We've been working very hard on the coop in the backyard, and it is almost finished. The chicks are getting big, too! It is almost time to move them outside, so it's been nonstop construction for the past few days. We needed a coop that was secure (we have both raccoons and hawks with the occasional loose cat in the area) and visually pleasing, since we live in the city. Neither my husband nor I had built anything like this before, so we bought plans from the Garden Coop and I'm so glad we did. They are awesome and very easy to follow and modify.
The frame. Our backyard is pretty severely sloped, so that's where the first change had to be made. We had to use 16" cinderblock piers instead of what the plans called for to get the coop somewhat level. The front corner cinderblock is flush with the ground, and the back corner opposite is barely buried at all!
Installing the roof: plywood and rolled roofing. The crazy man with the hammer is my husband. Not sure why we let him have tools, but he did a great job on the roofing and is very proud of it.
It's starting to look like a real coop now with the henhouse walls on. We picked dark green flat exterior for the paint, it was on sale.
The trench is for the hardware cloth. It will be buried to prevent digging predators from getting to the hens.
The door is on, the nestboxes and storage box is on (another modification to the plans), half the hardware cloth is installed and the floor is in the henhouse. Just a few more days and the girls will be out of the brooder!
Speaking of the "girls", they're growing up fast
Goldie in their "chicken hut", a portable little tractor where they can get some sun.
And Spot, chilling out on my hand. I tried to get her to perch somewhere else for pictures, but she would have none of it. Note the happy hen treats in the back there: they love those things and will do anything to get them!
The frame. Our backyard is pretty severely sloped, so that's where the first change had to be made. We had to use 16" cinderblock piers instead of what the plans called for to get the coop somewhat level. The front corner cinderblock is flush with the ground, and the back corner opposite is barely buried at all!
Installing the roof: plywood and rolled roofing. The crazy man with the hammer is my husband. Not sure why we let him have tools, but he did a great job on the roofing and is very proud of it.
It's starting to look like a real coop now with the henhouse walls on. We picked dark green flat exterior for the paint, it was on sale.
The trench is for the hardware cloth. It will be buried to prevent digging predators from getting to the hens.
The door is on, the nestboxes and storage box is on (another modification to the plans), half the hardware cloth is installed and the floor is in the henhouse. Just a few more days and the girls will be out of the brooder!
Speaking of the "girls", they're growing up fast
Goldie in their "chicken hut", a portable little tractor where they can get some sun.
And Spot, chilling out on my hand. I tried to get her to perch somewhere else for pictures, but she would have none of it. Note the happy hen treats in the back there: they love those things and will do anything to get them!
