New plan! (LOTS O PICS, adding them as I go)

[WhySayWhat]

Pop door is on! I even added a second Eye (for the hook & eye) to the people door so that I can latch the door open.

I know the pics are blurry (I think I need to clean my phone camera), but the blob of wood on the lower part of the door is to fill a gap when the door is shut, I used the wood I cut from the space while making the pop door so it fit perfectly with no more cutting!

I even started putting the fencing up today! Though, I did figure out that I will in deed need help doing that part...turns out I can't hammer in "poultry net staples", hold up the fencing (2 feet off the ground), and get it to stay straight all on my own! Go figure...

The coop is ready for the girls to move into it, I'm just needing to get the fence up and the door to the run made now. Hopefully, I'll get some help with the run fencing this evening and tomorrow I can get the door built! Otherwise, I may just have to fight the fencing alone again tomorrow and work on the door the day after, lol.

I had to buy a few more supplies...I'll get those added to an updated cost sheet today too. The fencing I had planned on using was rusted out in some spots and was cut in half (I thought it was one big piece)! I also had to purchase new staples. I got "hot dipped galvanized poultry netting staples", I kid you not...they are actually called that! Basically they are a nail with no head that has been bent over so that you hammer in the middle and both "pointy ends" go into the wood around the wire fencing. I got 3/4" ones as the next size up (1 1/4") looked way to thick!

I went out to hammer some more while I waited for photobucket to upload my photos...I ended up getting 90% of the 1/2" hardware cloth up on the top part! I hammered until I couldn't hold the hammer any longer, lol! As you can see in the photo up there, I didn't get it finished, but I should be able to do that tomorrow if I don't get the 2x4 stuff done! I've also decided to use the larger opening as my door, it will hold two doors that are 25" wide and 61" tall (I'll have to duck)! It was either there or a 27" opening towards an end! I figure the ability to have a wider door when neccessary is a good choice! I am still debating my "wheelbarrow" options...they are the same price, one has really nice handles but is a standard "deep bucket" wheelbarrow and the other is more of a wagon and features an easy dump lift system (I blogged about both a few weeks ago). The more standard choice would require a wider door, the wagon style is only 19" wide and would fit through a smaller door.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Updated cost of materials list:

$ 2.04 - Pressure-treated 2x4's (4 at 4+' in length) - will be used somewhere, maybe not this project, we'll have to see
$ 2.04 - OSB (or whatever it is)
Free - 10 Pallets! (3 of the big blue kind...2 of which are going to be the bottom of the coop)
Free - 2 Pallet Crates
$ 6.52 - Paint @ Lowe's (MisTinted)
$ 17.94 - 2-4"x4"x8' Pressure Treated Lumber (for the floor to sit on)
$ 19.97 - 5# tub of 3" Drywall Screws (galvanized)
$ 58.46 - 1/2"x2'x100' Hardware Cloth (galvanized)
$ 0.51 - OSB
$ 10.92 - Concrete Blanks (the piers)...$2.73 each * 4 of them
$ 19.52 - Adjustable Galvanized 4x4 brackets (goes in pier to make it EXACTLY what they sell pre-made)...$4.88 ea * 4 of these too.
$ 5.00 - Interior paint in light beige! (1 Gallon)
$ 3.06 - 6 pieces of green painted cull lumber...2x4's, 1/2x6, tall skinny OSB...
$ 2.02 - 2 pieces of display...came 1/2 painted!
$ 7.48 - 4 3" Hinges
$ 8.91 - 3 Barrel Bolts
$ 1.87 - Hook & Eye Closures (3-pack)
$ 2.97 - Strap Hinges (2-pack)
Free - 20 Vinyl Tiles - 12" - Leftover from bathroom remodel
$ 2.88 - 8 12" Vinyl Tiles ($0.36 each)
$ 40.97 - 4'x50' roll 2"x4" Wire Fencing
$ 3.24 - 3/4" Hot Dipped Galv. Poultry Net Staples
$216.32

I recently moved my swing to the other side of my yard so that I can watch the girls while I enjoy the outside during nice weather. I can't hardly see the coop so I guess my choice of paint was a good one! The planters off to the right with the rocks and stumps are my Tophat Blueberry bushes (basically dwarf plants) and if you squint, you can see some of my hanging baskets up on my deck that are full of flowers, herbs, and veggies! I also have a bunch of Strawberry plants in a planter up there, but you can't see it from this angle. The dog also made an appearance for this photo, lol, she came running to stick her heads in my lap as soon as she noticed I was sitting down!

