The Co-op Coop Coup's Coop Construction is Complete!

[JanetSmithery]

Quote:
I know! Brilliant as it may be, though, I can't take full credit. In the original design, the coop part of our coop/run was actually supposed to be on the opposite side (by the stairs) with the nest box facing toward...well, toward the photographer in most of my "full shot" pictures of the coop. When we completed the first 10 foot frame, we propped it up on the foundation and sat back with a cool drink to admire our work and promptly realized it would totally obscure the line of sight from the porch to our deck. A lot of conversations are yelled across that way, and it would make our whole yard seem smaller.

So we just sort of flipped everything around. Over the porch was the only place the nest boxes could go...and now it is going to be so much easier to collect eggs! Especially during our rainy months!

On the down side, our clean out door will now have to open inside the run...but I think our gains are well worth it!

 

[itsachicken]

Quote:
I know! Brilliant as it may be, though, I can't take full credit. In the original design, the coop part of our coop/run was actually supposed to be on the opposite side (by the stairs) with the nest box facing toward...well, toward the photographer in most of my "full shot" pictures of the coop. When we completed the first 10 foot frame, we propped it up on the foundation and sat back with a cool drink to admire our work and promptly realized it would totally obscure the line of sight from the porch to our deck. A lot of conversations are yelled across that way, and it would make our whole yard seem smaller.

So we just sort of flipped everything around. Over the porch was the only place the nest boxes could go...and now it is going to be so much easier to collect eggs! Especially during our rainy months!

On the down side, our clean out door will now have to open inside the run...but I think our gains are well worth it!

LOL, maybe you should keep that story a little hush-hush. So much genius springs from these serendipitous mistakes (I know! I'm sorry! I hate to overuse a phrase) a cool beverage and conversation with friends. Just roll with it and let the rest of us bask in your brilliance.

On that note, perhaps I should put down my cool beverage and go see if the chicklets are ready for bed.

 

[JanetSmithery]

Long time, no update. Mostly because the pictures weren't very interesting. We mostly just added hardware cloth to the run panels, which took FOREVER. We also rehung the door and finished that all up. Then this weekend we painted the inside, laid down the linoleum floor, and installed the window.

Now we mostly just need to figure out how to make the access door panel workable (we want practically the whole wall to be a door...but we also need to set up the pop door in that wall) and roof the thing.

 

[kichohana]

love the color! looks nice and secure, which imho is the MOST important part of the design.

 

[chaoschicken]

What an interesting journey and what a nice looking coop/run being constructed.

Can't wait to see it done, see the girls in it and having fun.

Good job.

 

[JanetSmithery]

Well, it took until December 18th, but we finally "finished" the coop. We'd had the rafters up for ages, just waiting to be roofed. And let me tell you what, tarps are not fun to constantly place and replace. It took us so long to roof the coop because we couldn't find a vehicle large enough to transport 10 foot lengths of lumber and corrugated roofing. (We eventually rented a U-haul truck.) By the time we got materials, it was finals time here at the UO and no one had time to work on the coop! So we got everything completed during winter break...almost six months after we started! Insane.

We ultimately decided to try the open-front coop style this year, as we've been having a really mild winter and the girls all seemed to be very healthy even though they'd been in the air all the time. They seem to really like it! This summer, though, we may close off that side. It all depends. We'll probably need to replace a few plywood walls, though. It turns out our Craigslisted plywood was interior grade, so it's delaminating. Great.

All in all, though, we're pretty satisfied with our coop construction. We learned a ton about planning and building and research, and got a lot of confidence under our belt. This term, my house voted me--a girl who couldn't even hang a picture by herself before this project--the house maintenance coordinator, and I've been fixing things left and right. I never would have done anything like that without this project, so I'm considering this a complete success.

Our chickens like it, too.

 

[kvmommy]

Very cool...I learned alot...and GO DUCKS!

 

[JanetSmithery]

Go Ducks indeed! I'm almost dreading teaching tomorrow...I know my students won't have a single brain cell focused on 'how to write logical thesis statements.' The game will be totally epic, though.

 

[TigerLilly]

I think it's a great little coop--and I really love the nest box placement (even if it wasn't planned that way)! Makes me wish I didn't have to walk that 60-70 ft to get my eggs...but then I might not get ANY exercise...

 

[upthecreek]

BEAUTIFUL !!!!! i swithched from your first pic back to the finished product pic ...... omg what a cool before and after pics !!!!! it's a brainfreeze comparison of the two !!!

But i would still put the traffic light thingys in the top (just had to say that ................. Thanks for the time together and such a beautiful outcome