop we'll use these:
http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...ural-shingles-covers-32-9-sq-ft/p-1931567.htm In the woodland green color.

We'll pick up the shingles tomorrow as well as better wood for the trim. I'm not sure how much work we will get done this week because Mike has to work 6:30pm - 7am for the next 5 days. Today we got siding up on the last wall, so i'll at least get that painted and get some of the trim on.

I attempted to make an online drawing but got too confused with the application so here is an example of my drawing skills

 

[tbatz11]

I have no idea how people manage to take cute photos of their chicks. They NEVER stop moving!!

They're also very messy. I was able to drill a couple of holes in their feeder and hung it up and so far it has been great at keeping out pine shavings and poop. I tried to find a waterer with a handle on top so I could hang that too, but the smallest they sell around here is 2 gallons, which is too big for our brooder.

After coming back from the store (having spent way too much on trim wood) I decided to try a little duct tape DIY. I found a piece of copper wire, taped it to the waterer, then bent 2" of the ends up, then taped around some more. And voila! Only time will tell how well this works at keeping the water clean.







They look so funny with their adult feathers growing out

Sorry about the poop in the pic, i hadn't changed the press-n-seal wrap today. It makes cleaning up the EcoGlow a LOT easier!



Last night I also added a dust bath to the brooder. I used a planter bowl and used about half and half dirt and saw dust from the wood we've been cutting. But I haven't seen them use it yet, so i'll see how it goes.



Ooh! I almost forgot. I've been giving the girls a hard boiled egg almost daily. I hold it in my palm and they've been very good at eating out of my hand and letting me touch them! Otherwise they're terrified of being handled, except for the buff orpington, she could care less. I love how friendly she is! One of them also likes to peck at the flowers I have tattooed on my forearm =)

Mike is at the funeral today, so as soon as I can get my little boy to bed I'll start working on painting the rest of the coop and cutting some trim. We won't have time to get the roof up until this weekend.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I heard that baby chicks each poop once every 15 minutes, so a sparkling clean brooder lasts all of about 5 minutes before somebody poops. Wood shaving hide it some but any other surface is dirty the moment you are done cleaning.

 

[twfernandez]

I think your photos are great!

Looking forward to seeing more pics as they grow up and get moved into their new coop & run!

T&S

 

[rides2far]

Dusty looks just like my cat, Jinx!

 

[tbatz11]

I've had a busy day/night with the coop. Busy and frustrating!

Cutting and putting up trim is a pain in the neck! (and back, and knees, and fingers) I cleaned out Lowe's of 3/8x3x3' pine boards and I still need more. I couldn't find anyone to ask when they'd get more in stock. I also bought some 1x3 boards to trim around the base of the coop but they looked too thick at the base of the siding, maybe they'd look better below the siding attached to the floor frame? I don't know. What do you think?




This is the chicken entryway. I used the 1x3 for this. (the pic colors may look odd, It was very dark so i had to edit a bit)



This is the window cover on the chicken door side. This thing took me forever! I used thin PVC trim because I thought it would be easier to work with. Well it's not! Nails wouldn't hold it in so i had to add small screws. Then I had issues with attaching it. I swear i wanted to rip my hair out along with all the trim on this thing. I had to cut the trim off the top part, then add a spacer piece for it to hold the hinges and open/close properly. I wish I was more creative when it came to building stuff.


The red board is cut to fit the opening and I wanted the trim to go around it to keep out rain during storms.
I know there's an overkill of trim on this thing, but I really had no idea how else to do it.




I guess the gap can't be avoided. It will be under the cover of the run at least. But the other window won't have any cover and I don't know what to do about it. Make it the same or figure out something different.



I found these neat little closures (I forget what they're called) and they'll work perfectly to latch the windows and nesting box.
I thought I had the bottom one in low enough when I started to screw it in, but it ended up a little high.



And this is what I got for the cleanout door. We haven't made it yet.


I was up till one am last night working on this stuff! Cutting, painting, repeat.
Today everything got nailed and some more paint went on over the nails.
But at least I was done by 10. I even made dinner!

Almost forgot. This is what I'd like to do for the nesting box door...