Someone asked about my girls (though I honestly forget who now) a few days ago. I have been desperately trying for a decent photo of all three of them together for the better part of the last week now! The girls are 9 weeks old today! I did manage to get a decent photo of Henri, but Gerty will not hold still for a picture anymore! I keep asking about "her" because she has such a red comb/wattle...and I keep reading everyone else's "boy/girl" posts and everything is such a bag of mixed signals for Barred Rocks! One will say roo "look how red it is", the next will say that all their pullets looked like that...I give up! No one is crowing...though I have heard a couple of strangled chicken sounds but nothing consistent and literally only twice over the past few weeks! I'm just going to keep on assuming Gerty is a pullet until proven otherwise! No egg by September and she may be looking for a new home though, lol...I doubt it though, we have never gotten rid of a pet for any reason, the neighbors may just have to learn to live with a sweet black and white alarm clock.

If she doesn't lay eggs that is...

 

[Hope49]

Oh how are you handling those U-nail thingies? I had so much trouble hammering my fingers and getting them in all crooked when we build our last coop - - but they worked well. Every time I see one, I think of bruises on my fingers!! This time hubby did the screening while I was painting my heart out.

Geesh, your light colored chick is a barred rock? It looks like a silver lace wyandotte, but I'm just thinking of how they look when they're grown. We still have a couple of mystery chicks...but their identity will reveal itself when they get older. I returned our australorp ROO and hopefully won't have any other ones popping up somewhere.

You are nearing the end of your work, and BOY did you do it cheaply! My bank account envies yours!!

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Finally.... Pics of the babies!!! Yaaaaa! I was the one that asked.

Loving the coop... You have done such a wonderful job on it! I swear I would not have been able to pull it off by myself. All the tools get moved around or locked up... half the time I can't even find a screw driver. Besides, my DH don't want me building anything with out him.... so he hides the tools.

The staples you got are pretty standard for farm animal fencing. Most people call them "Steepels" with a long e sound. If you're going to be putting up the fencing by yourself (or even if you have help), you could try to measure out one long piece to go all the way accross. Nail it up on one side, then do the other side. Then you could go back and nail it to all the post in between later. But I would have started at the bottom so you could bury it into the ground 8-12 inches to prevent preditors (i.e. dogs, racoons) from digging under the fence to get to your chickens. Ohhh, and my chickens have actually dug a big hole along the fence where I buried it in the ground and use it as a dust bath. They also dig holes to look for worms or bugs in the dirt. So burying it would be a good idea.

Now, if your Barred Rock has a red comb and waddles, and they are growing out bigger and faster than the other two... he's a roo. If the girls have them now, they will still be light pink and they will not be growing as large or as red as a rooster would be. At this age, you can definately tell if he's a roo. Sorry about that. If I could see a better pic of him, I could tell you for sure. I'll go check out your blog if you have better pics on there. I recently found out that one of my Americauna's was a rooster. But he's kinda cute, so he gets to stay for now. If we get the addition added onto our coop, he can stay forever in his own little compound with his own hens.

Well, I gotta run. Your coop looks totally awsome!! You are so creative and have done such a wonderful job. Keep up the good work!!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Hope - I do a "tap, tap" thing to get the steepels to stay where I want them, then get my hands the heck out of the way for the big blows!

Not to say I didn't hit my fingers a few times, but never with a full swing, so no real issues there. I wish I could get my other half to do that stuff! All I get is told that I'll have to find somewhere to keep my girls next Spring when he wants to have the house painted, lol. Won't he be happy when they don diapers and come inside.

As for my chicks...no, the light one is a Wyandotte, a silver lace one even.

