Building the chicken palace this weekend

[enrgizerbunny]

Winter is coming and the old coop is far too ventilated. It's also generally a piece of junk. New coop has a plastic floor that won't rot and should clean easily. Much taller for multiple roosts, and external laying boxes. The old coop has the waterer built in so it'll stick around for a bit. I finished yesterday with the roof ready to be shingled.

The base:

The walls:

Construction:

 

[sourland]

Looking good - 'git R done' - winter is rapidly approaching. Here in NJ it was in the low 70's Fri and Sat. Today there is l.5 " on snow on the ground, 29 F, and wind blowing like a harpy.

 

[Reamuskitty1]

looks good, I'm trying to find out what type of coop to use with 2 hens in my backyard.could you give me some advice? thanks!!!!!

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Today's progress included putting on shingles, building the nesting boxes and sheathing installation. Plans for tomorrow include tyvek wrap, nesting box cover, doors, and vinyl siding.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Here's the final side of the coop. It was too dark last night to take a picture of this side. I had to piece meal it in because I had scrap and want pulling another sheet.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Looking good - 'git R done' - winter is rapidly approaching. Here in NJ it was in the low 70's Fri and Sat. Today there is l.5 " on snow on the ground, 29 F, and wind blowing like a harpy.

Yeah it was 70s Saturday and we've hit the 20s overnight and we're forecasted to have 50s in the day with upper 20s/low 30s overnight the rest of the week. My brother's chickens used to roost on top of their coop even during snow storms, so backyard breeds are more hardy than they get credit for I believe. The commercial breeds used for meat production are snowflakes that can die from the shock of being awoken by loud exhaust from a truck (true story). Mine are roosting outdoors on a sawhorse currently because an unknown (likely rodent) was coming in and eating eggs left overnight. No eggs left out = no evidence of rodents in the nesting boxes. No problems with the feral cats either, but they stay pretty well fed with kibble around the neighborhood to begin with.

looks good, I'm trying to find out what type of coop to use with 2 hens in my backyard.could you give me some advice? thanks!!!!!

I can only offer my mistakes. First off, make sure your nesting boxes are either external or completely covered. Make sure your roosts are higher than your nesting boxes.
Consider your run vs coop size. I have 3 hens and what I believe to be a large (~750sqft) run. My current coop (pictured with red steel roof) was built without knowledge and out of scrap materials. From what I've read, a chicken tractor with attached coop could be a good solution if you're able to move it about and don't have snow on the ground for weeks at a time. Check out the coops section for ideas, there's a ton of them out there.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Got tyvek up today, corners and a starter strip. Gotta get the doors up before I get the vinyl up.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Made good progress this afternoon. It's liveable now and I'll have to put them in tonight so that they know it is home.

 

[aart]

Too small for tall.....no room to jump down.

What are the dimensions of coop, climate/location, and number of birds?

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Too small for tall.....no room to jump down.

What are the dimensions of coop, climate/location, and number of birds?

55"x35" x48" tall. 3 hens, expanding to no more than 5. Central Virginia. Temperate.