It kind of looks like the lid has trim around the edges. Have to wait for Mike to cut it for me though. I'm too afraid of using the circular saw and the jig saw makes a jagged cut. it's old, maybe the newer ones work better.

Time for painkillers and bed

 

[twfernandez]

The coop is really looking good!

Quote:
Maybe just a tiny awning? Say, 5" depth, width 2" wider than the window on either side? You could custom cut the shingles you will be using for the coop to fit the awning.



ttyl,
T&S

 

[Clemsonchickfan]

Your coop is looking amazing! I'm really enjoying reading all of your updates.

 

[tbatz11]

Quote:
That's a great idea! Thanks!

 

[tbatz11]

You know what happens when you put a roof on a coop? It gets super dark inside!
After screwing around with the windows for so long I changed my mind on the style completely and made new ones using plexiglas.
By the time I wake up the sun is already up, and my husband may not remember to open up the coop and windows before work. I thought the ladies should probably have some light as soon as it comes up. So here is what I came up with...


I bought a small plexiglass sheet .100 thick, 18"24" for $10 and a very helpful plastic cutter. Then cut and painted (on all sides) some 3/8"x2" wood for the frames. Then I used a plastic glue/sealer on all the edges and screwed the plexiglass in with self drilling 3/4" screws. Most of them stripped because they're meant for metal i think and not wood. But they still help hold everything together, especially with the sealant. I did this while the sealant was still wet.


The smaller window wouldn't stay closed all the way so after I took this pic I had sanded some parts down and now it closes well. I spray painted some hooks black and will out those on to keep the windows latched.


Yay, the roof is on!

1st was the tar paper, then 1"x3"s under the eaves on 2 sides, then a drip edge on all 4 sides.


I sealed the drip edge (which was a bit too short) before we put the shingles on. Well all the hammering made it crack so I had to redo it all again after the roof was all done.




This is how Mike cut the pieces for the ridge cap, which I completely forgot to get a picture of when it was done.




Instead of nailing the shingles on the roof edges we used some tar sealant and a heat gun to activate the tar that was already on there.
We did the shingling during a cloudy day. I learned that the reason you're supposed to shingle a roof on a hot sunny day is so that the sun can make the tar sticky and seal the shingles to each other. Since we didn't have any sun, we used the heat gun to go allover the shingles and made sure everything was sealed tight. Heat also makes the shingles more pliable and easier to work with.



The trouble with the nest box. When we framed it, we didnt think about how the lid would sit on it. It ended up having a ledge, which only got bigger with the siding and trim. I had to attach more trim and wood parts to make it come to a point. It was such a hassle!



After building and attaching the lid, with 2 3" hinges, I stapled on some tar paper, then a rubber strip on top to keep out the rain. The rubber was actually a piece of trim that they use in clinics and hospitals. I cut off the lip part and turned the backside to face out.



To attach the shingles onto the 1/2" thick lid we used 3/4" screws with washers so the screws wouldn't go all the way through. It worked out perfectly! I put weather stripping all around the underside of the lid, but it got stuck onto the nest box so i'll be removing it and using a different kind. The edge of the lid doesn't have anything covering the part that sticks out, i'm still figuring out how i'll seal it so rain doesn't get it. I have some ideas though.



Side view of the lid. This thing was probably the most frustrating thing we've worked on so far! It's a tight fit. We even cut it to be bigger on all sides and made sure everything was squared off (lid and nesting box), and it WAS perfectly square! But did it go on squarely? NO! There was a lot of swearing and sanding inside the lid going on before we got it to sit right. But now there is a gap on the sides of it in some spots. Ohh well.



This is the cleanout door. I wanted to use foam unsulation in it because there was nothing to staple regular insulation to and it would have slid down inside. I paid $20 for a 4x8 sheet and we used less than a 30" square of it. They didn't have any scraps

The door is done and half of it painted. i was going to do a second coat today on the trim and door but I feel like a pile of poo. So maybe tomorrow.
Mike has worked nights again all of last week so we didn't get much done. The chicks are 5 weeks old as of yesterday and I can tell they want to get out of the brooder. I really hope we can get this done soon.