My first try at a coop? ? ? ?

[mickey328]

Our coop is a "tractor" and the run is easily moved as well. they fit up snugly together and are easily moved by one person...IF the person is DH, LOL. When the coop is set down, we take the wheels off so it stays level. The handles were a great idea, but it's just wide enough to be really awkward to move...so we have a stick we put underneath them to lift and wheel it around. The area directly under the coop is fenced so they can use it for shade or shelter from a drizzle without going in if they like. We're going to put some access for us at the back end so we can keep the feeder under there...to keep it from getting sprinkled on.



Here's the coop and run


...and from a different angle, with the girls enjoying the shade



Oops...didn't mean to put this in there, LOL...had us a little bitty egg there without a yolk


This was the temp set up while coop building. Tarped a rabbit hutch for them and put up a portable pen with 3/4" conduit "woven" thru the wire


Here's the coop opened up. The whole roof is hinged and the end with the fold down door is for egg retrieval There's a lift up door on the other end (closed in the pic) so we can clean out the bedding...just wheel the barrow up and rake it all out...easy peasy.


Here's a closer shot of the interior showing the pulley used to raise and lower the ramp, and Dora the Explorer checking things out. The string is attached to the ramp on both sides to make a little "doorway" for the girls to walk through. It then goes through the pulley and a hole in the back. We wrapped it around a little handle of wood and use that to open and close it. They wouldn't use the roosts till we put the ladder in for it.


Here's what you see when you open the "egg door" We're going to put a side wall on the left box since ALL of them use the one on the right. Patches left us a little present which I brought in after the photo shoot


Different view of the same...they sleep in the left box but won't lay in it.


This was the coop after priming but before painting


This is our backyard shed...see why we chose the coop design? The colors on both are the same as our house.

For mostly re-claimed, recycled and re-purposed materials, I think it came out great! The girls love it too. All together, we spent perhaps $80 on the coop, and that was almost all screws, brads, hinges and paint. We didn't come close to using all the paint, so we'll have it for future projects. I calculate that actual cost for the materials used was about $20.


A more close up view of the temporary housing. We had them the better part of a month like this and they did fine...we just moved the whole set up every 3 or 4 days, like we do with the new coop.

 

[Crazy Mitch]

Our coop is a "tractor" and the run is easily moved as well. they fit up snugly together and are easily moved by one person...IF the person is DH, LOL. When the coop is set down, we take the wheels off so it stays level. The handles were a great idea, but it's just wide enough to be really awkward to move...so we have a stick we put underneath them to lift and wheel it around. The area directly under the coop is fenced so they can use it for shade or shelter from a drizzle without going in if they like. We're going to put some access for us at the back end so we can keep the feeder under there...to keep it from getting sprinkled on.



Here's the coop and run


...and from a different angle, with the girls enjoying the shade



Oops...didn't mean to put this in there, LOL...had us a little bitty egg there without a yolk


This was the temp set up while coop building. Tarped a rabbit hutch for them and put up a portable pen with 3/4" conduit "woven" thru the wire


Here's the coop opened up. The whole roof is hinged and the end with the fold down door is for egg retrieval There's a lift up door on the other end (closed in the pic) so we can clean out the bedding...just wheel the barrow up and rake it all out...easy peasy.


Here's a closer shot of the interior showing the pulley used to raise and lower the ramp, and Dora the Explorer checking things out. The string is attached to the ramp on both sides to make a little "doorway" for the girls to walk through. It then goes through the pulley and a hole in the back. We wrapped it around a little handle of wood and use that to open and close it. They wouldn't use the roosts till we put the ladder in for it.


Here's what you see when you open the "egg door" We're going to put a side wall on the left box since ALL of them use the one on the right. Patches left us a little present which I brought in after the photo shoot


Different view of the same...they sleep in the left box but won't lay in it.


This was the coop after priming but before painting


This is our backyard shed...see why we chose the coop design? The colors on both are the same as our house.

For mostly re-claimed, recycled and re-purposed materials, I think it came out great! The girls love it too. All together, we spent perhaps $80 on the coop, and that was almost all screws, brads, hinges and paint. We didn't come close to using all the paint, so we'll have it for future projects. I calculate that actual cost for the materials used was about $20.


A more close up view of the temporary housing. We had them the better part of a month like this and they did fine...we just moved the whole set up every 3 or 4 days, like we do with the new coop.

LOOKS GREAT. . . thanks for the pictures. . . it always help me think through what I do. . . I'm a visual person (graphic designer). I have to figure out the pulley system. . and the locks for the doors. I like the hinge for the top. . . is that for easy access? Cleaning? We will see. . .I hope to get working more on it in the morning.

I love the egg shots. . . and if you can get cholesterol free eggs. . . .you will be rich! ! ! ! Do you think a 2.25" opening for the roll out box is a good size for eggs? Yours look like bigger than that? ? ? ? ?

GB
Crazy Mitch!

