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15 Feb ’12
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When we ordered our chickens we hadn't really thought much about a coop at that point. Well with everything going on I pushed it off to the last minute and I needed to get something thrown together fast. Since the pig pen went together quickly and was pretty inexpensive I decided to build our coop in the same method. So I went and picked up some cedar posts
Since my father likes animals I decided to build the coop behind his cabin. Since we are already had the cedar fencing up for the yard, I figured I could utilize that as one side of the run. So I proceeded to dig out to set the corner post
I inserted the cedar poles and back filled the post
I had some boards left over from the raised beds so I figured I would use the for the actual coop, I placed it so I would end up with a 8x16 run for them
once that was placed I continued placing the cedar posts and rails
once I had those set I grabbed some extra wired fence I had laying around and proceeded to wrap the fencing I had just installed
15 Feb ’12
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once I had that all set i started cutting out the opening for the door
I had some extra milk crates around and decided to use them for nesting boxes
I cut out a opening to make it easier for the chickens to get in and out of
I laid them out where I wanted to mount them and proceeded to cut out a access panel
I screwed the boxes to the wall
and kept stacking my wooden frames, I added a ramp for the chickens to walk in and out of the coop with
I cut out the doorway as I went up
and set the last box in place
15 Feb ’12
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a friend of mine had cut some cedar off his land so I grabbed three poles to build the framework of the roof
I dug some holes and placed the cedar poles into them
since our soil has a lot of clay and with the rain we had the holes were filling up with water immediately which made it impossible and futile to compact the soil back into the holes
so I ran down to the store and picked up some cement, 2x4's a some metal roofing to cap off the coop
I just dumped a bag of cement into the hole and watered it down good
the poles were all set
I nailed down 2x4's to act as a ridge beam for the run
one concern is animals crawling under the wire
so I nailed a 2x4 across the bottom to prevent anything from digging underneath
15 Feb ’12
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I wrapped the rest of the bottom of the fencing
and dug a trench on the outside of the boards
I went around a dumped bags of cement in the trench for extra security
I grabbed my handsaw and straightened the cut for the door opening
and installed a header across the opening
I cut some boards and installed them for a roosting area for the birds
I wanted to cut out a window opening to allow in light and fresh air
I cut it out and installed a header to help support the metal roof
I screwed down the roofing
and the coop was almost complete
15 Feb ’12
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I needed to make a door for the back side of the nesting boxes, I grabbed the scrap of board I had cut out and test fit to see how the swing was
since the board was 1.5 inches thick I had to trim about 1/4 inch off the board so it would open and close properly. I also mounted some hinges and a handle
and mounted the door, I used a scrap piece of wood as stop for the door to keep it closed
I cut a piece of the welded wire and mounted it over their window
I needed to make a door, so I built a frame out of some extra grade stakes I had
I mounted some hinges and a handle and mounted the door to the coop
and stapled down chicken wire onto the door frame
15 Feb ’12
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I cut some boards and nailed them to the fence to raise the height to make it easier for me to walk around in the coop and stapled down some chicken wire
I strung wire up over the ridge board I had installed on the cedar posts
and extended the height all the way around the run and stapled chicken wire down to it
I extended the wire up over the ridge beam on the other side
where the wire overlapped I was left with a gap
so I grabbed some galvanized wire
and sewed the ends together
the run is enclosed
15 Feb ’12
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I needed to make a door to get in and out of the run with
so I screwed down some boards to form a frame
and nailed together a quick frame and stapled welded wired onto it, I hung it with some simple piano hinges
I dug a small trench in front of the door
and installed a scrap piece of 2x12 to keep any animals from digging underneath it
and back filled the board
all complete
15 Feb ’12
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I cut a couple pieces of scrap wood and screwed them to the coop to act as latches for the door
and did the same for the run door
I attached some roosting boards for the chickens
and nailed down one to the posts, and the coop was done
we moved the kennel out of our living room into the coop
and after a couple of days moved the heat lamp and let them loose
they grew fast
my daughter called this their ugly stage
But they filled out their feathers fast
In august I was walking by the coop to feed the pigs
and noticed something was digging under the coop
I checked and all the chickens were accounted for, so I went and grabbed a bag of cement and poured it along the edge of the coop
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