Well, I know you've all been waiting with "baited-breath" for pics of my little coop and run, and I finally got all the hiccups figured out with this crazy camera. It's been a long....long....road in doing this project, which at the time seemed like "okay, I can do this...easy-peasy"....NOT! Started out with a helper/friend who suddenly midway through it all quit showing up to help this 'ol senior citizen (not easy being a 70 single gal!). So I've been finishing it up by myself, and must say I'm darned proud of myself to boot! All the interior things I designed and built all by my lonesome...I'm most proud of my nesting boxes and the roost bar/poop tray..woot!
So here we go...hope it meets with your approval!!!
Here it is with the run finally built and attached to the coop! The left side door is permanently closed for use as a 'wall' of sorts.
A different angle showing the run (think I went a little crazy with the screws and fender washers!)
I haven't finished their run roosts yet, have only found one suitable branch so far. You'd think living in the forest I'd be able to find a ton of them!
That window came with the shed, it does open up and down. 1/2" hardware cloth over it, and there's the infamous pophole, what a job that was for me using that sword saw thingie. It's a good thing the wood slider setup covers up the wavy cuts!! I used an old cutting board, cut it to size, and drilled a hole in the top for the cord.
This is one of the PVC tube feeders for the run. Not a finished project yet. Going to add a second one and mount both on scrap pieces of plywood top and bottom, feeders screwed in and set on cinder blocks. Also going to add a second grit/oyster shell cups alongside. The little ramp going to pophole? Another scrap of 2x12 from my BIL, just added slats.
NOW FOR THE INTERIOR SHOTS!
This is my pride and joy! I built this contraption BY MYSELF! Built it outside and my sister helped me get the darn thing into the coop...what a day THAT was! The poop tray is filled with sweet PDZ granular and I can only say if you haven't converted over to this system you're crazy! Best thing I ever did. I just take the kitty litter scooper (up there on the far left) pick up the poops from the previous night...takes all of 3-4 minutes...done! My roost bar is removable using some metal hanger thingies. My BIL sanded and routed the edges so it's real smooth on the girl's feet.
The ladder/ramp I built by myself going up to the roost/poop tray. I grant you it's a little crooked, but it works!
Here's the feed station right next to the pop hole (notice the bottom cut of the pophole? A tad "curvy" .. that sword saw thingie scared me to death! Anyways, 2 PVC tube feeders, oyster shell to the side, all on a cinder block.
Another view of the south side of the coop. Here you'll see some of the nest boxes setup.
The infamous webcam...couldn't live without it! I can swivel it to any angle I need and it has served me well. The monitor sits on my computer tower right here where I'm sitting in the kitchen...I can watch them "like a hawk" (no pun intended!)
The nesting boxes! Two 18-gallon Rubbermaid tubs w/out the lids. What I did was used a piece of plywood cut to size, then I screwed the tubs to the plywood w/fender washers. Since my girls are large breed I cut out the openings a little bigger than normal and also cut 1" ventilation circles all around the inside of each tub for better air circulation. Then I bought a piece of 1/4" birch plywood, cut it to size, and screwed some latches to the wall. I know...I know...it's a bit crooked, but my leg slipped when I was screwing in the last hinge. Chalk it up to old age! This way I can swing it up to collect eggs and clean easily.
Another view of the nesting boxes looking in through the doorway. In this pic you'll see I added a 1" x 6" fence board so floor bedding doesn't constantly come out of the coop!
Here the hinged lid is up so you can see inside better. Note the ventilation holes I drilled into them.
An egg! An egg! My first layer always lays hers in this first nest box...love that!
The infamous WINDOW! There's been much discussion on just 'how' I was going to be able to fasten securely to a Rubbermaid-type wall this window. As you can see, it's in, it's working, and it's waterproof. My BIL made the sword-saw cuts for me (no way was I going to try it again after the fiasco of the pophole!) and I laid a thick layer of that waterproof goop that comes in a big tube. Problem was I didn't have the gun to use it, so I improvised. I just kept pushing the bottom thing up the tube and squeezed like crazy on the tube to get the stuff out...what a day! Then I used 1-1/2" pan-head screws rather than the little ones that came with the window, screwed the window in....DONE! I'm telling you, for $24.00 (free shipping) you can't beat them. If anyone wants more info on where I got mine give me a holler.
