Big progress on the chicken coop! We spent the weekend building and are now a lot closer to having a place our hens can call home.
A couple weeks ago, we put in the floor, nest boxes and ladder. Here’s what we started with this weekend—basically, a frame with a floor:
It had a roost (that’s the cross-piece with the T-shaped supports) and was ready to be enclosed. And so it was:
Woot!
There will be a window—a salvaged storm window—covering that square opening on the long side, which we can remove for ventilation. And there’s a cute little egg door on the back of the nest boxes, as well as a second big door on the opposite long side, for cleaning out the coop.
Other than that salvaged window, we’ve managed to use a few materials we already had hanging around. That plywood floor is a leftover from the dance floor we made for our wedding. We already had some of the hinges we used, as well as some of the 2x4s and other miscellaneous plywood. I’d love to say we built the whole thing out of re-used stuff, but I can say that painting the coop wasn’t just for looks—it was to help protect it from the weather so that, with any luck, we won’t need to replace parts anytime soon.
Other novice coop-builders and chicken-keepers, let’s hear from you! I know you’re out there, fending off the dogs and figuring out the water buckets.
