Ideas on Improving my Coop before its finished?!

[BabyTitan06]

I think this coop is adorable! I didn't want to have to walk through my coop to do anything or clean it, so I opted for this one. I love Ana White though!!

 

[01746Mike]

Show us the completed project Titan!

 

[BabyTitan06]

Okay! So my husband and I haven't completed the coop 100% yet. We have to add the trim still, and we are going to build a little deck and ramp that runs along the side of the coop to save space. (I have the door opening the wrong way for this to work haha)




Here is the hinging door for me to clean out the coop. We didn't anticipate the door to be so thick, so the roofing is a bit short, and water ends up on the base board for the hinge. Ive since painted it, and we need to figure out a method of keeping it dry. In the photo below you can see the gap.

Also, it stays surprisingly dry under the coop during rainy days

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Another photo of the hinging cleaning door.

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My unpainted nesting box haha






My nesting box lock, I love it

The "lock" for the cleaning door. I have a large D ring that can self lock that I put on it at night as well. As you can see, the door has some nice big gaps, and allows for some rain water to get inside.



It is really really darn in the coop during the day, so I gave the girls some LED Christmas lights!



I got the star at one of those craft shops. It's going up right after we get the trim up!



Lots of space underneath for the girls to get some shade.



Because I'm obsessed with chickens, and my older girls aren't old enough to lay eggs, I turned their nesting box into a temporary brooder. I have a little heating pad that they can use to warm themselves up on if they get too cold. But I haven't caught them using it yet.. It's been so warm and muggy.



I have some hardwire cloth nailed to some 2x2s to keep them separated from the rest of the flock. I'm hoping this set up will make it an easier transition for the chicks.



Another inside shot of the coop.



This is a shot from the door.


Are there any other ideas on improvements?! I'm not too sure what else could be done haha. I have a 5 gallon PVC watering system I'm putting together as well as a bucket-type PVC food system for the girls. I'm just not allowed to drill holes into the coop while my husband is away for work haha.



The watering system idea I "stole" I was thinking I could make a "double decker" type of system where I could have the piping go through the top of the coop, all the way through the floor to give the girls water inside and outside the coop with the same gallon bucket of water.





The above two photos I was thinking about for Their food. But I was hoping to use one of my Home Depot buckets and some 2" PVC piping. Ideally I would put 4 pipes with a 60 degree bend underneath the bucket to keep it stable and allow the girls lots of eating room. But I might nix that idea and just drill holes in the bucket.



And I was going to steal this idea for building a deal with the ramp alongside the coop. My husband will have fun with that project haha.