Building the Chicken McMansion (Part 3)

[95yj]

i will be eternaly amazed by the work of art you have created for your chickens...

 

[keetsms]

Great looking coop.

 

[Chieftain]

Today was window finishing day. I set up shop in my garage where I could use my space heater to dry the paint. I caulked all three windows on both sides of the plexiglass, let it dry, then primed and painted the windows with two coats of latex enamel.

While the paint was drying, I installed hardware cloth screens on the inside of each window, and then screwed in a piece of 1x2 all the way around the frame to anchor it. I then stapled heavy metal fly screen over the top of the frames. I used 1/2" staples and hammered them all in flat to make sure the screening is tight. The windows all turned out really well and I'm pleased that I was able to come up with a simple design that is water and wind tight.

Tomorrow I'll probably get started on the door to the run and get a few other loose ends wrapped up. It's coming together nicely and progress continues daily as long as the weather holds. I'm definitely glad to be done with the screw driving portion of our show as my fingers and thumbs are just raw from the sharp threads. My wife buys bandaids by the hundred for good reason...she swears no job is done until I bleed on it a little...

 

[SandyK]

Pacetruckguy,

You know you can't give that bird away!! We have had one for 11 or so years now. They do everything you say. Mine even calls me if I'm upstairs asking where am I. We have the Umbrella Cockatoo for the snuggling part, she is just a big baby that doesn't want to be put down. We have three large parrots and they all talk back and forth. I'm waiting to see who is the first to pick up the morning song from the yard!!

 

[LynneP]

pacetruckguy- I agree and your wife would be heartbroken. I think they are princes among the parrot family, and if I ever get a chance to obtain an older one, I will go for it. The same owner of the African Gray had a red Macaw named Cisco who was 80 years old and had a language problem- his original owner taught him to swear. Cisco and I got along well and he was a problem in a household with many family and guests coming and going, but I couldn't get him into Canada at that time because he needed extended quarantine...he would somersault on my lap and romance my right ear without biting. Nice lad, he did find a good home. He was in Ohio.

Thanks for the comments on our coop and run- we believe that there is no such thing as too strong or too prepared. I have all of the day-olds I acquired in May 2008 and may it continue to be so for a long time.

Chiefton- You obviously will keep your ferrets separated from the hens, do they ever patrol the yard? If so you will have no rodent problems. Even if you take a male out on a leash, the urine and musk he leaves will terrify rodents.

 

[Chieftain]

I got out and got busy early today to try and beat the rain that is arriving this evening. I tarped the coop and finished staining and sealing the rest of the roof structure, and it looks great!

Then I got ambitious and decided to go ahead and get the door built and mounted, and with that the coop and run are essentially completed.

All three windows are equipped with chains to hold them open. The window inside the run will be the primary ventilation, and will probably remain open year round. The only time I expect to close it would be for the very occasional extreme weather event we get here about every third winter. Any 2 windows provide over 5 square feet of ventilation, and all three provide almost 8. That gives me tremendous flexibility in configuring the coop year round.

I got the poop board painted with two coats of Kilz and two coats of porch paint. It should hold up for a good long while. The cedar board across the opening is to hold the litter in when the door is open. It just sits there and is removable for cleaning.

You can see that it is nice and shadowy and cozy inside those nest boxes. They look brighter in this picture than they really are because of the flash. If need be I can always hang a burlap curtain over the front of the boxes if it proves to be too bright in there in the summer.

I still need to build a ramp for the chooks, and I have not decided on how I want the coop door to operate yet. There's plenty of time though and I will get on that next week.

I'm working on my coop page and that will be a work in progress as I upload select pics to display there.

This has been a really rewarding and fun project. It did not take any special tools or skills, and I owe all of the features and ideas to the members here at BYC. I didn't know squat about how to raise a chicken six months ago, but from lurking here and finally joining, and enjoying all of the feedback, ideas and friendly enthusiasm that I have found here has made this a particularly pleasant project to work on. Thank you to everyone who has offered advice and encouragement along the way as well as those of you who have shared your rave reviews. It has kept me on track and enabled me to produce a very quality product. My wife and I look forward to fresh eggs here for the rest of our days.

Cheers everyone and Thank You for all of your help!!

Bob

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Just great!! It's so satisfying, isn't it?? If you want that wire to "disappear" roll a coat of flat black paint over it.

 

[teach1rusl]

You did a SUPER job! Your coop really looks excellent! Hope you're entering it in the current coop contest....

 

[M To The Maxx]

It looks great!!!

 

[purpletree23]

Would you marry me?