My coop build

[Jarhead]

People seem to really love the look of the siding. I have a secret. The siding is really not technically siding. It is closet liner that is TnG. Works great as siding though and much cheaper. It will be stained and sealed. It is only about 1/4" thick so I used 3/4" styrofoam as insulation in the wall cavity then covered the inside walls of the coop with a heavy vinyl for easy cleaning. The vinyl walls can be seen in one of the pics.

 

[Jarhead]

Just an update. I towed it out of the garage this weekend and got the roof started. I had intended to finish the roof, but we had some family come in so I had to cut my work short. All that's left to do is shingles, a little siding work, some trim, and painting/staining. I am putting a roost up in the "attic" to make use of all that room up there. Here are a couple of updated pics. For reference the fence is 8' tall and the peak of the roof is about 3-4" under that.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

Scot ~

I'm not sure which I'm enjoying more.... the progress of the coop or the story of your cross bow/arrow.

The coop is wonderful; you've obviously put a lot of thought into it. Love the windows ~ there will be a nice cross ventilation.
Where will you put the chickens' bunk beds?
You've probably already put the 1/4" hardware cloth down for the floor; I'm thinking that will probably not quite work as planned. I was amazed at how large the hens' offerings of fertilizer generally are.

You may end up with a lot of scrubbing, hosing down on the wire instead of having a clean free fall to the ground below.

I'll bet your wife is thrilled with all your handiwork! The coop is a great addition to any backyard.

Thanks for the photos,

Carla

 

[Jolyn]

What an awesome coop! I love that it's on wheels and that it has a very nice design to it.

 

[sixpantsmaloney]

Very nice design. I did something similar and I think you're going to have a problem that I had.

Your wheel clearance seems perfect for concrete. If your yard is lumpy like mine, then you'll want at least 2-3 inches of clearance from the lowest piece of wood.

Right now it seems like your legs might catch when you pull it.

Also, here's something I need to change... everything needs to be off the ground. Seems obvious, right? That means the water needs to be on a shelf integrated into the run. Also, the ramp leading to the coop needs to be on a little shelf.

WHen you want to move the coop, you don't want to always have to pull out the water and close the ramp. It's a pain and a design flaw with mine.

 

[Jarhead]

It may not look it but there is about 5" of clearance from the lowest piece of wood to the ground. The yard is fairly flat. It was towed about 150' from the garage to where it is resting now. So no problems there

I have a shelf for water as well, but I will not be using it so to speak. I am now going to mount a little giant auto top off fountain just slightly that shelf. I am most worried about the comment on the hardware cloth about the poo catching and not falling through. It was designed to be hosed out. Plus the ladies will only be spending the night in here and be free ranging during the day, so maybe it will be OK. Only time will tell if it will work out.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions!

 

[mistylady]

It's beautiful! You're doing an excellent job!

 

[Ricks Chicks]

Nice! How many chickens are going to live there?

 

[Jarhead]

We are getting 8 chicks this week. 1 Australorp, 5 EEs, 1 Red Star, 1 BR. They won't need the coop for a while, but at least it's ready.

 

[stayathomedad]

Great coop! I especially like your nests. I'm in the process of building a coop and I would like to build nests just like yours. Do you have plans for them that you would share? The side of my coop that I would want them is 8' long - for 6 nests. Thanks