- Jun 9, 2014
- 3
- 0
- 7
My friend down the road offered me half a dozen barred rocks that he was going to cull to make room for his new large flock of reds. I have wanted some for insect control at least, my son has had lyme twice in the last year.
We have barn space in our 200 year old farmhouse in Maine, but none ready for livestock at the moment, and I have some concerns about potential lead paint dust in the larger space I wanted to put them in, which I will eventually rehab and use now that I realize I want a lot more than 6 hens!
My goal was to build an attractive but basic/no frills coop that was relatively roomy but efficient at the same time. I want to thank everyone here as I made thorough use of this site, learning from others mistakes and successes. I decided on a 4x6x4 coop, 24 sq ft of floor space for 6 hens. Enough talk, to the photos!
I started with a basic framing. You can see my attempt at a cheapo pallet coop in the background, I hate working with pallets every time I try! I decided to do it up right and spent about $250 on 2x4s, sanded plywood, and these 4x4 posts.
All side but one on, plus the pitched roof.
After reading the forums here, I decided on a communal nesting box. The box about 14 inches x 4 ft, it and the perch are 18 inches off the floor. The box is roofed at a 45 degree angle to keep them off of it.
I liked the PVC auto feeders I saw here, but wanted to be more interactive with feeding, so I setup some small ones that would hold enough feed for about 2 days, the other is for water, about 2 days as well. I wanted to be able to add feed and water from outside easily, so I put removable caps on the 45 degree angled pieces and stuck them out just enough. My son loves using them. Also, an access door directly into the communal nest box.
The feed and water tubes on the inside. Bottom is 6 inches off the floor to keep unwanted debris out.
I live in the woods, we have skunks, bobcats, hawks, coyotes, and more. I decided that a chicken drawbridge would add a little more predator proofness to it. The ladies don't use the stairs btw, they just jump up, so they are unnecessary but cute.
Closed the front up after adding 3 6-inch holes to the front top third of the plywood sheet. There is one long piece of 1/4 inch hardware cloth stapled excessively to the inside to block those holes.
Added a paint job, exterior white paint to protect the plywood from moisture and reflect sunlight, inside is staying bare wood. I also used 100% silicone to seal all of the places where the wood meets, inside and out. I decided insulation was a waste of time since I am raising cold-hardy hens and any draft entry points are sealed up nice and tight and there are windbreaks all around. It is under a large tree that blocks the overhead sun in the summer, but will have full direct sun in the winter since it is south-facing. The ladies can see straight out the windows when perched. I plan to use some plexiglass and silicone to close the windows up for the winter.
And the ladies right after bring introduced to their new home. One was taken by a hawk before I got them, so there are 5 now.
I have added 1/4-inch hardware cloth all along the top ventilation area as well now. I also plan to add a door on the end opposite the nest box, flush with the floor, so I can open it and just rake the bedding right into a bin for composting. Using DLM, so no rush on that, and the ladies are still getting used to the new home. They aren't free-ranging yet except a supervised hour before dark to ensure they know where to go as the sun sets. I will also be shingling the roof with some leftover shingles we have.
They took right to it, we had 3 eggs only a few hours after we moved them from my friend's farm to here. They are using the nesting box and sleeping on the perch as I hoped, so great success all around so far!
I also made a sand bath area under the coop, half sun/half shade, with some clean play sand from the depot. These girls will be free-ranging during the day.
Thanks again to everyone here, these forums helped me immensely!
-Tyson
We have barn space in our 200 year old farmhouse in Maine, but none ready for livestock at the moment, and I have some concerns about potential lead paint dust in the larger space I wanted to put them in, which I will eventually rehab and use now that I realize I want a lot more than 6 hens!
My goal was to build an attractive but basic/no frills coop that was relatively roomy but efficient at the same time. I want to thank everyone here as I made thorough use of this site, learning from others mistakes and successes. I decided on a 4x6x4 coop, 24 sq ft of floor space for 6 hens. Enough talk, to the photos!
I started with a basic framing. You can see my attempt at a cheapo pallet coop in the background, I hate working with pallets every time I try! I decided to do it up right and spent about $250 on 2x4s, sanded plywood, and these 4x4 posts.
All side but one on, plus the pitched roof.
After reading the forums here, I decided on a communal nesting box. The box about 14 inches x 4 ft, it and the perch are 18 inches off the floor. The box is roofed at a 45 degree angle to keep them off of it.
I liked the PVC auto feeders I saw here, but wanted to be more interactive with feeding, so I setup some small ones that would hold enough feed for about 2 days, the other is for water, about 2 days as well. I wanted to be able to add feed and water from outside easily, so I put removable caps on the 45 degree angled pieces and stuck them out just enough. My son loves using them. Also, an access door directly into the communal nest box.
The feed and water tubes on the inside. Bottom is 6 inches off the floor to keep unwanted debris out.
I live in the woods, we have skunks, bobcats, hawks, coyotes, and more. I decided that a chicken drawbridge would add a little more predator proofness to it. The ladies don't use the stairs btw, they just jump up, so they are unnecessary but cute.
Closed the front up after adding 3 6-inch holes to the front top third of the plywood sheet. There is one long piece of 1/4 inch hardware cloth stapled excessively to the inside to block those holes.
Added a paint job, exterior white paint to protect the plywood from moisture and reflect sunlight, inside is staying bare wood. I also used 100% silicone to seal all of the places where the wood meets, inside and out. I decided insulation was a waste of time since I am raising cold-hardy hens and any draft entry points are sealed up nice and tight and there are windbreaks all around. It is under a large tree that blocks the overhead sun in the summer, but will have full direct sun in the winter since it is south-facing. The ladies can see straight out the windows when perched. I plan to use some plexiglass and silicone to close the windows up for the winter.
And the ladies right after bring introduced to their new home. One was taken by a hawk before I got them, so there are 5 now.
I have added 1/4-inch hardware cloth all along the top ventilation area as well now. I also plan to add a door on the end opposite the nest box, flush with the floor, so I can open it and just rake the bedding right into a bin for composting. Using DLM, so no rush on that, and the ladies are still getting used to the new home. They aren't free-ranging yet except a supervised hour before dark to ensure they know where to go as the sun sets. I will also be shingling the roof with some leftover shingles we have.
They took right to it, we had 3 eggs only a few hours after we moved them from my friend's farm to here. They are using the nesting box and sleeping on the perch as I hoped, so great success all around so far!
I also made a sand bath area under the coop, half sun/half shade, with some clean play sand from the depot. These girls will be free-ranging during the day.
Thanks again to everyone here, these forums helped me immensely!
-Tyson
