Started a new MONSTER coop this weekend

[Fredster]

Man alive. I'm making great progress, but I sure am tired at the end of the weekend. I think --- and this is where I jinx myself --- I may actually finish the coop next weekend (it's a 3-day). Then it's time to start the fencing, and finally the move, just in time to start raising those new chickies in the current coop.

Progress pics below, including a visitor (now dead, and the second such one I've found out there) who was waiting for me under the very bottom piece of siding.

The corners aren't tight and close because I'm planning on putting trim boards over them, so I didn't bother with perfection (not that I ever do).

The big door on the one end is for easy cleanout, and the two small doors at the other end are for nest box access.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

I love the coop, but the spider terrifies me. That sort of looks like a Black Widow, but it's not, is it? I don't see the "hourglass."

 

[lurky]

OMG....... I WILL have nightmares tonight!!!!!!

 

[Fredster]

Quote:
Yep, it's a widow. Look on her belly in the bottom picture. They're all over the place here.

 

[sianara]

It looks really nice so far, lucky chickens.

What are you going to do for ventilation?

 

[Fredster]

Quote:
It's hard to tell, but right now the space between the rafters is open to the outside. I'm planning to leave two or three open on each side, covered with hardware cloth, for venting.

 

[cmom]

What a monster coop. I love it. I hope you post more pics.

Yes that is a black widow spider.

Here is my black widow story. DH put one in a plastic jar with the lid screwed on tight no holes for observation. He thought it would die fairly soon, no air. Well for over a month the spider with no food or water wove a sort of cocoon. It was in there for awhile. We thought the spider was eating it as we saw a hole started in one end gradually getting bigger for a couple of days. We went out to his work shop, where he had it one day and there was a hunded, many many baby spiders in the jar and more webbing in the jar. They lived in the jar for a couple of more weeks. A friend came over and caught a grasshopper and put it in the jar to feed them. The next day all of the spiders were dead and the green grasshopper was truning black. That Black Widow lived in that jar for nearly 2 months.

 

[Fredster]

cmom, I can definitively say that the widow above won't be living two months in a jar. She didn't even make it two minutes past the pictures.

 

[epona4]

Quote:
There are some critters I'll "catch and release"...that would not be one of them!

Went camping with some friends and they found one of these girls under their rain fly. They caught it in a cup and set it free in the woods. Part of me understands that. We were on "her turf" after all. But the other part of me..the part with the big old boots on...just wants to squish her before she bites me!

Glad you weren't bitten.

 

[ILoveJoe]

Wow Fredster, your new Monster coop is AWESOME!

I like all the chickens wandering around giving unsolicted advice I am sure.

Spider....creepy!