Coop coming along

[spiral_72]

I put the roof on the coop tonight! The floor is 4x8ft, the nest box is done with 12 nests (better to have too many than....) The coupe is for 17 chickens. A little small I know, but I'll have to build an addition as soon as I get the chickens outside.

I need to make my doors for egg access and nail the walls on. Right now the plan is a three wall open coop design.

I snagged metal roofing for free, old crates in prebuilt panels

2x6's from a torn down house, and misc free plywood. I suppose I have about $40 in it so far at the most not including fence, nails and screws.


I hope to finish everything next weekend.... not a moment too soon because the chicks aren't chicks any more. It's getting a little old having half grown chickens in the house!

Thanks, I had to tell someone, no one else will listen!

 

[SaltLakeSpice]

This is a pretty good post but it still needs a little something to make it perfect. What is it...? oh yea, pictures : ) You seem very proud and excited, show that coop off.

 

[spiral_72]

Yeaaaaaa, I know. I actually got the camera out last night and pressed the button..... dead battery. It's charged up now. I'll plan to upload the pic tonight.

It's not the greatest looking coop, but it'll pass

A little paint and it'll be nice(er)

I hope to get the walls on tonight.... I need to get the 2x4 mesh before I put the chickens out there I know..... $90 for 100ft of fence. Ouch.

 

[PineappleMama]

Egads this is us as well... it just goes on and on... rain delays... then the store was out of hardware cloth... I was waiting for hubby to have time, his school and work schedules are busy... finally I gave up and just started doing it all myself in between rainbursts. Almost done now... had to wait on his uncle to bring a complex miter saw to the shop (they only had a regular one) to cut the door jam and door frame pieces... then two bits of HC to attach and then I THINK it's done... I am currently killing time until 9 (two hours after opening) when I plan to call and harass the DH about the jam struts... tick tick tick....

Hope your project goes more smoothly, less rainy, and no 2x4s to the head/wrist, sticks to the shoulder, step stools to the shin....

Edit... the darned thing is finally done!

 

[spiral_72]

HAHA! Wow, you're lucky to have a miter saw..... even a compound miter saw!! I built the whole thing with a hand saw, hammer and cordless drill! I had to keep switching hands with the saw though... You can tell the cuts I made with my LEFT hand

treated 4x4's wore me out! I did use a table saw for the plywood though

The rain.... and rain. I tried to work while it was only raining a little bit but didn't get very far....

 

[spiral_72]

Here it is! Does it qualify for the ugly contest?

I'll put two hinged doors on the outside behind the nest boxes. The doors will open from the center and give me egg access.

I installed the nearest wall after these pictures were taken. It has a 8" gap at the top covered in mesh. I'll be able to close off this gap with hinged panels to keep cold and rain out. I think I'll put my roost here in behind the opening, the length of the coop.... let the chickens see out and keep an eye on things.

I have the back wall on, it's an old crate lid with a permanent 6" gap on top. The roof is a crate lid. The nest boxes are bits of wood I had laying around.

I need to seal off the area above the nest box on the inside to keep chicken poo outa there. I think I'll make that area accessible from the outside for storage.

The right side and the right half of the front wall will stay open..... I'm planning to build another section attached on the right side at a 45degree angle, maybe a 4x4ft or 4x6ft??? After the addition, the center between the two coops will remain open. I might make removable panels for this area for winter time.... but that's a long way off.

 

[spiral_72]

Well, here it is. The finished coop!

You can't tell it from the picture, but it's pastel blue!!!

Why? I painted it last night in the dark. I had two cans of "white" paint with about a quart in each and a partial can of black. The white paint looked white in the dark with a worklight, so I mixed the two whites, added some black for a grey so I had enough paint and did the deed.... This morning I went outside for work, and the COOP WAS PASTEL BLUE!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo.


Anyways, I have the doors on the left for the nest boxes come out nice. My wife convinced me to totally enclose the coop since I don't have the 5ft fence up yet. I had some extra crates from work, so I did.

I still need to put hinged panels along the top to close the vents off, but that's all there is to do!


The chickens seem to love it

They're undecided about the color though. HA!