Building 4x4 Barn style coop with 4x8 run

[tbatz11]

Thank you guys/ladies!

I think if we lived in the country we probably wouldn't have made it so pretty, and definitely bigger!
I keep telling M'ike that if we move this thing is coming with us. After all the effort we put into it there's no way I'd want to leave it behind. He tells me "good luck with that."

Lat night we started working on the run. We're framing the walls in the garage so it's easier to paint (plus it got really cold and windy out), then we'll assemble it outside, somehow.

I need to get some pics of the hens, they're huge!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Thank you guys/ladies!

I think if we lived in the country we probably wouldn't have made it so pretty, and definitely bigger!
I keep telling M'ike that if we move this thing is coming with us. After all the effort we put into it there's no way I'd want to leave it behind. He tells me "good luck with that."

Lat night we started working on the run. We're framing the walls in the garage so it's easier to paint (plus it got really cold and windy out), then we'll assemble it outside, somehow.

I need to get some pics of the hens, they're huge!

I like doing as much construction as I can in the garage but mine is currently full to bursting with little chickens and turkeys waiting for the combination of age, weather and finished construction projects to be right to move outdoors. So, I do my construction on the parking pad outside the garage. It makes framing so much easier to have a flat, level surface to work on.

 

[tbatz11]

Our driveway would have been the perfect spot for framing, it's nice and flat, unlike the garage which has slight slopes that go down the 2 drain holes. But we've only had a handful of warm sunny days so the garage has been the only place safe from the weather.

 

[tbatz11]

We are DONE!!!!!

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!
We have been very busy all weekend trying to finish the run and get the chicks outside. Today (5/25/15) was finally the day!

We framed the two sides of the run in the garage so I could paint in there. The rest of the building was done out back. The ground wasn’t level enough so we had to do a little digging to make the run sit right. It’s attached to the coop with 4 corner brackets. The run is 4x10 not 4x8, I can't edit the original post anymore.

We’ve never built this kind of a roof before so we kinda made things up as we went along. (with a bit of help from Google and BYC)





This was the start of putting up the hardware cloth (also known as the Devil’s Cloth). Now I know why people call it that, it is such a pain to work with!

While Mike was busy working at the new fire station Saturday, I had put the hardware cloth around the base of the coop and the rest of the run, then painted the framing for the door and the 2×4’s across the run. I forgot to paint the entrance to the run before attaching the hardware cloth and it was too much of a hassle using a paintbrush so I bought spray paint instead. Got all the screws and washers done too. Oh, and I made the door. It was in the garage drying at this point.



The dogs were very “helpful.” Oliver especially loved laying under the coop and sleeping =)
99% done! I didn’t get any photos of the roof building since we needed to use all of our hands. It was relatively painless. We rented some panel shears from Menards for $24/4rhs to cut the roofing sheets. It wen’t much quicker this way. Though it was hard to get them all cut perfectly. The panels would move a bit while being cut even with me holding them down.

Mike says the part under the roof looks bad not painted, I guess I’ll be doing that when the weather dries up.






I bought a nipple waterer at Theisen’s. Too busy to make one. I did make 2 pvc feeders though, not entirely the way they should have been made but we made one of them work inside the coop. I might need to cut and redo the second one so it can be outside.


Here they are settled in!
I changed the inside layout so it's easier to clean the poop tray.


We used 2 50lb bags of all purpose sand inside. It's coarser than any other sand i've been able to find.



This is Buffy. She was the most curious one. Mike took her out and put her in the run on the other side. She seemed to really like it. The other girls took quite a while to come down the ramp.


Next up, chicken cam!

 

[tbatz11]

Here are a few pics of the landscaping i've done. I still need 11 more plants to fill the rest of the cinder blocks. Current plants are: Marigolds, Zinnias, Lavender, portulaca, sage, basil, dill, and mint. I forgot to check on here if any plants are bad for chickens, so if you think one of these shouldn't be near them let me know!

This is Hunter, he helped =)










Oh yeah, one more thing. CHICKEN MATH made me do it!!! I found Silkies and i'm picking up two of them tomorrow!!

