Coop beautification project!

[MommyMagpie]

Our coop is a repurposed wooden shipping crate, which I originally planned to paint, BUT I discovered that we have shingle-looking vinyl siding left over from the gable ends of my house in a sufficient amount to put siding on the coop. So this is my thread where I hope to post regular project pictures; I'd like to finish before really cold weather sets in.

Here is a photo of our coop (the obligatory "before" picture):

I am going to add on an exterior nest box on the back of the coop, with access from inside for the girls to get in there to lay, and a lift-up lid/roof for egg collection. This will make it possible for me to have my mom be a chickensitter since it will not be necessary to bend way over to get the eggs.

After that I need to add batten strips to bring all the wall surfaces level, then clean my siding pieces and get the proper blade for my jigsaw so I can make necessary cuts.

The final portion of the project will be to purchase a sheet of exterior plywood and paint it with reflective roof paint, to overlay the black rubber roof in the summertime to hopefully alleviate the heat inside the coop. The door to the coop is south facing for air circulation and the most natural light in all four seasons.

 

[KDK1]

Can I suggest cutting some vents somewhere along the tops of the walls and if you have a pair of tin snips, they work well for cutting vinyl siding... that's all I ever use. Congratulations Meemaw!

 

[MommyMagpie]

If I cut out a section of the upper part of the wall (where the wall was extended upward to provide slant to the roof), like between those two existing battens, and replace it with hardware cloth, would that work OK? I'm also considering adding a window in the door, with a panel that could be slid down to block it off during heavily inclement weather (we have times here when it rains and snows SIDEWAYS, always from the south). Oh, and the 'back' of the coop is the short side at the left there in the photo, the door being properly the 'front'. So the add-on nest box will be at the lower part of the wall, shielded always from direct sun and weather.

As for the tin snips, I should probably go ahead and purchase some, because I will need them for another inside-the-people-house project when I get around to it.

Looking at this photo I realize that I really do not have any grass left.

Oh well, I am not growing a lawn, I am growing children, chickens and eggs.

 

[KDK1]

I would add more vents all the way around if possible. You could block windward vents in the winter.

 

[MommyMagpie]

OK, here's an idea I just had.....what if I lift the entire roof, with the angled wall sections at the front and back of the coop, and the section there facing the camera, off the crate.

then frame in a vented section about 8" high with 2x4s, screening with hardware cloth.

Set the roof assembly back on the newly raised and vented walls. I could fix panels like hurricane panels for the south and west facing vents for the winter, that would hang with eye bolts from hooks at the top of the vented wall, and have a little latch at the bottom to hold them in place and prevent flapping.

I've been wanting more headspace in there anyway and this seems a good way to get it, while achieving more ventilation in the process. I could have higher roosts too.

 

[KDK1]

Bingo!!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
oh I LOVE that idea! This looks like the perfect coop to raise the roof on. If you did that, I think it would make everything so much easier on you- plus giving you all the venting you will need.

Go for it!!

ETA- you could then raise it as much as you wanted- you could go higher with the roof, why not!?

 

[MommyMagpie]

Progress report: I was at Lowe's this afternoon shopping for a washing machine and I went over to the lumber and priced the 2x4s and other things I will have to purchase for this project.

I also emailed the dad of the two Boy Scouts who built the coop to ask questions about how the roof assembly is attached to the rest of the coop (so I'll know how to take it off).

I found about a 3/4 sheet of plywood in my basement for the nest box. There is a house a block away from me where they tore off the old deck and the lumber is lying on a trailer; I'm going to walk over there this evening and see if I can have some of it.

 

[MommyMagpie]

Update! We got the roof off this morning with only a few cuss words, and the help of the neighbor' teenage son....that thing is HEAVY!!! Built the framework for a sort of a clerestory window thing, extending the walls upward by 10 inches, screened with hardware cloth, and I just sent DS14 to the hardware store for metal strapping to reattach the roof assembly when we get it lifted back into place, again with the help of the neighbor's son.

Photos to come.

I might start the nest box addition tomorrow but it depends on whether I get the rest of the household and yard chores done.

 

[wava1vaughn]

Hi from Ga. Sounds like you have a plan.