Chicken Coop build…..

[Barton72]

The wife did a spur of the moment purchase of 10 Easter egger hens a while back. Then we incubated Silkies and a couple Brahmas. I’ve been collecting all the free pallet wood and what not for a while and building as I go. Had to purchase some roofing, floor, siding, hardware cloth and fasteners but overall it will be a fairly cheap build considering the cost of what all the materials would be.

She’s coming along pretty nicely I think. I’m no pro and things aren’t perfect, but I like it. Gonna put a big chicken run off the side of it after finishing the coop. What y’all think?

I put some deep earth anchors in tied to ratchet straps. Those straps are temporary. Will put cable and turnbuckles on eventually. I’m very very glad I do because we had two storms in Clermont that would have put the structure on it’s side for sure. I’ll update as I build.

 

[BH-ATL]

Looks more like it is going to be a spa instead of a coop

 

[Barton72]

Looks more like it is going to be a spa instead of a coop

Hahaha! Ty sir. Well I may be a little over the top, and I wouldn’t have done that much had all the 2x4’s, 2x6’s and 4x4’s not been free! But hey, if I get in the doghouse situation with the wife, I can always push the birds out, pressure wash the poop and move in! I scored a boat load of free vinyl flooring so it will also have that!

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

What is that floor? Looking good so far! What are you going to put in for them to roost on? You putting a door that can be secured at night?

 

[Barton72]

What is that floor? Looking good so far! What are you going to put in for them to roost on? You putting a door that can be secured at night?

The floor is 3/4in plywood with Kilz on it. Like I mentioned I procured a bunch of vinyl flooring free so I’ll be fastening that to it for easier cleanup.

The roosts will either be 2x4’s or some pine poles with the bark on. I’ve got tons of little pines in the yard. Already cut a few. They seem to love the bark.

I will be cutting out a man sized door to get in and out for eggs, putting some nesting boxes inside, windows for ventilation and a small door for them to go into the run. Might get a solar automatic chicken door that opens when you program it to and closes at dark. They are good about getting on the roost when it’s time.

It’s a lot of effort for some eggs, but it’s fun and the wife and 5 year old son enjoy the birds. We’ll have tons of eggs hopefully and I do incubation so we might expand and do some meat birds in the future. Thank you!

 

[Lionheart]

You might want to consider nesting boxes that extend thru the side walls with top that lifts up…allows you to harvest eggs without going in the coop.

 

[howl]

Def do the external access to the nesting boxes. You don't need many because they'll all lay in one or two even if you have several.

Cleaning out and replacing shavings gets old fast. Unless you're up in the mountains, you don't really need an enclosed coop. We started with an enclosed coop. When I fenced off a quarter acre run, they started roosting outside all the time no matter what we did. Chickens is dumb.

Anyhow, this stuff is nice because you can clean it with the spray nozzle on your hosepipe.

 

[THREEJAYS]

Looks good

 

[KSouth]

Let me know how it works out. I’ll be right behind you. Wife thought it was a good idea to get 25 chicks. Cause I have all the time in the world for that.

 

[Barton72]

I am definitely considering putting outside accessible nesting boxes on, but also don’t mind walking in. I agree that cleaning out shavings and poop is a chore that I’d like to do much less of. I’ve got 14 birds. 12 sleep in an old kid playhouse that I rigged up, but they’ve outgrown it. 2 are still in a big box in the garage. I’ve been slinging poop and pine flakes in the yard for a while. Good for the grass though!!