Our little chicken coop in Progress!

[twfernandez]

@whitney556 , I can only imagine! Sue and are hoping to eventually hatch some of our own as well, at which point I'm sure the chicken math reality increases eggsponentially!

 

[twfernandez]

Whew - almost a week since my last update - and we've been pretty busy the whole time! It's this nice spring weather, so much to do ...

Just wanted to update our little chicken coop progress:



This wall faces North, and it was very time consuming to frame it. Specifically, trying to figure out how I was going to set up the nest boxes - we finally settled on four boxes, accessible from outside and just below the window. Three of them 12"x12", the last one 18"x12" (to get the exterior box centered and work around the incidental 4x4) - we're calling it the penthouse.



The next wall (facing west) went up more quickly - the pop door and window are centered on the wall, pop door at 12"w x 15"h - not sure if you can tell, but two of the rear 4x4's were warped. I didn't think it would be to much of a problem when I sunk them in concrete - but it has created some interesting challenges in terms of getting the frame square and level - I'm optimistic that the siding will hide it in the end.

From here, we are looking west at the rear of the hen-house. I think the warped 4x4's are a bit more evident. I put in a couple of 2x6's upright on the outside edges of the rear wall to help support the weight of the rear doors, which will be 48" x 51".



A long view of the chicken-run facing the hen-house - I had the sand dropped off this morning and got it pretty evenly spread out throughout the run.
So, all in all, not a bad week in terms of progress!



We lost one of our chicks on Friday, but otherwise the girls are doing well and growing quickly, and Sue and I have both been enjoying the nice weather, and the chance to work outside together(me on the coop, her in the garden!) The plan for this week? Doors and floors!
Will update soon!

Thanks,
T&S

 

[ChickonInc]

Nice

 

[RickyDean]

Very nice looking so far. Very interested to see the finished product.
I am building a coop myself but it will only be 4 x 6. I was only going to have 6 chicks but
ended up with 12, so I hope it will be enough room for them. If it isn't, I can always add on
to it later. Nice job so far, keep up the good work!

 

[twfernandez]

@RickyDean , if you have the chance, you should post some pics of your build/design, would love to see it!
I've had several people on BYC explain chicken math to me - sounds like the numbers are working the same way for you. Planned on 12, ended up with 17 chicks!
If you think you are going to need the extra space, I would encourage you to think about adding it now, while you are still building. I feel like an add-on after the initial build would be more difficult than a change in plans early on.
On the other hand, you could design with a later add-on in mind, making it easier to expand down the line.
From what I've read here, the rule of thumb is 3 square feet per chicken in the hen-house, and 10 square feet per chicken in the run, but I'm sure there is some flexibility in those numbers based on specific type of chicken, climate, landscape, etc.
Either way, enjoy the journey!
@ChickonInc , thanks for the feedback!

 

[RickyDean]

Will try to put up pics later. Yes I am in the framing stage and already have
Floor, nesting boxes and walls cut and framed up. However I now know
It needs to be bigger. i will have to extnd floor and walls but shouldn't be
a problem. Thanks for your response.

 

[ChickonInc]

I just love hearing about people starting with chickens and talking about their journey. You and Sue are gonna enjoy the years to come with your girls. I can already tell that your coop is gonna be fancy dancy. Mine is okay, but I'm expanding mine to my shed. It has running water, heating and cooling. Than last but not least electricity. It's huge, and can hold up to 90+ Chickens! Has 2 floors and well. I'm excited. But, it's filthy and I'm not too excited about cleaning day

and good look to you and sue with your girls.

You'll start out with 17 and end up with 50. Chickens are addictive. Then you get attached and then a hawk comes along. Happened to me but Your coop with hopefully be safe for your feathered friends. Btw they can live to be 20! Amazing.

oh and

 

[ChickonInc]

I can post pictures of the shed if you would like ;3 and your from Virginia, Love dem mountains.

 

[PapaChaz]

looking very good so far!

I had a 4x4 post concreted in that wound up the next day NOT being as straight and square as I needed it to be. It made hanging the gate on the run a very challenging day. But it's up there now

 

[twfernandez]

@ChickonInc - the shed sounds .. enormous! You should post pics, especially for the before and after! We really do appreciate the kind words, and Sue and I agree that this is a journey, not a hobby.

We've already grown attached, and the chicks are already developing personality - they're awesome!

I don't know about fancy dancy - probably closer to fancy schmancy?? <insert cheesy smiley> :-] </end cheesy smiley> I agree, VA really is a beautiful state!

@PapaChaz - Thanks for the feedback! Nothing like a strange angle to mess up a door.

During recent renovations, I decided to screen in our front porch. 1st step? Screen door. I framed it out in about 20 minutes, easy peasy, square and level. Tried to hang the door, and it won't close???
Started re-measuring, looking around, second guessing, the hokey pokey, you name it .. it took me over an hour to figure out that the porch itself was not level, LOL.
I ended up having to rebuild the frame, and make it crooked on purpose - which in its own way is more fun anyway!
Thankfully, with this build, the 4x4 where the people door will be is pretty darned straight, and I think the siding/trim will help to hide the crooked frame.