One more weekend and the coop will be done!! Photo update inside!

[Firefyter-Emt]

Well, after a big push this weekend, I hope that by next weekend the coop will be done. At the very least, the girls will be inside the coop itself and awaiting the fencing to be finished.

I still need to make the door for the run, the large coop door in the back and the egg flap. In addition, the two winter shutters for the roof eve inside the run, but this will be screened with hardware cloth and can stay open for quite a while. Inside the coop, I just have to make the roosts and a screened panel to close off the nests until they get the hang of roosting and with luck not get into the habit of roosting in the nests.

I scored a TON of off white/pale yellow vinyl siding today (like 50+ twelve foot strips) so I need to buy some J strips and stuff and I now plan to use the vinyl for the coop over the cedar siding.

I am stoked with how nice it is shaping up, once the run section and the wood trimming has been painted gloss white I can install the hardware cloth to the run and it will be done! Well almost... I now plan to put 24" of either trap rock or mulch with a tiny little 12" high picket fence around the coop. I found the metal roofing is head level and I want to keep people from walking too close and getting hurt on the sharp edges. I did round off the corners, but that stuff can give you a good scratch.

Well, after a long-winded post, what do you think so far? After these photos, I finished the tarpaper on the side towards the run and added the wood corner trim. (I have to even with the vinyl siding because of the open door under the coop does not allow for enough room for the corner trim.

(Oh, the roof that is sticking out over the end of the run will have a rafter like the back side, I left it "open" so I could size the metal roofing to stop exactly where I wanted it to.

 

[Robin L]

I really love your coop and hope to show it to hubby so I can have one like it. Great job!

 

[DawnSuiter]

Your chicken coop is really fantastic. You've done a bang up job! Congratulations!!!!

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Thanks all.. Oh, and the egg collection door is above that door under the coop, it is just covered by the tar paper until I get the door built!

I can say that I have WAY more than I thought I would into it. I "think" I am pushing $600 now!

 

[Lostdog]

Your coop looks great!Athough your idea for a picket fence is for safety reasons I think it will be very cute and make a "home sweet home"feeling for your chickens.They will love it.

 

[orchidchick]

That is a super coop for Connecticut! I was raised there until I came to Florida 10 years ago, and it makes me a tad homesick!! I loved the frame design you came up with keeping in mind the costs of the roofing and the hardware cloth to come.
What are you doing for predator protection around the coop in case there are diggers? I saw that you were talking about rock or mulch...were you going to throw down a wire skirt around the perimeter first? or pour concrete? (forgive me if I missed it...)
Can't wait to see it finished...great job!
Orchidchick

 

[arlee453]

Hey, Fyrfighter - can you post a pic from the inside looking at where the walls and the roof meet?

I'm always trying to come up with a better way to do my roofs...

 

[Year of the Rooster]

wow! That looks great! What are the dememsions? It looks big.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Thanks agian!

For the fencing, I will be using 36" hardware cloth. (100' roll) Each fence "panel" is 30" on center to allow plenty of over lap and work with the run. I will run the fencing up and down so there will not be a seam in the middle, the seam will sit over the studs. I may or may not cover these seams with something to hide the seam. I will be using an air powered staple gun to fasten the fence to the coop.

Because I have no limit to height based on the 100' roll I can simply cut about five feet for the run and a couple extra feet to be buried under ground. I will also run this around the base of the coop and place the siding over the end so you do not see the rough cut fence. My plan is to run the roto-tiller (a nice 8hp Troy-bilt) around the coop to dig the soil up so the fence can be buried. I am still debating if I make a picket fence, or use some other garden edging like stone. It may be that some carefully planted plants will look better and serve the same end result.


I will try to grab some shots of the rafters, but here are two that might help

I added some cross-braces at the height of the top of the run door and screwed them to the sides of the rafters (left to right) Originaly I had planned to make them the same as the coop, but by "lifing them" higher I was able to gain head room to walk into the run. The roof is very light with the metal roofing. I carried all the roof to the coop at the same time it was so light! (well, not the wood part)

PS.. the entire coop & run is 6' x 12' with the run being 8' x 6' to house my six girls. The extra "run" under the coop will keep them warm and dry if needed. I plan to install a plexi-glass storm window over the screened door that will access under the coop.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Very nice!