Want to see what I made today? Pics attached

that is beautiful! So glad you could help her out in such a dire time in her life. I know she will love it!

Is that the mother in laws crib, sweet even comes with outside plumbing!

She will feel right at home...

SIRR1

Outstanding! Great job. And I know what I'm talking about. I built my own hen house, an 8'X13' 'throw together'. It works beautifully, but is a 'plain Jane' compared to yours.

I agree with the suggestion that you could build those things on the side for a little extra 'under the table' income.

Thanks for all the kind words. The coop was a success- our friend was happy and the chickens were clucking.

DIMDAL said:

I didn't check where you live, but chickens don't need an insulated coop. The important thing is to give them a place to get out of the wind. I don't insulate my coop or add additional light, it's open on two sides with a boxed in area for them to sleep. They do just fine.

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Im in NE Ohio and my chickens are in a uninsulated shed (but it is drywalled) and I've never had any problems for 4 or 5 WInters. You are correct about the wind- that is more of a concern.

Honey Berry said:

That is a super cute chicken house. You'll have to post a new pic when the chickens are living in it.

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I completely forgot my camera when I delivered the coop so I asked the lady to snap some pics and email them to me. These just arrived in my inBox...

That coop turned out pretty spiffy! Great job!

Oh wow! that looks great where it is! The coop sort of matches the house. Fits right in. Those will be some very happy chicks.

I had my chicken coop delivered late this afternoon. We've had epic rains here so the delivery truck sunk in the mud trying to put it into place. After about 2 hours we got it freed. What a mess my garden bed is now. Deep-deep ruts. We'll have to till it and then flatten it out. Good thing it's been too cold to plant my garden yet.

The coop now sits partially under a nice big shade tree. I have to get a roll of linoleum for the floor, then hubby is going to build some nesting beds and roosting racks.... as well as some shelving. I do want windows for both ventillation and light. I don't have any electric running to the coop.

I'll try and post some photos of it when it is done.

MM

Milk-maid said:

I'll try and post some photos of it when it is done.

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Looking forward to seeing the pics

Very nice.

I had extra materials from a project and I once built a fancy dog house. I had a regular pitch roof with shingles, insulated walls with paneling, carpet on the floor, a window. It weighed about 400 pounds.

Right after I built it, I moved so in the process, I was taking my dog house in my El Camino to the new location.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think a dog house could fly but that is what it did. On the freeway at about 55 miles per hour, the dog house lifted up to just above the back of the El Camino, gently floated past the end of the truck and crashed into the road into many, many pieces.

I make sure anything in the back of a truck now is tied down.

Hope you get a good basket.

Adorable coop!

We kept chickens in an uninsulated coop in Denver metro. We did have a light on in their roosting box. And we picked Wyandottes, whose combs are extra small, reducing the chance of freezing that part.

I like your coop!

Kathleen

That is a really nice chicken coop. Think you could put together a building plan so others might make one, too? That might be a sweet little money maker for you, too. I'd sure like one for my biddies.

Mesquite said:

That is a really nice chicken coop. Think you could put together a building plan so others might make one, too? That might be a sweet little money maker for you, too. I'd sure like one for my biddies.

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Thanks

Putting together a bldg plan might be more work than actually building one! I had a pile of lumber, some nail guns, a saw or 2, some paint & stain, some shingles, the Sun, some cold ones and a semi vague idea of what I wanted. I figured it would come together after a few sections and a few beers. It did. Probably took about 7 or 8 hours.

Something I would do different would be to use 2X12s for the base rather than 2X4s. This would allow me to staple some screen on the bottom of the run for better security. Then I would fill the base with dirt (and worms). Also, I would make the area under the coop taller.

A few things to include in your design; the coop perch needs to be taller than the nesting boxes- 4 s/f of coop space and 8 s/f of run space per bird.

What a wonderful thing to do!