I just HAD to throw in one pic of THE GIRLS! Two are laying, two are still thinking about it. I still can't believe that since April they have gotten this huge! They are the love of my life, although someone has something else to say about it:
And that's ZOE! She tolerates them and that's about all I can say about that...I hope you enjoyed my pics and have a wonderful rest of your day! As for me....I'm off to tackle more unfinished projects around the coop!!
So here we go...hope it meets with your approval!!!
Here it is with the run finally built and attached to the coop! The left side door is permanently closed for use as a 'wall' of sorts.
A different angle showing the run (think I went a little crazy with the screws and fender washers!)
I haven't finished their run roosts yet, have only found one suitable branch so far. You'd think living in the forest I'd be able to find a ton of them!
That window came with the shed, it does open up and down. 1/2" hardware cloth over it, and there's the infamous pophole, what a job that was for me using that sword saw thingie. It's a good thing the wood slider setup covers up the wavy cuts!! I used an old cutting board, cut it to size, and drilled a hole in the top for the cord.
This is one of the PVC tube feeders for the run. Not a finished project yet. Going to add a second one and mount both on scrap pieces of plywood top and bottom, feeders screwed in and set on cinder blocks. Also going to add a second grit/oyster shell cups alongside. The little ramp going to pophole? Another scrap of 2x12 from my BIL, just added slats.
NOW FOR THE INTERIOR SHOTS!
This is my pride and joy! I built this contraption BY MYSELF! Built it outside and my sister helped me get the darn thing into the coop...what a day THAT was! The poop tray is filled with sweet PDZ granular and I can only say if you haven't converted over to this system you're crazy! Best thing I ever did. I just take the kitty litter scooper (up there on the far left) pick up the poops from the previous night...takes all of 3-4 minutes...done! My roost bar is removable using some metal hanger thingies. My BIL sanded and routed the edges so it's real smooth on the girl's feet.
The ladder/ramp I built by myself going up to the roost/poop tray. I grant you it's a little crooked, but it works!
Here's the feed station right next to the pop hole (notice the bottom cut of the pophole? A tad "curvy" .. that sword saw thingie scared me to death! Anyways, 2 PVC tube feeders, oyster shell to the side, all on a cinder block.
Another view of the south side of the coop. Here you'll see some of the nest boxes setup.
The infamous webcam...couldn't live without it! I can swivel it to any angle I need and it has served me well. The monitor sits on my computer tower right here where I'm sitting in the kitchen...I can watch them "like a hawk" (no pun intended!)
The nesting boxes! Two 18-gallon Rubbermaid tubs w/out the lids. What I did was used a piece of plywood cut to size, then I screwed the tubs to the plywood w/fender washers. Since my girls are large breed I cut out the openings a little bigger than normal and also cut 1" ventilation circles all around the inside of each tub for better air circulation. Then I bought a piece of 1/4" birch plywood, cut it to size, and screwed some latches to the wall. I know...I know...it's a bit crooked, but my leg slipped when I was screwing in the last hinge. Chalk it up to old age! This way I can swing it up to collect eggs and clean easily.
Another view of the nesting boxes looking in through the doorway. In this pic you'll see I added a 1" x 6" fence board so floor bedding doesn't constantly come out of the coop!
Here the hinged lid is up so you can see inside better. Note the ventilation holes I drilled into them.
An egg! An egg! My first layer always lays hers in this first nest box...love that!
The infamous WINDOW! There's been much discussion on just 'how' I was going to be able to fasten securely to a Rubbermaid-type wall this window. As you can see, it's in, it's working, and it's waterproof. My BIL made the sword-saw cuts for me (no way was I going to try it again after the fiasco of the pophole!) and I laid a thick layer of that waterproof goop that comes in a big tube. Problem was I didn't have the gun to use it, so I improvised. I just kept pushing the bottom thing up the tube and squeezed like crazy on the tube to get the stuff out...what a day! Then I used 1-1/2" pan-head screws rather than the little ones that came with the window, screwed the window in....DONE! I'm telling you, for $24.00 (free shipping) you can't beat them. If anyone wants more info on where I got mine give me a holler.
I just HAD to throw in one pic of THE GIRLS! Two are laying, two are still thinking about it. I still can't believe that since April they have gotten this huge! They are the love of my life, although someone has something else to say about it:
And that's ZOE! She tolerates them and that's about all I can say about that...I hope you enjoyed my pics and have a wonderful rest of your day! As for me....I'm off to tackle more unfinished projects around the coop!!
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