Our Little Blue Coop (pic heavy) ~UPDATED, new pics page 2~

[Mrs.ChickChick]

Thanks everybody! It's really coming along. SO much work though, seems like we'll never finish!

Just for the record, I've helped on all aspects of it except for the roof. I'm afraid of heights AND I'm camera shy, so I stay behind the camera!

 

[Sallysitter]

Great job can't wait to see the chicks in their new home.

 

[Mahlzeit]

Wow thats a fantastic looking coop. Can't wait to see more pictures.

 

[mmtillman]

Great coop...great pics....great family and great chickens you have!!

 

[henningheather]

I love your coop! Your chicks will be so happy there. We just finished ours and the chicks are still in the brooder for 2 weeks. I can' t wait for them to move in. Your chicks have really grown fast!

 

[astylishgirl]

What a great pictorial! Keep more coming. Love your chicks AND your coop.

 

[maizie]

You know, when you build a chicken coop that well, you most likely will end up having relatives come try to live in it

 

[Iancurrannacearca]

should look great when totally finishd!!! looks great already

 

[Mrs.ChickChick]

And the coop work continues....
3 feet of hardware cloth around the whole coop (1 foot drop, then 2 feet skirted) Tip: wear closed toed shoes while doing this! I made the mistake of wearing flip-flops, NOT a good idea! Be prepared for blood when using hardware cloth

.
The blocks were on sale for $.98 each and weigh 33 pounds apiece. Was hoping to get a more decorative color, but this was all they had. I also used landscape staples to hold down the edge of the hardware cloth (not shown).

We insulated the roof and walls then hung the thinnest (and cheapest) plywood we could find. Back eaves ventilation covered with hardware cloth.

Inside view of front eaves ventilation

Outside view of front eaves ventilation. DH said I went a little crazy with the fender washers, but I didn't want to take a chance on ANYTHING getting to my girls.

Painted interior white with semi-gloss heavy duty paint. That thing hanging from the door is a spring that pulls the door closed. Had to disconnect it while I painted.

Put in a vent near the floor, added some trim in the corner. (Gotta prime and paint that too)

Starting poop board/droppings pit construction.

Finished roost and poop board. DH put the roost at an angle, we'll see how it works. I wasn't very happy about it, but perhaps he's a genius. He said it was to make them all sit facing forward. Anyone have any experiences with this?

Pine shavings, a little DE, add feeder and waterer, ready for occupants!

Wow, what do we do with SO MUCH ROOM??? We explore.....

....then, WE EAT!!

After the chicks spent a few days in the coop, we cut the pop-door and rigged up the run. Not quite ready for them, but they had to get outside, the temps soared into the 90's with high humidity.

Not too sure about this whole thing...

Bunny, my white EE, always hangs back and watches. See her in the back in the last pic? But this time she pushed to the front and flew right out! "Come on out girls, the grass is fine!"

This the the door to the droppings pit; just open and rake out the shavings!

They like the new ramp, look at all the poop!

The run is 10 feet by 20 feet. Just put up the netting this morning. Fastened to the chain link fence with zip-ties and stapled to the wood fence. Zip-tied to each other. Plan to put hardware cloth around the bottom of the chain link and wooden fence to make the run more secure. The girls (I HOPE they're all girls, lol) get locked up at night in the coop, which is like Fort Knox.

Run Away, Mom's got the camera again!
That box is there because they slept in it the first night in the coop. Now they use it, and the bucket, to jump up to the roost. That first night was pretty traumatic for them and me. They were all frantic and crying as it got dark until I put that box in there!
Now they're sleeping in the droppings pit.

Hopefully they'll graduate to the roost soon. They're 7 weeks old.

Enjoying the run while it still has green grass and plants. Hopefully they'll last for awhile.

We still have trim to put on and the nest box to put in, but we think it turned out pretty well. The chicks seem to love it!
Suggestions for improvements welcome!

 

[jimnjay]

You did such a nice job. Congrats on your project, the chickens seem to like it.