Part 3
Update showing decorative additions, heater, and modification to pull rope. Also showing hens, a little over a year old now.
Update showing decorative additions, heater, and modification to pull rope. Also showing hens, a little over a year old now.
More construction details with materials and rough dimensions in the video below.
Hi Bill!
ReplyDeleteLove your little chicken coop, looks very clean and easy to keep clean! Did you work from a set of plans or did you figure it out as you went?
I didn't have any plans, just had a basic idea of what I wanted in my head and made it up as I went along. If you would like more construction details then this video might be helpful:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa6GpREYkzQ
how much did this cost? Its exactly what I am looking for! Amazing job
ReplyDeleteIt was more costly than I had anticipated. Close to $2000.
DeleteSweet! I am gathering info and ideas....also in Ptown so the mud factor is very important! Outside dimensions? Looks quite large for 4-5 ladies I anticipate....getting excited to try out this venture!
ReplyDeleteOutside dimensions are 10 x 5 feet. Chickens are very fun!
Deletehi! we found this website doing research on chicken coops. I noticed you said that your 7 chickens all use one nest to lay, I'm not sure if they still do, but you can try to place plastic eggs, similar in color to real eggs, in there to teach them to lay there. sometimes one chicken will figure it out and the rest just follows suit, not smart enough to know the other nests are for laying too. it worked for me. also, maybe bury a bowl under the water nipples to catch drips for them. we are going to build a new coop next month - wish us luck. :) - tami
ReplyDeleteHi Tami. Yeah, we tried the trick of placing eggs in the other nests and it does work as long as there is always an egg in the other nests. But as soon as they are all removed they go back to sharing just the one. Silly chickens! Good luck with your coop. Chickens are a lot of fun!
DeleteLeave a golf ball in your nests, works great.
DeleteThey might like to drink out of mudholes for the minerals. Try adding some crushed oyster shells to their feed. It should be available at the feed store. A little bag goes a long way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for lot of good ideas. You have done a great job.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking around at a lot of different sites and so far I like your coop the best so thank you for sharing. I'm starting to draw up my plans based off you you coop and had a few questions. I apologize if you've answered them already as I must have overlooked it if so. I heard you say the roof was 12' by ? you stopped before finishing and I was wondering if you could tell me. Also the roof material since you added the shade in the coop do you think if I used one solid piece in the middle of the roof and the rest clear it would let enough light in during the winter? Thank you for your time
ReplyDeleteThe width of the roof depends on your panel dimensions. I used 4 panels and didn't want to cut them. With the right overlap the total width ended up being exactly 8 feet. I'm regretting using the clear panels over the hen house. They're great for the rest of the coop so the chickens can have sunlight even on rainy days. But when they are locked in the hen house at night I prefer them to be in total darkness. The sun comes up too early in the morning in the summers here and I don't want them awake and making noise at 5:00am. So I've blacked out the inside with thick plastic sheets. Unfortunately the plastic sheets break down and I have to replace or patch. I'm thinking of getting some opaque panels and overlapping them on top of the clear panels just over the hen house. Or installing some kind of wooden ceiling.
DeleteThank you I appreciate your input
Deletehi. might i suggest in the future you consider a vinyl floor over the wood.. it would be easier to clean. . wood can harber mities and cant be disinfected easily... otherwise i love your set up
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I did do that. :) I don't mention it in the blog post, but I show it in the second video at 6:50.
DeleteThis is a fantastic resource for a very well thought out and constructed run and house. Excellent work and very much appreciated for ideas and inspiration!
ReplyDeletewith the liftable nesting box lid, does it ever leak into the boxes? Just curious how you get it waterproof...
ReplyDelete"it" being rain or water
DeleteThe hinge is covered by the overhang on the roof above, so no rain gets to the top of the nest box lid. It really only hits the bottom 2 boards. The tongue-and-groove boards are aligned so the groove is down and tongue is up and this is enough to allow water to shed off without getting into the nest box.
DeleteI love the style and build on this coop! Ive been looking around at different styles and this one seems to fit all the needs I'm looking for! I Plan on surprising my dad for fathers day with a chicken coop and i have picked this one over all! I know you had done a video on how you built it but I was winding on if you had blueprint or instructions on how exactly you built it? I understand if you don't want to since it is your idea and everything but I thought I would ask. It is a very beautiful coop!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! Unfortunately I didn't draw up any plans. I just built it by eyeball. And I don't think plans are really needed nor would help because some of the specifics in my construction were to accommodate the slope of the ground the coop sits on. I gave some of the overall dimensions in the video on this page titled "Chicken Coop Construction Info." That's really all you need. All other dimensions just kind of fall into place from there. Have fun with your coop!
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