Help! Need advice on coop roof---Edit: Coop is almost finished--Chickens are installed! Now Chick

[SarahJaneB]

Wow! That looks amazing for never having built anything before! Great work!

 

[insanity]

Looks great.

 

[RedPonyAcres]

Thank you! We're both very happy with it so far! I think if we really work at it we might actually finish it tomorrow.

Oops! I can't count. We have 14 chicks, not 16! We had 16 originally but did find homes for 2 of our roosters. Right now we have 12 hens, 1 Barred Rock Roo and 1 Bantam Barred Rock roo. I put an ad on Craig's List for the 2 roosters, but the only reply ended up being a no-show.

BTW, DuginMT, do you know of any kind of small animal swap here locally? Or any other venue for finding a home for these guys? Thanks!

 

[DuginMT]

No RedPony, I am not aware of any except Craigslist. Haven't really looked around much though. I see somebody on the west end is trying to give away a pullet. Thought about taking it but have enough already.

 

[DuginMT]

Oh. as far as painting the rough OSB goes, a deep nap roller works great. The OSB will soak up a lot of primer but your finished coats will be easier. I use Kilz exterior latex primer and ColorPlace exterior paint from WalMart. When finished it will have a nice texture to it. If it is old you may get some chips flaking off as the months pass, and when you paint it some of the chips on top will swell up and then usually go back down as it dries. You might plan on touching up next summer if you go this route but from my experience it would still last for years. The glue in OSB is "weather resistant".

 

[RedPonyAcres]

No RedPony, I am not aware of any except Craigslist. Haven't really looked around much though. I see somebody on the west end is trying to give away a pullet. Thought about taking it but have enough already.

Yes, I saw that! No info on the breed. I might contact them, since the pullet is the same age as ours.

There is a small animal swap in Roundup on May 17-18. It's kind of far from where we live, though. We are actually out near Pompey's Pillar.

 

[RedPonyAcres]

Oh. as far as painting the rough OSB goes, a deep nap roller works great. The OSB will soak up a lot of primer but your finished coats will be easier. I use Kilz exterior latex primer and ColorPlace exterior paint from WalMart. When finished it will have a nice texture to it. If it is old you may get some chips flaking off as the months pass, and when you paint it some of the chips on top will swell up and then usually go back down as it dries. You might plan on touching up next summer if you go this route but from my experience it would still last for years. The glue in OSB is "weather resistant".

Thanks for letting me know! Maybe I won't worry about covering it, then. I did paint the inside and I do like the texture.

I have some primer, but it's probably not as good as the Kilz. I also have a bunch of exterior paint I bought to paint our 2 other sheds. That way they'll all match, too. Thanks!

 

[RedPonyAcres]

We're almost done!! After that last post we put our noses to the grindstone and cut out and installed a pop door, people door and 1 window. We also insulated the roof with foam insulation board and 1/4" plywood, and covered the outside of the coop in more 1/4" plywood. I finished painting the inside and put in roosts and supports for a poop board.

Then we went ahead and put the chickens out there, because I couldn't stand them in the spare bedroom one more minute! The chicks are getting huge and it will be warm all week, so I'm sure they will be fine. They seem to like it in there! No one was sitting on the roosts yet, but were mostly sunbathing and checking out the new floor.













There are still a few more things to do! I need to make the poop board, make a ramp for the chicken door, and paint the outside. We will make nest boxes later.

Also, we are going to put up the run tomorrow. The chickens will stay safe in the coop until then.

The ventilation seems to be really good. There are gaps up at the top of the ceiling that let in air, plus the window. I was inside painting it for a while, and even though it was hot outside it was nice and cool in the coop. I really think that the insulated ceiling helps!

Also, I really like that they will be able to walk around under it, in the shade, after we get the run put up of course.

It is 4 x 8 so quite roomy!

Anyway, what a good feeling to have chickens in your chicken coop!!! <3

 

[RedPonyAcres]

Oh, I decided to go ahead and cover the OSB with plywood, partly because the OSB was only 1/2" thick, and I needed to be screwing various things into it. The extra 1/4" of the plywood gave the walls more strength. Though where I needed it to be stronger and/or thicker (like where the door hinges are) I also added pieces of 1 x 3 board to screw the hinges onto. The people door is really heavy, and I think it would have torn off of the wall eventually.

Anyway, it was all trial and error. I am so glad we built it, because not only did we save a lot of money (I think I spent around $400 altogether), I learned so much from this project! I have lots of scrap wood left, so I think I'll build a picnic bench next.

 

[RedPonyAcres]

Also, if anyone is thinking of building a coop like this, you don't really need a lot of expensive tools! I bought a jigsaw from a guy on Craig's List, and we cut all the wood with that. I also used a drill, of course, but it was not a fancy one at all. Hammer, level, staple gun, measuring tape, and lots of screws! I thought about getting a circular saw, but ended up not really needing one. A miter saw would have been nice, but also not necessary.

And if we can do it, anyone can! Neither of us had ever built anything before. It really was a 2-person job, though. There were lots of times one of us had to hold up a heavy piece of wood so the other person could screw it into place.