Gerty, my Barred Rock, is the striped one behind her, lol. I should have been clearer! And it was a "joint effort" on the bank accounts, lol. I have a personal checking account and then we have a joint account (which is really all his money), so I bought things with both accounts, lol. The spendier items all got purchased with the joint account (hardware cloth, 2x4 fencing, tools...) and my personal account paid for the "little" stuff (cull bin lumber!) as I could afford it.

Of course, I should have just waited until this month...anyone else get Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine?!? They have the coolest little coop in there this month! It measures out to roughly 10.8 square feet too! Perfect coop size for 3 chickens (which it says will fit great), but, since it's a tractor and the run is the same size as the coop, I don't think the "run" part is big enough for general use. It could work really well with an attached run though...Anywho, they have the cut list and instructions up on their website (www.LowesCreativeIdeas.com/Coop) for anyone interested. I saved a copy of the plans for myself...I'd like to make the girls a tractor for Summer time use (next year).

Linda - Yep, lots of pics over on the blog!

As for the tools...they grow legs here too. But, since I bought most of them (and am home 24/7 and he works all day), I keep a close eye on where they are at! Right now 90% of them live in my old wheel barrow (rusty bottom with holes and all) because it makes transporting them from the garage to the back yard a little easier. But, I have been busy doing non-chicken related stuff (like my House Party!) and my SO decided to mount our new TV up on the wall (we bought a mounting bracket/swing arm thing) and had to use my tools (gasp!) to get it up there! So, yesterday was half filled with me calling him at work (good thing his job is mostly a desk job) asking him where he left my stuff. Drill bits...drill battery...ya know! I still haven't located my wire cutters (I've been using my floral cutters, they work awesome), so I used an old pair of pruning shears to cut the hardware cloth yesterday! They don't work quite as well as the wire cutters, lol. For the bottom of the fence, I'm attaching the 1/2" hardware cloth. I just wanted to make sure I left enough "above ground" to attach to the 2x4 fencing.

We all know how good I am with a straight line, lol. I was hoping to find the wire cutters before I got to cutting the 2x4 roll (thicker wire), but will be going at it today with the pruning shears so that I can get it attached to the side under the stairs and move on to the other side of where the doors are going, nearly half way done putting that up! I still need to do some tacking on the hardware cloth I attached abovethe fencing there too. Need to go buy another box of staples too.

Not sure how many are in the box...just says 1 pound, lol. Looks like more than I thought I'd need but turns out I was incorrect!

My BR isn't growing any faster (or larger) than the other two, but her/his comb and wattle are definitely redder. I don't have any other BR to compare her to and I've heard/seen enough of the "my girls looked like that" that I'm not too terribely worried at this point, but I do plan on taking a better photo of her to post in the "what am I" thread, lol. She has always had more pullet than roo features...I'm sure it's just my paranoia.

I was reading this late last night on my way to bed and when I first read it, I thought you said "If we get the addiction added onto our coop...", lol. I laughed and laughed when I realized I had read it wrong!

I chatted with my next door neighbor yesterday (they are having their house painted) and she commented on how glad she was that I was fencing my girls in...she works near Otis Orchards (I know it's close, but not sure exactly where that it) and there is a band of chickens running around the neighborhood! She said three of them ran in front of her yesterday morning!

I forgot Clyde's photo yesterday...so here is my other SLW! She's darker than Henri...for a while I was convinced she wasn't a SLW but a pencilled Wyandotte (she's lacing out now though). Clyde is my "bottom of the order" chicken I think, though I really don't see any of the "typical" pecking order stuff going on that everyone talks about! My girls live happily as a cohesive group...no one eats first, everybody cuddles together...I suppose I'll see a difference when they have a roost to sleep on and more room to run around in! But, when they are out of the brooder, the other two hop up on the lid (I stand it on end wedged between the brodder and the sink down there) and Clyde is happy to stay down on the lip of the tub.

