Chuckie chicken
Chicken Chucker
I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, soaking up information and getting ready for 8 RIR pullets in mid April. I'll preface this by sharing that I have never touched a live chicken in my life! Almost everything I know about chickens has come from this site, so thank you to everyone for your contributions.
I figured I would share some pictures of my coop and run building / modifying as my introduction.
My base is simply patio stones. I laid hardware cloth under the pieces that the run is installed on, hoping to deter diggers. I found a nice level spot with good exposure to the sun, and great shelter from wind.
I decided to buy a plastic shed to modify into a coop, party because the cost of lumber is outrageous in our area, partly because I'm better at modifying than building, and partly because I thought it would be faster.
The shed went together in a couple of hours and seems sturdy and secure enough. I added some ventilation and a pop door before assembly since the pieces were easier to modify before assembly. Despite cutting numerous holes in the structure, I made a point of not breaching the envelope of the structure with fasteners whenever possible. The windows, vents and coop door are all "sandwiched" between the wall with trim and are sealed from outside with silicone, but are otherwise free floating.
I pre fabbed the walls and roof of the run on our driveway and assembled them on the patio stone. At that point I wasn't sure how I would seal the run to the coop, I did a lot of figuring on the fly!
The roof is clear polycarbonate called Sun Tuff around here, great stuff to work with and inexpensive. I did my best to cover every crevice with hardware cloth.
I'm still not sure why, but I decided I wanted a lever to operate the pop door. I have an actuator and a photocell, so some day I may make an automatic door, but I figure it will stay open most of the time anyway, and I wanted to build a lever. 
The interior is pretty simple. Everything is quickly removable without tools, and there are only a small handful of screws driven into the plastic walls. The nesting boxes were hung off of preexisting holes for pegboard, and the roost and poop trays are supported mainly off of the steel beams. The brackets under the trays are screwed into the fittings that hold the walls together, so that no screws had to go into the walls for them. I'm not sure why I was so fixated on not screwing anything to the walls, but it became a bit of a challenge, although one I eventually lost.
I read about using coffee husks for bedding and was intrigued enough to call a local shop that roasts beans. They were happy to have me collect the husks, and as a bonus they come in the burlap bags the beans arrive in. It looks like I'll get two bags per week, which is plenty. We recently trimmed our ornamental grass and I've already put a couple of the burlap bags to work storing the grass for nesting boxes!
The doors came with plexiglass windows, but I set them aside and covered the openings with hardware cloth. I think the draft may be too much in winter, or during storms, so I used some of the leftover roof material and made quick release covers that will block direct wind, but still allow for some ventilation. The spring loaded hooks just push and twist to install or remove the panels.
The run is, of course, a work in progress, EVERYTHING I've done is simply a theory at this point. 
I have a box made for a dust bath that will be installed tomorrow.
I was concerned about the door ventilation being covered in winter, so I decided to install the vent in the gable end today. I repurposed some plexiglass and made louvers to curb the wind.
Although I bought the shed, the 2x4's for the run, the patio stones, and the roofing, I scrounged pretty much everything else! I was fortunate to have a neighbour that gave me all of the pine boards I used for trim, windows, nesting boxes etc. The wood looked old enough to have been part of Noah's ark and was very dry, so it all got a coat of raw linseed oil today.
Sorry for the long post! If anyone has any suggestions, or if I've missed something, please let me know. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm looking forward to learning!
I figured I would share some pictures of my coop and run building / modifying as my introduction.
My base is simply patio stones. I laid hardware cloth under the pieces that the run is installed on, hoping to deter diggers. I found a nice level spot with good exposure to the sun, and great shelter from wind.
I read about using coffee husks for bedding and was intrigued enough to call a local shop that roasts beans. They were happy to have me collect the husks, and as a bonus they come in the burlap bags the beans arrive in. It looks like I'll get two bags per week, which is plenty. We recently trimmed our ornamental grass and I've already put a couple of the burlap bags to work storing the grass for nesting boxes!
I have a box made for a dust bath that will be installed tomorrow.Although I bought the shed, the 2x4's for the run, the patio stones, and the roofing, I scrounged pretty much everything else! I was fortunate to have a neighbour that gave me all of the pine boards I used for trim, windows, nesting boxes etc. The wood looked old enough to have been part of Noah's ark and was very dry, so it all got a coat of raw linseed oil today.
