The Coop Part II

It is close enough to being finished that Im putting the chickens in it tonight!!!

On Sunday we changed plans... Hubby went to pick up a blade for the circular saw that would go through metal, but the hardware store didnt have one that would fit our saw, and ordering one was pretty pricey. So instead he brought home enough 2x4's to build in a new front frame. Which he did while I worked on building a dutch door and roost walk ways.
 We got the frame installed, and it was one of those days in which everything goes wrong and takes longer than it should. We tried to attach the shutters, but the screws were not long enough to go through the 2x4 frame, the 1/2 inch siding, the 1 inch brace piece, and go into the shutter itself, so we couldnt get them up.

Dutch door completed

shutter bracing- it is straighter than it looks in this picture

front wall starting,

front wall framework

 We have had a heat wave down here most of this week- real feel has been between 100 and 110 so I have been taking it a bit slower than I like. On Monday and Tuesday I got some of the gaps filled between the wall studs and the siding, installed the pvc feeders, measured and cut the main siding for the front wall.

 

Yesterday I finished filling in the front wall, added another stud to the frame towards the top, installed the roost walks, put in the door, which was a pain in the butt and I ended up having to sand down the threshold and the top of the lower half of the door.

 

And finally, this morning I finished installing the shutters and the door hardware.

There are small things left to do, gaps inside between the floor and the walls, pieces of finishing trim we may or may not decide to add, cutting and framing in a door to remove and clean poop boards, putting in the poop boards after I see where most of the poop ends up, little things like that.. and one big thing, which will be removing the extra space in the front after we get something to cut through metal... but as far as being able to move the chickens to their new coop and out of the little cramped one- Done!

Before, but after the  side wing removal

Before- from the month we moved in

Before, but after rotted siding removal

After. :)

The Coop

We have chickens on the brain. After I talked my hubby into baby chicks sometime in early to mid April, I've been dreaming of the day I get to eat fresh, free range, organic eggs from my own backyard. The chicks have grown.

about one - two weeks old

Taken today- same water dish for comparison

 I moved them outside in a temporary small coop they go into every night though generally not willingly, they are under fig trees and would much rather sleep in those. They have been outside completely sense mid May, and I feel so bad every evening when I lock them into their little coop because they have grown so much. In mid May it was perfect, and in just 3 weeks or so they have grown to the point that it is really to small, so I've been pushing their old small cage from when they were inside up against it- door to door so they have a tiny bit more room.



In the meantime we are finally making great progress with the last old coop that came with the property. I removed all the old siding, stripped out all the old rotted poop covered stuff that was inside it, found 3 eggs that are maybe 2 years old which I'm still deciding what to do with... :)

Hubby picked up wood to make a floor and new walls, and I scavenged a window..... which I broke yesterday morning. Over the past week we have gotten the floor frame in, I hung joist hangers and painted the wood for the walls red. I was going to cut the joists yesterday and get that part done until the broken window. I searched craigslist for an old window we could use, but I was also trying to figure a way to do this without spending money. No luck on craigslist, but by that time I was already sketching out a shutter idea that would use sliding tracks instead of hinges.

I went straight to the workshop and built them, using pallet wood. New shutters with an old barn-wood look- Free! :) They should fit a convenient opening between existing studs in the coop, and it will be closed every night until we can find screen or Plexiglas or something to fit into a 27 X 28 opening.

I cant wait to see what they look like on the coop!!!

Our plan today is to get it finished. The whole coop. And move the chickens into it tonight. I have a feeling it will be tomorrow before we are done, I have re-learned one thing sense been back out in the middle of nowhere- everything takes longer than what you planned.

Raised floor in place!

siding ready to go!

first roost up!

back wall

back wall

where the cut out for the window will be

window cut out in process

window cut out, cant you just picture those shutters on there??!!!

second roost in- used old old wood so it is pretty aged, but still solid.

It is the end of today, and we still have quite a bit of work left to do. We did get a lot done though, 3 walls up, floor in place, roosts up. Tomorrow we plan to remove the extra bit up front including the excess roof, leaving just enough for a decent overhang. planning to save the framework, shorten it and move it back, then attach it to the new front. Install the shutters, Build and install a dutch door (chickens get the bottom part) start framework for the nest boxes, but they wont be put in place yet- and install the pvc pipe feeder and waterer... and a ramp to the door, and a chicken ramp to the roosts... I think thats it! We will see what gets done!