 

[WhySayWhat]

I finally got my help to go out and help me! We got most of the 2x4 fencing up today before the weather turned yucky again this afternoon! We ended up having to go out to Home Depot again to get a pair of 2"x4"x8' PT boards to make some supports for one side of the deck, it was a 10' stretch with nothing to attach to! After we got them buried and attached to the deck, we added pieces of 2x4 that I already had to add a few inches to the bottom side of the deck, otherwise we were going to have to get creative with how we put the fencing up! All in all a good day...need to finishe the back side of the coop area tomorrow (attaching fencing from the coop sode to the house) and we need to gt all of the 1/2" hardware cloth up, as well as create doors and get them covered in hardware cloth and hung! But then...then we get to move the girls outside! They are more than ready to go too!

Here is the side we had to create supports for (also took the most time). The pallet is just sitting there...we considered using them until we thought about the 2x4's.

My other half and his brain child on the run fencing... We're just attching from the deck support to the coop and the other side from the coop to the house. Then, we'll enclose top and bottom with hardware cloth. We had the same 10' with no center supports on this end too, but we also had nothing to nail to from above either.

And lastly, the 15' side (14' since we are cutting the side behind the coop down to the back of the coop). The large, un-fenced, portion is where the door(s) are going. The plan tomorrow is to make two doors that are 26" by 60", to fill the gap, which is 53"x61". I think my math is close...they may need to be 60.5" tall though...possibley shorter if I don't gert the PT lumber down right, lol. I still have some 4' lengths of PT 2x4 that I can use as a door jam of sorts.

And, it looks like we'll be replacing the deck next summer! So, that means a chicken tractor is going to be a neccessity! I have DIY plans for one already, but I'm gonna try my best to talk my other half into shelling out some green to buy a pre-built one, lol. Also, when we get the deck rebuilt, we'll have a "professional" redo the run at the same time, enclosing everything "properly", lol.

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Whooo Hoooo!!!

You're on the home strech now girl. It's looking great and I'm sure the babies will love it.

You know.... you have room for 3-4 more under there!!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Linda, Thanks!

Today isn't going as fast as we had hoped. We're having issues geting the steepels in (and the other half insisted we could use the staplegun if we had 9/16" staples...ao we had to go to Lowe's). So far, we have the back of the coop attached to the house and a 10' length of hardware cloth across the back of the coop sealing it off from the outside world. Still have the entire skirting to do and I still need to build a door (and get the lumber to do that)! Looks like the girls will be spending a few more nights inside the house, but we are really getting close!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Run is still not done...I'm having "issues" getting it done alone! I can't seem to get things to line up how I want them to line up...I wonder if I could hire someone to just finish what I have started. My other half is in a pool tournament that was last weekend (9-ball), this weekend is 8-ball, which they also qualified for, and the following weekend is finals for both 8- and 9-ball! They got knocked out of 9-ball last weekend, but we are hopeful that they will win 8-ball this year! Last year they won the 9-ball tournament and won a trip to Las Vegas, we/they are hoping for 8-ball this year since 9-ball didn't go as planned. I won't be making the August trip to the desert though this year...

In other "non-chicken" realted news...my sister just found out from the nurse at the ultrasound place, that all the twin talk from her OB/GYN is because he actually suspects she's having twins, not just teasing her! She (then we) find out at the end of the month how many and if it/they are boy(s) or girl(s)! This is baby #4 and possibly #5 for her! We are still striking out at my house...

 

[Hope49]

You have done so much with so little money - I am super impressed, and if things don't line up quite right, well that's par for the course. We always have a few "fatal flaws" in every project we do around here, but this coop project of ours sort of took on a mind of its own and ended up being a $1500 money pit!!! So believe me, WE ENVY YOU!!!

I was so afraid the neighbors would not like having the coop there that we went way overboard to make it "lovely". Turns out, the husband says it's better than the house he grew up in.
Oh well, there were all sorts of things that didn't go quite right in ours, mostly hidden in the paint LOL.

I'm off to read your blog. My 6 older ones are in the coop/run full time now, and the last 2 will be there in a few more weeks. They just visit when it gets warm mid-day.
Do you have individual photos of your chicks in the blog somewhere? I'll go look.....