- Apr 2, 2013
- 260
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We've been housing our lovely ladies and chicklets (as we fondly call them) in the two car garage for the past two weeks since we aquired our first batch of chicks and our first hen. They've been loving all the warmth, especially since I'm getting garden starts going in there so its pretty toasty! And they've been sweet enough to be leaving 2-4 eggs a day between our five hens a day in return! But, alas, they can't have the garage forever. When we first decided to do chickens I knew exactly where I wanted to do the coop. Theres a greenhouse built onto the side of our new house and there was this weird little joggy bit in the back that had three walls, a partial fourth and a roof. It seemed like the perfect place to finish off to create our coop.
I've been doing tons of reading and with so many different climates and so many differing views on coop building I had some trepidation about whether I'm doing this right. But I looked at what people are doing most in my area and just dove in. The space is 5' by just about 8' and about 9'high at the tallest and 7' high at the shorter side of the roof.
I'm a tough Alaskan woman! I can do this...right?
Laying the floor
Floor is done!
Putting up walls to cover the insulation
Finished the walls and ceiling and filled in cracks with spray foam.
Then we built the nest boxes and a roost with poop shelf done in the style of one of the other posters. Its basically a little box filled with Sweet PDZ. I plan to do another at a later date when my chicks are a little older.
The door to the run. We got the inside cut out but we had some unexpected crappy April snowstorm hit and the melting runoff has frozen right in front of the door. Once things thaw out in the spring we will get outside and work on landscaping to divert all the runoff away from the coop and the run area so this doesn't happen with chickens in there.
Painted the inside and outside since weather has put a halt to working on the run and I needed something to occupy me.
And we got the door put in. I painted the outside in chalkboard paint so I can take notes about my girls and keep track of egg production. Plus a few cute little hangy do-dads because I like to make things look cute!
Now we just need to get the ventilation taken care of and set up their run. I'm also thinking I'll add another roost above the nest boxes since the poop shelf will keep the poop off the boxes.
Hows it look?
I've been doing tons of reading and with so many different climates and so many differing views on coop building I had some trepidation about whether I'm doing this right. But I looked at what people are doing most in my area and just dove in. The space is 5' by just about 8' and about 9'high at the tallest and 7' high at the shorter side of the roof.
I'm a tough Alaskan woman! I can do this...right?
Laying the floor
Floor is done!
Putting up walls to cover the insulation
Finished the walls and ceiling and filled in cracks with spray foam.
Then we built the nest boxes and a roost with poop shelf done in the style of one of the other posters. Its basically a little box filled with Sweet PDZ. I plan to do another at a later date when my chicks are a little older.
The door to the run. We got the inside cut out but we had some unexpected crappy April snowstorm hit and the melting runoff has frozen right in front of the door. Once things thaw out in the spring we will get outside and work on landscaping to divert all the runoff away from the coop and the run area so this doesn't happen with chickens in there.
Painted the inside and outside since weather has put a halt to working on the run and I needed something to occupy me.
And we got the door put in. I painted the outside in chalkboard paint so I can take notes about my girls and keep track of egg production. Plus a few cute little hangy do-dads because I like to make things look cute!
Now we just need to get the ventilation taken care of and set up their run. I'm also thinking I'll add another roost above the nest boxes since the poop shelf will keep the poop off the boxes.
Hows it look?
. And it dumped snow last night. Ill see about getting out there a little later today.
