The Chiki Tiki - Work in Progress

[ChickDrmr]

Well, we finally got started on our coop. The chicks come in 4 weeks and it was a beautiful weekend here in sunny Florida.
I designed my coop originally for 6 chickens and ended up making it a little bigger for a couple reasons. First, we all know about chicken math, and second, I decided to go with the grain and use materials as they are sold. I wanted to make the least amount of cuts and have as little waste as possible, so....

Here were my plans:
Base is 4'X8' - that's the standard dimensions for plywood
Walls are 4'X4' and 4'X8'- plywood dimensions
From ground to top of coop 6'- found 6' 4X4s
The extended run 12' from back of coop to end of run- 12' 2X6 or 2X4 (haven't decided yet.)

We've decided to go with a corrugated metal roof that angles from the front down to the back.
Coop run floor I'm thinking will be river rocks with sand. I plan on letting the girls out in the afternoons depending on the weather and the kids sports schedules.

So, like I said, those are all plans. We'll see how it acutally turns out. And here are some pics of the current situation.

 

[Nikon]

YAY!

This is the exciting stage when you things actually start looking like a coop!

 

[JanetS]

Looking good so far.

 

[dranna]

Looks good, keep sending pictures. We are just about ready to dig the holes for the 4 x 4's, but not sure the ground is thawed enough as it has been below normal temps until yesterday to 60's and today it hit 70 in Ohio.

 

[aart]

..... I wanted to make the least amount of cuts and have as little waste as possible, so.........

Good thinking ;-)

 

[JanetS]

Since you live in Florida, are you planning on putting in some windows? That's pretty important in the summer.

 

[ChickDrmr]

Since you live in Florida, are you planning on putting in some windows? That's pretty important in the summer.

I had planned on many vent holes about the size of small bowl all around the upper portion of the coop. Was going to make covers for them for the one or two chilly nights or one of our torrential downpours. I will modify if neccessary.

 

[ChickDrmr]

Sooo, I got to work on the coop today. It was a beautiful 77 here in Florida. Took advantage and almost finished the semi-external nest boxes. Enjoy.

 

[ChickDrmr]

How my day started. Notice the coffee and 3 pencils. It's how I start my day at work, never know how many I'll lose in the process!

 

[ChickDrmr]

I cut out the hole for the boxes and lined up the side walls and the base.