Chinchillafuzzy’s Coop Build

[Slothinc]

I have been working on my coop design and build for over a month. Today I finally got the frame up! It has been slow going, as I’m not much of a builder and I have an injured shoulder. But I am determined to do the best that I can on this, on a budget. I have gotten some of my wood from friends or from Facebook yard sale pages.

The entire base is 4’x8’. I decided to make two feet of that storage area, so the actual living space will be 4x6’. It is raised off of the ground 2’ to allow the chickens to have that space underneath as part of their run. The window placement (facing the back wall of our yard) was done because if I had put it on the front (west facing) the chickens would cook in our extreme heat.

One reason I have been going so slowly is because I don’t have real plans and I keep not knowing what to do next. The order of things is throwing me for a loop. But I’m hoping that now that the framing is done things will be better. I’ll add more pics as I continue working on it. By the way I plan to have somewhere between 5-10 silkies using this coop. Here are pics of the process up to this point. (Some wouldn’t load so I may have to add them later)

 

[LateBirdFarms]

For someone who claims not to be much of a builder you seem to have done a fantastic job with the framework! Hows your build coming?

 

[Slothinc]

Thank you so much LateBirdFarms!

I am still progressing very slowly but surely. I work on the coop for an hour or two each day. Since the last post, I have accomplished a few things.

I added an exterior nest box.


I added siding to the front and two sides (I decided to use pallet wood to save money - but oh my, I hate ripping pallets apart!!)


I added doors to the storage area. Then decided that the storage area was large enough that I could incorporate a small area at the bottom of it to be a brooder or area for new or injured birds. That is still a work in progress.

I added doors to the front. Oh my goodness what a pain! I am so sick of hanging doors and having to make adjustments because they don’t fit perfectly!

I added OSB sheathing to the inside of the walls (it’s what I had on hand - cheapest option.)

Now these are the things I still have to do.

Paint the entire interior with primer and white paint.

Figure out if I want to paint the doors (leaning towards yes!) And add latches to the doors.

Add hinges and install a window above the nesting box. Add hardware cloth to the windows and vent openings.

Install the two doors that will separate the brooder from the rest of the coop.

Finish the siding on the back wall. Probably have to rip another pallet apart for this.

Make a pop door and a door for the brooder area and install.

Make the run (dreading this because I’m not sure how)

Install metal roofing (also dreading this.)

Seal/waterproof the pallet wood siding.

Caulk all of the small cracks inside the coop.

Figure out what to do with the window - it won’t close. So I have removed the sliding pane for now and have to figure out how to fix it.

And probably a bunch of other things I am forgetting right now. I know this isn’t the most exciting coop build. And not the most beautiful or professional looking coop. But I am really excited about it. Two of my chicks are 8 weeks old. Poor babies, I wish I had it done already for them. The rest of my chicks are still only 3 weeks though.

Any suggestions on painting the doors or anything else is greatly appreciated!!! I am planning on a white metal roof.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

You need to give yourself more credit! That's a beautiful coop! That would have been impressive even if you had used perfect cedar planks straight from the lumber yard, but the fact you used ripped skids makes it even more impressive!

One of the cheapest options for paint is latex barn paint. It only comes in red and white where I can get it but its designed to weather well and costs unfinished skid wood beautifully.

If you found ripping skids apart fun just wait for the hardware cloth part! That suff is vicious! Make sure you've got some good gloves before you start! If I were you, I'd try to incorporate as much shade from your trees into your run. I think the hardest part of figuring out our run was how to make it predator proof, since our coop is at the treeline we had roots everywhere from mature trees. Where we couldn't dig down to sink the hardware cloth we used fieldstone piled inside and out picked up out of a farmers field after they turned the soil for planting.

 

[2Old2Crow]

If that were mine, I wouldn’t paint it. I’d spray clear over it and enjoy the textures of the wood. I think that coop is very cool!!!

 

[LateBirdFarms]

It certainly is pretty just the way it is! It never even occurred to me that clear sealant is possible!

 

[Slothinc]

Thanks so much for all of the good advice LateBirdFarm and 2Old2Crow. I am planning to just seal the pallet wood with some sort of clear sealant! I might try to paint the doors though. I actually went to Home Depot this morning and grabbed some kilz oil based primer (I had seen it recommended, especially for painting OSB) and I primed the inside with the first coat. I also primed the inside of the doors but haven’t done anything to the outside. If I do any exterior painting it would only be on the doors. I just can’t decide. Either white or teal would be used or a combination.

 

[2Old2Crow]

I had one other thought. Do you think you’ll need to silicone the gaps between the boards? Outdoor silicone is about 3 bucks a tube. It just looks like rain water might get in there.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Teal or a cottage blue-grey accents would be a beautiful combination with the sealed skid planks! I might be biased though I went with a barn white and duck egg blue on my coop! To be completely honest, I'm a little jealous about how pretty your skid wood is compared with what I had to work with!

 

[Slothinc]

2Old2Crow, very good point and one I hadn’t thought of. I hadn’t planned to seal between the boards to allow for a bit more air flow. But perhaps I will. We get very little rain here (we are in the desert, in southern Utah) but maybe it would be a good idea.

I have actually started working with the hardware cloth around the base, and it is scary! I bought a cut off tool from harbor freight and it sparks a ton! I have had to learn how to use lots of new tools that I had never tried for this build, most of them borrowed.

And I do plan to extend the run behind the coop, for maximum shade (it is also shaded by a tree and a large banks rose bush) I tried to plan for shade as much as possible because our temperatures get so hot here.

LateBirdFarm, your coop sounds gorgeous - anything along the blue green spectrum is my favorite color, I may just add a tiny accent of it. I’m fairly happy with how it is looking with the first coat of primer on - I wanted a white interior to try and brighten up the inside.