We have talked about getting chickens for about a year now. I have friends that have urban chickens and I liked the idea of fresh eggs and chickens roaming around the yard (we have horses behind our property, so I figured they fit in the landscape). Garrett had no problem finding coop plans online and was all over the task of building the coop. Lucky for me he is super handy. I couldn't have been more pleased with his work! Thank you Garrett for dedicating many hours over the past few weeks to making our chickens a cute little home to call their own. I think they are very happy birds. Our house came with an old dilapidated dog run that we thought we could use for chickens. We figured we'd cover the top with chicken wire and then cut a hole in the side to connect it to the cottage.
Garrett framed everything out using two by fours and then added walls made of plywood. He did a superb job cutting everything, and he realized quickly (within the first hour) that I was no good being his assistant because I kept asking him for help, which defeated the purpose of me "helping" him in the first place. I'll stick to being the on-site safety manager. I was really good at reminding him to wear protective eye wear and keeping the job site clear of debris. Or perhaps I just worry too much and I'm a neat freak. Either way, I was a great safety manager.
He used liquid-foam insulation so that we could have the chickens outside
year-round, and even had the genius idea of using leftover heater vents from our remodel for ventilation. Did you know that ventilation in the coop is vital to a chicken's health? Neither did I. You learn something new everyday.
As lousy of a helper that I was, I learned something else--that I am not a builder--whatsoever. As logical as I like to think I am, I kept questioning whether the height of the egg box would be low enough for me to look into when all was said and done. The original stand that the house would sit on was more than four feet high, with the laying box nearly a foot higher after the house would be set on top of the stand. I kept telling Garrett that his measurements/plans might be off and he would literally roll his eyes at me (don't ever question someone who builds things for a living, you'll look like a fool--funny that I know this but I question him anyway ... all the time).
I almost painted the house orange because I thought red was too bold and yellow too mellow. But I am so glad I decided red would be fine and I'm thrilled with the bright red and how the tone dried out. It reminds me of a barn, and I think the chickens appreciate that...
And then, after weeks of work, it was finally done. The original house plans were a bit different than what Garrett actually
ended up building. I wanted a large window that would allow for easy
cleaning and a laying box that I could easily pull the eggs from. Garrett also added the sliding door for the laying box, the double doors on the stand (the food and water hang underneath), and he also added plexiglass windows so the chicks will have good light and we can spy on them every once in a while.
This is amazing! So cool you have chickens!