- Feb 23, 2011
- 20
- 0
- 22
OK gang heres the deal. Me and the wife decided we wanted to get some chickens. I never owed a chicken or built a coop before so this is my first run at it.
We decided not to go to big to start with. The plan was to get between 3 or 4 chickens to start with and build the pen on a small budget. This meant fancy was out the window. Just needs to be efficient.
I work in the construction field so i already had a lot of the material laying around that i picked up on varies jobs in the past. The only thing i had to buy was the wood , hinges and latches. I already had the wire,tin,Plexiglas,fasteners and steel studs.
Heres the result so far.
10X10 square with 4x4's on the corners and 10" galvanized steel studs half buried in the ground to help keep praetors out and chickens in.
Here we are with the roof studs on. I know it has a flat look to it but i actually did build a 2 inch sloop to the rear. All i need is water to drain. Didn't want to loss much height on the inside. I stand 6'2" and don't want to be bumping my knot while i'm walking around in the pen.
Got the tin top on and some of the wood framing up. . . . . looks like some wild chickens have already started migrating to the pen and i ain't even done yet.
My dad calls and ask if i have my door built yet. When i say no he says go look behind my house and get that fence gate. Worked perfect!
Few more pics.
Got the wire on now. Just about done. Just a few little knick knack things to do.
As you can see its pretty much a dirt floor pen and coop. I do have a small floor section for them to stand on in front of the nesting boxes but there is no floor under the roost. Even though the bottom is open the walls around the roost will keep the wind and water off the birds but allow for plenty of ventilation during the summers months.(which gets hot in MS) During the winter months i plan to close off the bottom section with plywood to help stop any cold updrafts.
Now for the chickens.
I went to a local trade show to buy my chickens. We decided to buy adult chickens and I wanted leghorns. But think i ended up with something else. After i got them home and looked at a few pictures i believe i might have gotten White Rocks. Not really sure yet as they have not layed any eggs...well except for one. There was a brown egg in the cage when i bought them. Also i think one of them is a mix breed. Its white with a red comb just like the others 3 only it has blackish legs while the other three have yellow legs.
Either way we are happy. They seam to be very gentle birds.Not very spooky at all. You can pick one up with just a little effort.
Heres a pic. Tell me what you think they are.
We decided not to go to big to start with. The plan was to get between 3 or 4 chickens to start with and build the pen on a small budget. This meant fancy was out the window. Just needs to be efficient.
I work in the construction field so i already had a lot of the material laying around that i picked up on varies jobs in the past. The only thing i had to buy was the wood , hinges and latches. I already had the wire,tin,Plexiglas,fasteners and steel studs.
Heres the result so far.
10X10 square with 4x4's on the corners and 10" galvanized steel studs half buried in the ground to help keep praetors out and chickens in.
Here we are with the roof studs on. I know it has a flat look to it but i actually did build a 2 inch sloop to the rear. All i need is water to drain. Didn't want to loss much height on the inside. I stand 6'2" and don't want to be bumping my knot while i'm walking around in the pen.
Got the tin top on and some of the wood framing up. . . . . looks like some wild chickens have already started migrating to the pen and i ain't even done yet.
My dad calls and ask if i have my door built yet. When i say no he says go look behind my house and get that fence gate. Worked perfect!
Few more pics.
Got the wire on now. Just about done. Just a few little knick knack things to do.
As you can see its pretty much a dirt floor pen and coop. I do have a small floor section for them to stand on in front of the nesting boxes but there is no floor under the roost. Even though the bottom is open the walls around the roost will keep the wind and water off the birds but allow for plenty of ventilation during the summers months.(which gets hot in MS) During the winter months i plan to close off the bottom section with plywood to help stop any cold updrafts.
Now for the chickens.
I went to a local trade show to buy my chickens. We decided to buy adult chickens and I wanted leghorns. But think i ended up with something else. After i got them home and looked at a few pictures i believe i might have gotten White Rocks. Not really sure yet as they have not layed any eggs...well except for one. There was a brown egg in the cage when i bought them. Also i think one of them is a mix breed. Its white with a red comb just like the others 3 only it has blackish legs while the other three have yellow legs.
Either way we are happy. They seam to be very gentle birds.Not very spooky at all. You can pick one up with just a little effort.
Heres a pic. Tell me what you think they are.
