Awsome house! You have really outdone yourself!
I cant imagine what the next one will look like!
Tour de Coop - Let's see them!
Yes, Light_for_Jesus, I put the frame together for the whole wall on the driveway flat.. then made sure I had about 1/2" for the door to swell when it's wet. I was shocked that the door worked!!
The door on the inside took a couple of days to figure out.. LOL It's like a guillotine where the panel slides up and down inside a small wooden guide.
I bought the plans for this coop.. but would NOT recommend the buyer or the plans to anyone who is not a skilled carpenter. Although it may have been great for a carpenter who only needs a picture and a few written lines of text.. it was by no means easy for me.. with no step by step instructions for anything.. and NO cut pattern.. No instructions whatsoever for the inside nest area or roof... I feel it was almost a rip off for $35. Not one part of my coop is to the specifications of the plans. Measurements were wrong, the wood he used is different, several lil things made it terribly hard to figure out.
For example..
When I got the walls done and it was time to put them on the floor frame, I had to take the frame apart 4 times and cut it down! The measurements on the plans were like 6" off!!! I spent an entire day just trying to get the frame right! The big nails and screws and liquid nails for the frame was terribly hard to get out. I'm pretty crafty, but these plans were a joke!
I spent many hours sitting watching my stepdad & boyfriend years ago do projects.. Once you learn the basic tricks and stuff.. it's the same. I am a seamstress too.. so that helps.. Once you learn how to sew without doing it wrong side out.. or backwards.. the knowledge is very helpful with building. Wood is very forgiving.. it gives.. so you can square it up when you don't think you can! Before you can ever build something.. You gotta know how to pull nails out of any situation without ruining the board.. LOL Same with seam ripping!
Thank you Sewin! I bet you can relate about the sewing thing.. that knowledge is very helpful huh?
bump. newbies, show us your coops!
We just finished our coop....I need to plant some flowers or shrubs still. Hubby did really good huh?
We have 10 hens, about 7mths old, and 4 chicks, about 4 months old. I just love them! This is my first try at it....I'm a city girl that moved out to the "country" and I have finally found my piece of heaven. I have so much to learn!
LisaLu
Welcome to you, your cool coop, and all those babies!! Well, and maybe DH too since he did such a great job1 ;-)
Beautiful LisaLu!
Yes, your husband did a great job. What are the dimensions?
I would love to make one similar. It's a great design, and very attractive.
After my last two attempts, I'll start out trying to make one thing, and end up with something that looks quite different.
Oh well, I've so enjoyed it anyway. It never hurts to learn something new, as long as it's constructive, and not destructive.
Oh Lisa! Your DH did a wonderful job!!! I love it. It looks like an inclosed porch! Id sit and drink tea with your chickens!!!!
WELCOME!!!
I cant wait to see you chickens now!
Jeanmarie
WOW that is a beauty.
Wow.. that is beautiful!! I love it when the chickens are in something that not only is functional.. but eye candy like that! The girls have a classy looking palace.. how fun! It's even fun to look at!!
Your DH should document the dimensions sell the plans! I see people making money on their plans.. and they aren't worth a quarter.
I sure would be interested in paying for plans for something that nice!
Fabulous! I love it! So will your hens! I wish I lived somewhere that I could just have a coop like that, instead of needing something close to a sauna just to keep them warm in the winter.
Claire your winters may be cold and you need to heat your coop but our summers here can be brutal and i have to put fans on mine. I also have a tall pole with a sprnkler on it i use when the heat gets so hot the fans can't keep them cool.
ah yes, I suppose we all have our climatic ups and downs...have to just appreciate what we do have I guess!
Thank you all for such a warm welcome! I'm enjoying the journey....here are a few pics of my girls... I have 2 french hens, one has curly toes, so I named her OOU, the other one looks just like her, with normal feet, so I named her LaLa...get it...they're french hens...OOH LALA!