Then on monday i'm going to the city hall to figure out how to have the local ordinances ammended so we can have 6 chickens allowed. By the time the silkies are out of the brooder that should be a done deal! Don't know if we'll do anything to make the coop bigger though. The only thing I can think of is to enclose the bottom portion. ANd we'll make the run bigger later on too. I'll extend it towards the yard and away from the house. That portion will be uncovered.

 

[aart]

.........

Oh yeah, one more thing. CHICKEN MATH made me do it!!! I found Silkies and i'm picking up two of them tomorrow!!

Then on monday i'm going to the city hall to figure out how to have the local ordinances ammended so we can have 6 chickens allowed. By the time the silkies are out of the brooder that should be a done deal! Don't know if we'll do anything to make the coop bigger though. The only thing I can think of is to enclose the bottom portion. ANd we'll make the run bigger later on too. I'll extend it towards the yard and away from the house. That portion will be uncovered.

Great build thread!! Really enjoyed reading it, it's a beautiful coop/run.

BUT
Ohh geez, please don't try to add 2 more chickens in there!!
Read up on integration before you even think about getting more chickens.
It takes extra room to integrate new chickens and you barely have enough as it is.

You'll probably ignore that...so Best of cLuck to yas!!

 

[tbatz11]

OK, so how can I expand this coop? Any and all ideas are welcome!!!

 

[twfernandez]

Quote:
Chicken math ... Who knew??

(Well .. I mean, aside from everybody here who warned us and all, but, well; y'know?)

So, as far as coop expansion, my thoughts are that whatever approach you take, the wall with the nest box or the wall with the clean-out door will be the place to start - first of all, they are facing away from the house, which seems the natural direction to go; secondly, they already have great big holes in them(the opening to the nest box or the clean out door).
One idea would be to build another coop, identical(or larger) to this one, but mirrored - then, remove the nest box completely, use it on the outside wall of the new coop, and then attach the two with a tunnel where the nest box used to be(could be really cute), or remove the clean out door, attach the expansion to the rear of the existing coop - this would give you literally double the space(or more), and wouldn't involve much in terms of disassembling the existing coop.
As a variation on the second idea with the nest-box wall is to remove that wall completely, then build out an addition to the existing coop, and re-use that wall/materials on the far side of the expansion.
I was looking through your pictures, and disassembling the wall neatly is going to be a lot of work - now, you could remove it with a sawsall:

Quote:
It looks like the nest-box wall was framed separately and then attached to the other walls - so a sawsall/jigsaw combination with a lot of patience could cut right down the seam between the front(with pop-door) and rear wall. You would also have to saw under the rafters for the roof, and through the hurricane hangers - but again, a sawsall can handle all of that as far as the materials are concerned.
The big down side there is that even moving slowly, the sawsall is going to leave a jagged messy cut, and it's almost impossible to keep your lines straight, so after the fact there would be lots of "clean-up" cutting; so while it may be easier/faster than a disassemble, I don't love this option.
With the first idea, there is much less disassembly/demolition - especially if you go off of the rear wall, because then you just have to remove the hinges for the clean out door and attach the expansion.
If you decided to expand off of the back wall, you could leave the clean out door attached until the very end, and the girls could stay in the coop during construction(build in the garage, then attach to the new coop, and the girls wouldn't even really be disturbed by the construction)
Whatever you decide, I can't wait to see the updates and pics - and I know you and Mike will be able to get it done and make it look good - so enjoy take your time and enjoy yourselves!

Hope it helps,
T&S

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[tbatz11]

I like the bottom pic combo! If we had the extra money that's exactly what i'd want to do!

I think expanding out the back is the better option. The trouble with that is how to clean the current section after adding a new one. I'm thinking....what if we made the addition from ground up so I could walk into it and then lean in to clean the original portion. No insulation or going over board (since we can't afford to now) and perhaps a metal roof with the same type of siding that you used on your coop.

I can also add another nesting box to the inside

 

[twfernandez]

The walk-in is a great idea and it will facilitate cleaning the whole thing more easily! You can always frame it for insulation, but leave the interior walls "unfinished," or just cover them half-way up with extra plywood(if you have any) or even cardboard to stop the bedding and droppings from getting into the hollow spaces between the studs - then, later when the budget allows, add insulation.
As far as the roofing, there are some very inexpensive(and certainly not permanent) galvanized options you could look at until you can add shingles later.
Like I said, can't wait for the pics!

ttyl,
T&S