New coop/breeding pen for my Delaware's

[capayvalleychick]

I needed a separate coop and breeding pen for my newest strain of Delaware chickens. I'm going to put it in my garden area. It will have two alternate runs, to be used like the Silveira coop/garden. It won't take up all the garden space- just one end, and the runs will also serve as part of the fence that will eventually contain the garden space. I'm actually hoping to have 2 of these built but we'll see.
I wanted the design to be cute, so it also functions as a type of garden art. It won't be as fancy as some of the beautiful coops on here, but I'm hoping for whimsical. I liked Nugget's Chicky Shnoodle Shack with the swooped roof, so that was the inspiration. It gets very hot here all summer so that design has been modified as well as simplified.
My husband is building it in pieces right now and will assemble the completed pieces in the garden area later. This is what it looks like so far:





Kim

 

[OkChickens]

Your coop is looking good!

Nate

 

[Bernard P. Fife]

The coop is looking good! I am planning on implementing the Silveira coop/garden this year and am very excited about it. Keep the pics coming and good luck!

 

[capayvalleychick]

Progress has been slow, which is frustrating because I need this coop finished! My husband is a builder and he always works for his paying customers first.

He's also very practical, so convincing him to make a coop with a whimsical design was difficult. It's not looking quite as much like garden art as I had hoped, but I'm grateful to have another coop. The funky trim is inspired by Cezanne's Garden Coop...some needs to be changed/removed and more added.

The coop has been moved to the garden area. The fence, for one run, is going up in these photos. A door will be open all day for the chickens to range in one run. There will be another run on the other side for the garden/chickens rotation.
The shingles still need to go on the roof, trim completed, interior still needs to be finished and it needs painting.

My entire garden area is over an acre. This part is mostly open space. The main garden perimeter fence is being attached to the north edge of this coop. This coop & run take up about 1/4 of the open space in my garden area. I hope to have another, similar coop on the east edge of the garden space. The idea is for the coop run fences to also be the garden perimeter fence.



The long coop sides face north & south, so the windows on those sides are narrow & high to block rain & wind. The east side has more ventilation. I think the nest boxes were placed too high, so I had a smaller open nest box put floor level to encourage hens to go broody.



I will post more as this progresses. Thanks for looking and comments/suggestions are welcome!
Kim

 

[G-Man]

It looks Great Kim! I'm drawn to the swooped style roof as well... and whimsical is the perfect word to describe it.
I like the way he ran the T1-11 horizontally to give it the lap board look; very clever. Very well built, Props to your husband.

Have you decided on a paint scheme? The contrasting colors you choose will make the story book trim really pop.
I can see it... you'll get your garden art!

Looking forward to updates.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Thanks! I have to say, your hen house is very elegant.

With all the rain and other stuff I have to do, I haven't worked on this coop, lately. The roof now has shingles, which is very cute. I still have to add decorative trim. The trim will be painted the same bright blue as the garden shed. I love the look of barn wood, so my garden shed was sided with redwood fence boards and I'm hoping it will age to look like an old barn. With the T1-11 on this coop, I have to paint it. I'd like to find a paint that would make it look like old barn wood, if that's possible.

Kim

 

[G-Man]

Thanks! I have to say, your hen house is very elegant.

With all the rain and other stuff I have to do, I haven't worked on this coop, lately. The roof now has shingles, which is very cute. I still have to add decorative trim. The trim will be painted the same bright blue as the garden shed. I love the look of barn wood, so my garden shed was sided with redwood fence boards and I'm hoping it will age to look like an old barn. With the T1-11 on this coop, I have to paint it. I'd like to find a paint that would make it look like old barn wood, if that's possible.

Kim

Thank you for the very nice compliment Kim.

After reading your description I started looking through the pictures on my phone.. I take pictures of everything! If I see something I like or might want to build... I'll take a shot for future reference, just in case.
Well, I found a couple images that might help you find the finish for you're looking for.

The first couple of images are of a small hen house that was on display at the Sonoma County home show I attended a few weeks back. The company was a fencing contractor, I'm not sure if this was the prize for a raffle or just something to catch peoples attention. It worked on me.

Is this the "old barn" ... weathered, silvery redwood that you were describing?





Very cute coop. The weathered wood adds so much charm.


You're working with T1-11 siding and you already know that you will have to paint or stain it. These images are of a very simple, carriage style door that leads to nowhere.
It's mounted on the side of a restaurant wall in Ukiah.. It's only purpose is to break up the monotony of a long stucco wall. It does it's job very well.. I thought it was cool.. so you guessed it.. I took pictures.

I can't help with what the finish is but hopefully someone else on the site will see this and make a recommendation.
Or if this isn't what you were thinking at all.. I'll delete this post so I don't derail your project thread.










I just thought of another option..
http://www.bellafaux.net/ Bella Cielo is located in Shingle Springs. She can apply a faux finish to make your new coop look like a 100 year old barn.. She's done work for us ... extremely talented lady.

I hope some of this helps you find the finish you are looking for.

- Gerry

 

[Stumpy]

I think your coop is looking great. I just love that gardening method, but it could never happen at my place -- not enough open, flat land!

I am also looking to replicate that weathered barn look, but haven't found a way yet. I am going to try to build the Nags Head cart coop. Perhaps a watered-down gray stain would work.

 

[capayvalleychick]

G-man, I love that little coop! That barn wood is exactly the look that I like. I like the old curvy tin, also, but DH doesn't.

I still have to make a trip to the paint store to see what they have that might work. Thanks for the link. Bella Cielo does beautiful work, but that's way out of my budget for a chicken coop. I'm saving the link for when we need something like that on our house.

Thanks, Stumpy. I looked up the Nags Head cart coop... very cute! I have a coop built on the same type of cart. It ended up being too small for what I need, but I still use it as a brooder in the summer. The tires have gone flat and I'm not sure if they can be fixed with the coop attached.

I really appreciate the comments and hope to finish this coop soon.
Have a happy Easter,
Kim

 

[Christyleigh]

I love your coop! I am getting a Delaware chick next week (my first chickens ever!!) So I love to see your coop ideas, we plan on building something grand for next year, this year we have a small pre fab thing that will definitely need to be updated. Good luck with the colors!