Finished Coop Today!

[DuginMT]

So glad to be done with my coop. It was a nice little project and was good therapy. It is 6' wide and 8' long and 4' high at its peak. Simple shed roof. It is elevated 2' off the ground with 6 4X4's that are all 2' into the ground. 4 nesting boxes, two 8' long perches, three plexiglass windows, three vents (two on sides of coop and one up under the roof peak), a 3' human access door, and a chicken door. It sits under our deck so I was not worried about snow load. Planning to keep 8-10 hens in it, we have 13 chicks now but are figuring on a few roosters! The chicks are 3-4 weeks old now.

The ballast on top of the roof is temporary, until the asphalt shingles heat up enough to bond down. I was planning on a more sedate barn red but the color turned out a little brighter. Oh, well, should be able to locate the coop in the dark or during blizzards!

All materials for the coop cost me under $550, as I was lucky enough to have some of the materials lying around the place (shingles, plexiglass, nesting box cover wood, vinyl for floor, internal roost ladder material, and silicone caulk). I estimate it took me about 30 hours to construct - mostly I worked on evenings and weekends.

This is the first coop I have built but I grew up on a farm with chickens so had an idea of what they would need. Hope they will like it, we are looking forward to eggs by August!

 

[sourland]

Classy job - I applaud you.

Maybe you could apply that sedate barn red a little later?

 

[DuginMT]

Thanks Sourland, and the next time I paint it I will tone it down a bit!

 

[cknkids]

Enjoy.

 

[DuginMT]

Thanks, turned out I only had one rooster develop (Avatar) and the hens and rooster love the coop! I say hens because they are all laying now, I got 10 eggs out of the 12 pullets today. So happy with my flock. Can't think of anything I would change in the coop except next time I would put the rafters on edge for more strength. No obvious sagging yet but I may have to put a brace in eventually. All of the asphalt shingles have bonded down with the summer heat and the ballast is gone. My run is about 220 SF, that surrounds the coop. I had to mix soil cement around the inside of the run as the birds were trying to dig out! I now let them out for about 1/2 hour to 1 hour between 7:00 and 8:00 PM to forage in the yard. About 8:00, they return to the run and coop on their own. No predator problems yet, although a red-tailed hawk and the neighborhood dogs have shown some interest. I installed three Nite-Guard red blinking lights on the coop, don't know if they are helping or not, but so far so good. I have gained so much from this site, thanks all.