I have another blonde one, her name is Britney, named after Miss Spears. Bumkin is the largest one, she's in solitary confinement right now, we have her on meds to help her wheezing. Then there are 2 chestnut colored ones, I named one Amber, the other one...well nothing has stuck yet, they are identical, so I just call them both Amber. And then there are the 4 hispanic hens, and they wont be staying, they are very skid-dish, and they don't like the other hens. And finally, there are 4 babies: OJ, Madonna, Baby, and Flipper! I wish I could tell you what they are, I know Flipper is a silky, but I cant figure out what the others are.
Enjoy the pics!
Miss Britney.
The chicks.
My favorite...Bumkin...
These are my hispanic hens, I call them Rosa, Lupita, Maria and Lola....they were given to me by a very kind hispanic man. I have no idea what kind they are.
I like Bumpkin too! Brahma! (droolin on self) lol
I'm no expert, but I am sure your hispanic hens are some kind of game bird - you can tell from the longer legs and the kind of slim look and the shape of their head. In our area, the hispanic community is, unfortunately, sometimes involved in cock fighting. I have some hens that were rescued from a cock fighting operation and they look very similar to those (but mine are grey). Of course, for that purpose, they only want the roosters, and then a few hens to get new eggs for more roosters. I'm not saying yours came from someone involved in that sport. It's just that the breeds used for that are more common in the hispanic community around here.
The chick that is furthest to the right in the picture, looks to me like it might be an Old English Game bantam. It has the right sort of shape for that, if you ask me. Others will probably tell me I'm bonkers. :-)
I think the other two chicks, the ones on the left, are maybe barnyard mixes. The darker one looks like it might have some barred rock genetics, and the lighter one even has a slight hint of Mille Fleur to it, but I may be wrong.
Britney is great - she has lovely colors to her feathers. I think she is also a mixed breed. Definitely looks like she might have some partridge in her because of her feather lacing. There is a chunk of chicken to the left of Britney that looks like a Partridge Rock to me. I can't tell if it's wing or butt, but it has the right look for a partridge rock.
Claire
I think you are right on the game ones Claire. I thought modern game when i seen them. I have a few of them.
Yep looks like game hens i had one before and yes Claire that is a Silver Duckwing Hen oegb.
There also looks like a polish in the middle i believe i see a little top knot.
Cody wants some Modern Game so bad.. He is 16 and 6'2" (all legs) he wants some that are tall and skinny.. I told him he just wants some that look like him. LOL
They are great!
They are some tall chickens heres a nice one ;)
(Fox whistle) Look at those legs!! ewwwlala!
LMAO!!!
happy new year all...this is my "casa grande de pollo" hubby built about 6 months ago...i got the idea off of the internet of having 2 garden areas on either side of the chicken coop...one season they are on one side the next season they are on the other...hubby is in concrete hence the concrete pad it's built on with a slight swell in the center for water run off when i hose...notice the 3" space between concrete and outside walls for poop scrapings to be pushed outside which i rake and put around flower beds...it's a work in progress and i love it!!! so easy to clean and my chickens, who used to be free range until they demolished my flower beds, seem very happy in it too...
inside
cold crop garden area
enclosed kitty litter boxes work great for nesting boxes...easy clean up too...all plastic
looking back out front door
some of the flock...the peacocks fly in and out and roost in a huge live oak tree in the yard
last one...loved seeing all your coops!!!
That is a great idea to put gardens on alternate sides.
Your garden is well fertile and tilled every year!!! Great job!I love your peacock!!!
Its beautiful. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Jeanmarie
I don't know which one to comment on the coop,nest,peacock, the beautiful yard oh my head is spinning with covetness......
WHAT A GREAT IDEA THE LITTER BOXES FOR NESTING!!!!
That is really lovely Virginbred. I wish I could see how your roof is made. Chance of more pictures? That is just lovely!
What great ideas.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's coop...emulate and work your way there if you must, but....really great setup!!
the roof is 2x8's 16 on center shed type with polycarbonate roofing like greenhouse material...i'll look for closeups of the roof...thanks for all the compliments...i hope to have it looking more homey once spring and summer are here...i have yellow cannas planted around the front and sides...2 bradford pear on each end and a couple of citrus trees...
Well THAT helps me stop coveting-not!!