Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Chicken Coop Update

I finished putting the shingle siding on yesterday.  I have about half of the 11 doors and windows installed.  Here I'm pointing at one of the mortises I made to receive a door hinge.

Here, two of the coops six vents are latched in the up position to allow for fresh air.

The nesting box.  You flip the door down and reach in to gather the eggs.

The eight hens are 11 weeks old and getting crowded in their relatively tiny brooder.  I underestimated the amount of work to build the coop/run; a contributing factor has been the cold wet spring.  It's been stressful, not only for the pullets.  Here you can see them picking at dandelions which they gobble up like spaghetti.


I still need to build and install the remaining doors and windows.  Then frame the walls of the run, set a roof on those walls, and finally raccoon proof the whole thing.

When it warms up I can lay linoleum tile on the coop floor, then install the lights and put in roosts.  Make and install the feeder and waterer.  I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.  Point is there's still a lot more to do. Maybe another 40-50 hours of work.

2 comments:

Debbie said...

Wow. The hens are really BIG and the color of their wings have changed significantly. They will be so happy in the beautiful coup you're building them.

Robj98168 said...

That aint a chicken coop. That's a chicken Mansion!