 

[mickey328]

Well, for the "locks", we put a small nail in each side of the fold down door, put an eye on the wall and stuck a caribiner through that and lay it over the nail. Real high tech, LOL. We were going to use hooks and eyes, but didn't have any hooks. The door actually fits quite snugly and when it gets moved the whole thing gets a little out of kilter, our yard is by no means flat! So, it works for us...we don't have 'coons in our yard so we don't have to be really secure...just keep it from popping open if they happen to lean on it from inside. On the other end, the door opens up instead of down...it's for cleaning...just wheel the barrow up, open the door, stick a rake in and pull it all into the barrow. Being able to open the roof lets us have access to the inner part of the roof to change up the light and such, and also it's much easier to get fresh bedding in there from the top.

The door we use for access to the nest boxes is the whole width of the coop. It opens down and rests on the handles. I'm a little um...vertically challenged...so I needed it so I didn't have to climb a stool to reach in, LOL. If you want to go smaller, just make sure your arm will fit in far enough to grope around in the nest, and that the opening is big enough for your hand wrapped around an egg will come out...or you'll be like that monkey who reached into the bottle and discovered that he couldn't get his hand AND the banana back out thru the opening, LOLOL Our nest boxes are screwed down to the floor of the coop. We just reach in thru the "egg door" for the eggs and to clean them. We put a piece of plastic "welcome mat" in each...the kind that has bristles on it, and then some straw over that. Some of our girls like lots of straw and some don't (they're constantly rearranging them) So if they scratch it all out the mat is still there to provide some padding and support for the egg. When it gets icky, we pull it out, hose it off and stick it back in.

DH and I didn't have quite the same vision for the pulley system. I figured he'd drill holes on either side of the ramp, run the nylon twin thru them, then criss cross it through a piece of pvc to separate them over the ramp, then up to the pulley and out the hole in the back wall. What he did was staple the string to the sides of the ramp and then up and stapled to the ends of a piece of wood to use as a spacer and on up through the pulley and out. It works fine but to my mind seems more complicated that it needs to be, LOL. Oh well, I ain't complaining...he did a great job and took most of my suggestions and put in all the things I thought necessary. Don't fix it if it ain't broke is my motto.

Can't wait to see more pix of your progress!
Mickey

 

[Crazy Mitch]

Well I finally got the door on. . . don't look close. . . And my poop tray in place. . . I need to paint and put in the 2' anti digging defense around the run! I also might have found a home for two rosters. We will see. . . and homeschool group with seven boys in the family. They live out side of town a good place for them.

I will post pictures when I get the chance. . . I know it is the best part of the thread. . . I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

GB
Crazy Mitch!

 

[mickey328]

Woohoo, sounds like you'er almost there!

 

[Crazy Mitch]

Yep Mickey. . . . almost there! ! ! !

Here is the door. . . a solid oak door from the garbage. Cut to fit. . .I need a door knob. to fill the hole but it won't be functional!



Poop tray. . .and I'm worried about the vent above this. I might have to do something to redirect it. We will see

Now do I make one long horizontal perch or two short vertical ones? ? ? Any thoughts?



sealed up the cracks and then added trim around the window. Scrap oak from a friend



I moved the run so I could get to the hatch door. . .and work that. I need to add some weight to it so it will shut tight. . .and then the rod will secure it!





This is their night quarters. . . they are too big for this. . .I need to get finished so they can move in!



I gotta go and get the chicken in their run!

Thanks for looking!
Mitch!

 

[mickey328]

Woohoo, lookin good!

I can't quite see the vent...if the chickens are roosting, will it blow over their heads? If so, yer good to go.

For roosts..why not offer a variety? Both of ours are horizontal, but we have a wide flat one and a tree limb...that way they can just sit or they can clutch...chicken's choice

 

[BrendaJ]

My coop is inside a chainlink fence with a top to keep out unwanted evening guests. They can come in & out of the coop as they wish. I open the gate during the day & let my little featherd friends free range. I use shavings for the floor of the coop & have places where they can roost & lay eggs. In the winter i cover the fenced area with a tarp to control all the rain. They need a dry area to hang out in & they dont free range as much in the winter.
Looks & sounds like you are def on your way. Your chickens will be happy

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Wow Mitch! Your coop is turning out great, I've really enjoyed watching your progress! I love the reuse of materials, the door looks fantastic.

 

[Crazy Mitch]

My coop is inside a chainlink fence with a top to keep out unwanted evening guests. They can come in & out of the coop as they wish. I open the gate during the day & let my little featherd friends free range. I use shavings for the floor of the coop & have places where they can roost & lay eggs. In the winter i cover the fenced area with a tarp to control all the rain. They need a dry area to hang out in & they dont free range as much in the winter.
Looks & sounds like you are def on your way. Your chickens will be happy

I was thinking about a dog run? But do you have weasels? And can they get through that fence? We have them in the yard. . .at least I caught on in a have a heart trap last year. I don't letthem free roam. . . because of the family and poop phobias. . . but maybe someday? we will see.

Thanks for the insight for the inside of the coop. We get snow. . . and alot at times. So I hope just having a board over the run will do for them.

GB
Mitch!