I am not sure that I will ever truly be finished but I am definitely done for a while now. My coop is based on plans purchased from http://www.thegardencoop.com/ and then tweaked in a few ways to suit my tastes.
Here we see our three hens and my livestock guard dog in-training Mosley. The footprint of the coop is about 5' x 10' and the raised henhouse is about 3'x 5'. This was a low spot in our yard so I brought in 3 cubic yards of dirt to raise it up.
The roof is a 5V galvanized metal roof from home depot which I coated in a couple layers of copper paint. The paint was purchased from Sculpt Nouveau. Because the paint is actual copper, and not just copper color, it will get a green patina over time. I used this paint in a few other areas like the door hardware.
Here you can also see the 1/2" x 1/2" black coated hardware cloth which I used to secure the run. I used old copper pennies and brass screws to attach the wire, giving it a 'buttoned' look. The best deal I could find for this type of hardware cloth was from Academy Fence.
The wood covering the exterior of the hen-house is 3/4 Brazilian Koa hardwood. It was purchased from lumber liquidators and was leftover from a flooring project in our home.
This (heavy) door opens and attaches to the roof of the coop to allow access to the inside for cleaning. The weight of the door and the swivel branch keeps the door shut tightly when closed.
The hen house has two windows, approximately 10" x 12". Inside of the henhouse I have attached 2x 5' perches.
I also built 2x dual-pane windows to add to the coop this winter, but for now they are not attached.
On the back side of the henhouse I added external nesting boxes for easy egg access. Currently it is painted with a few thick coats of white primer to protect the wood, in the future I plan to paint this another color, perhaps a rusty red.
Three nesting boxes, none have been used yet as my birds are only 3.5 months old. The trim around the door helps to keep light and wind out of the coop.
All of the wood was treated with non-toxic Lifetime Wood Treatment purchased from Amazon. I bought enough for 5 imperial gallons, and used about half of the mix.
The hens have been out in the coop for almost a month now, it has been great seeing them outside and in their element. We let them free-range the yard while we are outside. It took a couple of weeks but they are now in the habit of going into the henhouse at night and sleeping on the perches.
Thanks for looking!
Here we see our three hens and my livestock guard dog in-training Mosley. The footprint of the coop is about 5' x 10' and the raised henhouse is about 3'x 5'. This was a low spot in our yard so I brought in 3 cubic yards of dirt to raise it up.
The roof is a 5V galvanized metal roof from home depot which I coated in a couple layers of copper paint. The paint was purchased from Sculpt Nouveau. Because the paint is actual copper, and not just copper color, it will get a green patina over time. I used this paint in a few other areas like the door hardware.
Here you can also see the 1/2" x 1/2" black coated hardware cloth which I used to secure the run. I used old copper pennies and brass screws to attach the wire, giving it a 'buttoned' look. The best deal I could find for this type of hardware cloth was from Academy Fence.
The wood covering the exterior of the hen-house is 3/4 Brazilian Koa hardwood. It was purchased from lumber liquidators and was leftover from a flooring project in our home.
This (heavy) door opens and attaches to the roof of the coop to allow access to the inside for cleaning. The weight of the door and the swivel branch keeps the door shut tightly when closed.
The hen house has two windows, approximately 10" x 12". Inside of the henhouse I have attached 2x 5' perches.
I also built 2x dual-pane windows to add to the coop this winter, but for now they are not attached.
On the back side of the henhouse I added external nesting boxes for easy egg access. Currently it is painted with a few thick coats of white primer to protect the wood, in the future I plan to paint this another color, perhaps a rusty red.
Three nesting boxes, none have been used yet as my birds are only 3.5 months old. The trim around the door helps to keep light and wind out of the coop.
All of the wood was treated with non-toxic Lifetime Wood Treatment purchased from Amazon. I bought enough for 5 imperial gallons, and used about half of the mix.
The hens have been out in the coop for almost a month now, it has been great seeing them outside and in their element. We let them free-range the yard while we are outside. It took a couple of weeks but they are now in the habit of going into the henhouse at night and sleeping on the perches.
Thanks for looking!
