Can we build it? Yes we can... probably... kind of!

[pennyJo1960]

Thanks! We’re trying, haha! There are two windows on the front of the coop and two on the back, so you get a nice cross breeze. You can’t see it in the pictures I posted, but there’s also a window in the coop door (just like the run door.) The plan only called for the two front windows, but in Florida you need more ventilation than that, so we added the back windows. The little foam pieces underneath the roof also have ventilation holes in them, so I’m hoping that’ll help.

couldn't see that you did do it very well and yes do an article with you photos you did it very right then

I guess I should look into how to make it an article. Although if you’re looking for coop building advice from ME, you’re really in the wrong place!

You built a great coop doing it all right

 

[N F C]

I'm really impressed...both by the build and the reason for it! Looking forward to seeing it finished.

And yes, please do an article! You write very well and you could be an inspiration to others wondering if they can build a coop!

 

[123RedBeard]

Looks really good!

And a few notes ... while the rafters "should" be upright ... as the 2 (really 1.5") side facing up ... with that short of a span, it really won't matter in Florida ... if you were getting 2 feet of snow, than rain on top of it ... it would probably collapse!

As far as the roof being floppy ... there are two ways to prevent that ... either put down a layer of plywood first on the rafters, then the roofing, or put down some 1X4's going sideways (legnthways) across the rafters first, then the roofing ...

Overall it looks VERY good, and I'm sure the girls, and chickens will be very happy!

 

[Callender Girl]

I think you are an inspiration to all of us who WANT to believe we, too, could build a beautiful chicken coop. My greatest poultry construction projects have been the world's simplest goose house -- basically a box with a slanting flat top and hardware cloth on each end -- and figuring out how to use the back grate of an old box fan as the main portion of a duck-house door.

Your coop is lovely AND you apparently made it without the lengthy list of expensive power tools that most plans call for. Those girls and their chickens will be thrilled! You are good people!! Thanks for the step-by-step photos.

 

[Jules929]

Awesome! Great job! And Leah & Kinsley are very lucky to have you and your husband as "auntie & uncle"! Can't wait to see the girls and chicks in their new coop! What kind of eggs are in the incubator?
And yes, you should definitely write an article!

 

[GotCoop]

Way to go! Darn nice coop, and awful nice of you to go to the effort for those girls.

 

[Tooshay89]

Looks really good!

And a few notes ... while the rafters "should" be upright ... as the 2 (really 1.5") side facing up ... with that short of a span, it really won't matter in Florida ... if you were getting 2 feet of snow, than rain on top of it ... it would probably collapse!

As far as the roof being floppy ... there are two ways to prevent that ... either put down a layer of plywood first on the rafters, then the roofing, or put down some 1X4's going sideways (legnthways) across the rafters first, then the roofing ...

Overall it looks VERY good, and I'm sure the girls, and chickens will be very happy!

Good to know! No chance of snow here, for sure, but at least we know it will probably hold up. If we have any issues with it, it's easy enough to take the roof off and add more support. Really it's just the the one longer side at this point that's kind of floppy. I think we'll end up cutting it shorter to match the left side.

 

[Tooshay89]

I think you are an inspiration to all of us who WANT to believe we, too, could build a beautiful chicken coop. My greatest poultry construction projects have been the world's simplest goose house -- basically a box with a slanting flat top and hardware cloth on each end -- and figuring out how to use the back grate of an old box fan as the main portion of a duck-house door.

Your coop is lovely AND you apparently made it without the lengthy list of expensive power tools that most plans call for. Those girls and their chickens will be thrilled! You are good people!! Thanks for the step-by-step photos.

I think I'm still in shock that we were able to do it. I was so nervous that we would spend all of this money on supplies, and then not be able to construct something solid. When those 2x4 walls went up and weren't a bit wobbly, I was beyond shocked. We have most of the "basic" power tools, but since we don't build to this capacity, we don't have most of the things that would have made this build a LOT easier. I will say, though, that the most valuable tool for this build was the framing nailer and air compressor. If we were nailing by hand, I think we'd go crazy.

We're really looking forward to finishing the coop next week, AND the chicks aren't due for another week and a half, so we're AHEAD of schedule. That's never happened to me in chicken world before.

 

[N F C]

@Tooshay89 will you be keeping the coop on your property or moving it over to where the little girls live? A coop that big might be a bit of a beast to move.

 

[Tooshay89]

Awesome! Great job! And Leah & Kinsley are very lucky to have you and your husband as "auntie & uncle"! Can't wait to see the girls and chicks in their new coop! What kind of eggs are in the incubator?
And yes, you should definitely write an article!

They are such sweet girls! They've been helping us every step of the way. Yesterday I had them painting all of the trim boards for the coop. I think they like being involved in the process and it gives them more ownership.

I gave the girls one of my incubators so they could hatch the chicks themselves, and wrote a day by day "chicken manual" for them so they know exactly what to do (plus I'm there several times a week working on their coop, so I've been helping them candle the eggs, monitor humidity, etc... although they really don't need the help.) The incubator holds 14 eggs, so I gave them about half and half - half of the eggs from my flock (various Orpington hens and a Lavender Ameraucana roo, so those chicks are basically easter eggers) and then half are shipped eggs that I ordered - a couple of Bielefelder eggs, a few Marans and barnyard mixes from eBay, and some gold and silver laced orpington eggs from Papa's Poultry, which is what I'm most excited about.

We actually had so many extra shipped eggs that I'm incubating some as well. I was nervous about giving the girls shipped eggs, but I wanted them to have a variety of chicks to choose from since they want to join 4H. I'll probably start them out with 6 chicks and hope that 4 are girls.