Coop-struction: Reclaimed Lumber Coop (aka "crate expectations")

[chickenlover45]

Love it. Great job!!!!!!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

A little more progress to report!

Chicken door installed (slides up and down in a track made from an old storm window frame), window installed, and strips to cover the gaps between boards added:



On the other side, the "people door" has been built and fit to size...just need to throw some hinges and latches on there:



Should get more done this weekend....and chicks arrive later this week!

 

[TheEggCollecter]

Looking awesome!

 

[GAchickennewbie]

That looks fantastic! Great job!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Did a bunch more coop-struction today...basically at the point where the coop will be moved to my house once the backyard is dry enough to drive on and time permits.

A good chunk of today's construction focused on the nesting boxes:





With divider added:



We trimmed the center board to give the girls a bit more wider "doors" to hop into the nesting boxes, and got the roof for the nesting box cut to size. In lieu of metal hinges, we'll be using a 4-inch wide piece of engine belt that will act as the a water-proof "hinge" to allow us access to the boxes (didn't get a shot of that).

We did some additional covering of cracks between boards to make sure the coop isn't drafty, and to add a few more pounds...boy do I feel bad for the poor sap who has to move THIS thing. Oh, wait!

Next up, the "legs" that will hold the coop at a back-friendly height for cleaning, feeding, and egg collecting, in addition to providing additional run space:





With "rustic" roost added, so the girls can get out of the rain and off the ground:



We added a similar "rustic" style roost inside the coop, but made that one removable for easy cleaning (again, didn't grab a picture...next time!)

Finally, we mounted the "people door" with hinges...the first "new" material purchased for this project outside of the nail gun "ammo" I'll need to replace.

So, I'm into this project for $4.27 so far!

The coop is being built at my folks house over the border into MA...was up there pretty much all day and outside most of that time. Got to see nature while we worked....in the morning, two good sized hawks were shopping for snacks in the field across the street (sorry hawks, this chicken coop isn't getting filled with chickens in YOUR neighborhood). Throughout the day, Canadian Geese flying north honked overhead. Then, just as we were wrapping up for the day, a couple of deer wandered out of the woods to check our progress:



Next steps are:

- Move coop to our place (no small task, this thing weighs a ton)
- Attach doors, windows, nesting boxes (keeping them off to help with weight and avoid breaking them)
- Paint
- Roofing

Chicks should be born and shipped Wednesday, and arrive Thursday or Friday. They'll likely arrive to a "bill" from my dad for labor that they'll spend their entire lives paying off in eggs and "organic fertilizer infused garden mulch". Poor things haven't even been born yet, and they're already deeply in debt.

 

[Aacre]

I love the price of this coop! And it is looking great so far! Have you decided what colors you might paint it?

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I love the price of this coop! And it is looking great so far! Have you decided what colors you might paint it?

Thanks...so far, I'm loving the price of the coop, too! It's cost a bit more in blood and sweat (but hey, so far, no tears) to build, but it's been a good experience building it with my dad and my son.

The price will go up soon...gotta buy a knob for the chicken door, a couple bundles of shingles for the roof (but have some tar paper for underneath), and some paint.

The coop will go right next to our shed, which is what I'd call "barn red". So, the coop will be "shed red".

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Been a while since I posted an update...but now that the chicks are growing up (they're 5 weeks now), it was time to get the coop set up at it's permanent location.

This was no small undertaking,as the coop is quite heavy. We loaded the shed into the back of a pickup truck with a tractor with a front end loader, then put the shingles on there (saving us lifting that extra weight).

We have up to a week of rain coming here, so getting the coop into the yard while it was still drivable was important.

We drove the truck back into the yard, unloaded the "stand" then slid the coop off the back of the truck onto the stand. It was a struggle, even with three people working at it...but the coop is now in place!








The coop will eventually be painted red to match the shed.

Here's the back, with a better view of the nesting box and the "people door":



A view in the "people door"....roost and window visible:



Roost and entry into nesting boxes:



The girls (and their temporary male roommate) checking out the new digs:





They already seem to enjoy having a view of the yard out the window.

Next up is building the run...if it ever stops raining here, that shouldn't be a major undertaking.

 

[mrchicks]

It turned out great!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

It turned out great!

Thanks...I'll post more pictures once I get it painted and get the run built!