Now that I've got two more chickens to house I figured it was high time I used up all that scrap lumber and old fence posts and fencing boards that I took down last year this time. I also had acquired a wooden recycle bin from work that was slated for dumpster diving. Originally I considered using the entire bin but we figured it was way easier to build a platform from some OSB sheet pieces I had and use the old full size 4 x 4 redwood posts that had been part of the 50 year old fence.
My friend Mike brought all his power tools over and opened up a shop in my garage. While he was getting set up I headed out with his Sawzall and proceeded to cut down small trees/shrubs and some Oregon grape and cleared the area of bricks and debris so we had a spot behind the garden to set up the new coop. I'm much better at demolition than running a table saw so I worked on dismantling doors and hardware for use while Mike cut OSB and turned it into the platform. Once the platform was built and the uprights for the roof added we moved the contraption from the garage to the back yard through a side gate. We'd measured twice and it just fit with a real tight squeeze and holding our breaths.
Any one who has built a coop knows it takes a lot of beer. At least a 12 pack or more per building episode, and we did this for 6 hours each of two days the weekend of "Earth Day" celebrations.
These hens are getting a Pergo floor from leftovers and that will make clean out really easy. We used the old recycle bin doors for the front lift up and drop down. There were smaller doors on the bin we used to create a roof and door for the exterior "bump out" nesting box for eggs. The siding came entirely from redwood fence boards. The only think I bought was three sheets of metal roofing and four 2 x 4 x 10 pieces where I needed longer lengths than my salvage. Oh, and some hardware cloth and a couple latches. Voila! Chicken coop with about 15 hours of work. The last piece remaining to be done is a chicken wire and hardware cloth "fenced" enclosure run for the girls that will be predator proof and adding a door gate from the garden to the coop, so that in winter time they can free range in the garden once the veges are harvested.
