Building the Chicken McMansion (Part 3)

[Chieftain]

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Great idea! That 19 guage wire is pretty shiny, isn't it? A little flat rustoleum outghta take care of that, I probably only need to hit one side with the roller and it will coat the whole thing.

I wanted to mention that the gussets for the door are glued and screwed into place. I keep a gallon kit of West Systems Marine Epoxy in my shop, along with fast and slow hardener and other fiberglass supplies. It's absolutely waterproof and the wood itself will fail before the glue will. That epoxy is some of the most useful stuff that I keep on hand to fix just about anything. People make all kinds of boats with it and it is almost indestructible. The door should never go out of square, especially with the welded hardware cloth fastened on it for support as well as protection.

And yes, I'm working on "My Page" so it will be suitable for entering in the current coop contest. Thanks for all the kind words on this folks. For a scratch project starting from an empty flower bed a few months ago, it turned out well. My wife is anxious to count heads on the roost in the morning through the windows...

 

[M To The Maxx]

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[purpletree23]

Just until a new coop could be built!

 

[squiqwe]

WoW, you have given me some great ideas!

 

[Chieftain]

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That's great! I got most of my ideas for this coop right here at BYC, and if I can pass on anything at all, it makes the whole project even more worthwhile. This site is a tremendous resource and I encourage you to use it as thoroughly as I have (and continue to do...).

Thanks!

 

[pacetruckguy]

Chieftain,
Man the finished product is something else. I can't believe you painted the inside. Are you going to put diapers on those hens?

I want to see some pictures after they have been in there for about a month. How many RIRs are you going to have in there?
I just fenced off an area to let my chickens expand their horizens, I guess now I can say I have free range chickens. I kept their area limited so they could at least be under the cover of the big oak tree. I don't want it to be too easy pickins for the oh so many hawks we have flying around our place. So far so good they haven't attempted to fly over the fence yet, but I did have to give them some help last night, finding there way back into the run so they could go to bed. They sure have been having a lot of fun scratching through all the oak leaves looking for bugs, and worms. I think I'll give them the whole day out there today and we'll see how it goes.

 

[Chieftain]

Yah PTG... my philosophy is that anything worth doing is worth overdoing....

I also caulked all the cracks, and primed inside too before I painted it. The goal is to be able to hose it out a couple of times a year to keep it clean and prevent the wood from rotting from the inside out. In addition, Patwithchicks is always talking about sealing up the cracks where roost mites can hide, and a good paintjob took care of that.

There's a method to my madness...

 

[pacetruckguy]

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Don't get me wrong, I love to do a little ribbing now and then. I think your coop is awesome. You've done a great job. Now all you need is chickens. I was at one of our country feed stores today and they had baby chicks and ducks for sale. It's a good thing my wife was along or I probably would have brought a box full home with me. The problem with that would be I would have to build another coop. I already have 8 hens in there. No more room.

The girls must have apreciated the extra room I gave them yesterday. They rewarded me with 4 eggs today. 2 blue ones and 2 brown ones. My deduction is both my easter eggers, and now one of the red sexlinks must be laying. Preaty soon I'll have eggs everywhere. I've been teasing all my friends telling them the first half dozen are free to get you hooked, then they are 5 bucks a dozen. Comes from pryor dealings in the sixties, if you know what I mean.
Keep up the good work and stay in touch, and remember the ribbing is all in fun. You are the master!

 

[pacetruckguy]

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SandyK,
I thought I was crazy. With four large parrots how do you ever get that thing called peace and quiet? As much as I would like to give the crazy bird away, I know if I did I would miss him. Besides who wants a bird in their house ranting and raving in my voice. It would be like having me there. I'm sure if you were to ask my wife, nobody but her could put up with that for long.

 

[pacetruckguy]

The Girls met The Girls

Sorry about the dark picture, but I had to share. Talk about your Butter & Eggs. I don't know who was more suprised. The cows look kind of spooky cause I couldn't keep the flash from going off. Needless to say it was a little easier to get the hens back in this evening.