We started of with four bags of concrete mix, four 12' - 4"x4" pressure treated posts along with a dozen 8' -2"x4"s. Figuring out the easiest way to put the four posts in the ground and make sure they were plumb and square to each other, with just two arms…went better than expected. Got the first two posts in buried 4 feet deep, then measured the second set of holes. A little back of the napkin figuring getting the diagonals (to make things square), and the third post went into the ground with just a little bit of screwing around. Through dumb luck the last post was too easy with it thrown into the hole, measured off, and standing up straight in BOTH planes. It was exactly (less than ¼ inch off) where it needed to be making the whole thing square “Quick don’t move gotta get the dirt back in the hole!"
With all the posts in, we filled the top 16” of the hole with cement, tapered the top of the cement so water would drain away from the posts, and topped the last few inches with dirt.
After the posts went in the ground, the structure went up quite quickly. The pressure treated lumber went into the floor, with the rest of the structure made out of standard 2"x4". The chicken door ended up too low, since Aaron didn't figure in the height of the bedding (~4-6") that would eventually be in the coop, and the chickens need about 12"x12" opening. The slope of the roof was picked to mimic the slope of the shed roof. An eavestrough was installed on the shed to keep the run off out of the chicken run, and for another project that we were working on as well (a 400 gallon rain water collection system). The entire north wall of the coop would be hinged to allow for easy entry and cleaning out bedding (conveniently at wheelbarrow height)
The coop was clad in 3/8ths inch plywood, and 1/2 inch on the floor. Aaron made sure the coop was 1 inch short of 8 feet long, in case something didn't end up perfectly square, and could still make due with a single sheet of plywood on either side. Large vents in the back of the coop, and smaller ones under the front overhang, along with a screen window on the south wall, should provide adequate ventilation. You can always cover up vents when its too cold but you can't 'open' them when it gets hot unless you start with them from the beginning.
Next was installing the front, south, and back wall, along with the roof sheathing. The window was donated by Marianne's parents, along with the steel sheets for the roof.
Marianne's Dad donated the window for the south facing wall that would help warm the coop up on those cold sunny winter days. The opening below it for the nest boxes was ready to accept the unit Aaron planned to build as a separate piece and bolt onto the side.
Next was the steel roof for the chicken coop, along with some some 1/2 inch galvanized wire mesh on the window and on the back of the coop. In retrospect it would have been better to go with at least 1/2 inch plywood on the roof to give the steel roofing screws better purchase.
In the above photo you can see that you would only have to walk face first into the corner of the coop overhang once to learn what it feels like when buildings decide to fight back... Maybe the next coop will see that overhang end >7 feet off the ground...
East side (back) of the coop next to the shed.
Ammonia fumes from the chicken poop in the coop can really do a number on the chickens health. Large vents should help to keep the coop cooler in the summer, and dryer (and smelling better) between bedding changes. Convection should promote passive air flow from the lower front vents to the higher back vents. The large back vents face the shed and are opposite the prevailing wind direction.
Looking out the south window
A door on the north side of the chicken coop was added which comprised that entire end of the structure to be easily opened for cleaning. The chicken entrance was raised and a board was fixed on the inside of the opening to keep the bedding from spilling out.
Next were the nest boxes that were attached to the south side of the coop. Aaron was happy how they came together, though the hinges he had didn't work as there was some clearance issues with the window frame. The nest box itself is a "common nest box", that is one without dividers. Most of the literature basically came down to how chickens don’t care what they call a nest box as long as it is out of the way, and that a single common nest box could prove more flexible and a better use of space than one pre-divided into single resident condominiums. A heavy bead of cocking was added when the nest boxes were fixed to the coop, though no idea how to keep water out of the hinge side.
Aaron also placed roosts in the chicken coop made from some poplar branches laying around in the fenceline. The last thing to build for the coop now is a ramp to the chicken door.
The photo below shows what was originally a platform for the feeder and waterer. Some chickens decided to lay their eggs under the platform. Because of this, Aaron placed in dividers as you see here. Some chickens actually prefer this over the nestboxes we built...go figure.
The finished ramp was built from found materials around the yard, along with a piece of 3/4 inch plywood.
The finished roof over the nest boxes were of course, shingles.
It was easy to construct our chicken run with some pressure treated 4"x4" posts, used corn crib wire, and miscellaneous used fencing from Marianne's Dad. A 5/8th inch piece of plywood was used for the door. The chickens seemed happy with it, and so are we now that we don't have to keep a constant eye on them.
Aaron also decided to run electricity to the shed and the chicken coop so they can stay warm when it eventually gets too cold. Direct burial 3 wire cable was run into a breaker panel (with dedicated shut off) so there would be two 15 amp circuits. Direct burial cable was also used to and within the coop to help stand up to curious chickens. The lights with glass/wire covers mounted directly to standard electrical boxes, though they were very cheap, and might need to be replaced at a later date. To cut down the brightness of the 100 watt bulbs the inside of the glass covers were painted with high heat black paint. This little bit of light will help keep egg production going during the winter months. The black glass seems to radiate a fair amount of heat. Due to the heat inside the glass we find that the bulbs unfortunately last only about a month.
It turns out that chickens can also jump our 4 foot fence like it wasn't even there... so we had to fix up their run so they could no longer fly out. We first raised up the height of the door, made a doorway for support, nailed a few more pieces of wood for support, and lastly attached more corncrib wire on these supports around the run. The run was now better than 6 feet tall and this keeps most chickens in. Notice in the photo below the 7 x 55 gallon drums beside the shed.... one of these days those will get hooked into the eaves troughs.
A large galvanized chicken waterer from Marianne's parents was given to us and requires refills every 3 days instead of one or two times a day for the smaller plastic one we had. The chickens eventually ate all the grass in the run, and dust bath under the coop. In fact they are dust bathing so much now under the coop that they will soon get under the fence. Nothing shovels of dirt won't fix.
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