MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

Nice! I like building stuff, but I’m going to get a professional in to build a new coop.

Do you have a plan in mind?

 

[MaryJanet]

Wow. That looks pretty ambitious to me. Nicely done!
The height looks great to me.
What do you plan to use for the roof?

I'm undecided. Either marine ply or mini orb.

 

[MaryJanet]

What did I miss?

Very little. It's a slow-moving thread.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Very little. It's a slow-moving thread.

Ah. How's your day? It's 4:32am here. I can't sleep. Any ideas how to battle insomnia?

 

[MaryJanet]

Wow. That looks pretty ambitious to me. Nicely done!
The height looks great to me.
What do you plan to use for the roof?

At this point, it might look more ambitious than it really is. It will only have a floor in the back half, so I can get close to the roost at night if needs be and so the floor panels won't be too heavy for me to lift out for cleaning. But the walls and roof will come forward to provide shade and shelter from the rain.

 

[MaryJanet]

Ah. How's your day? It's 4:32am here. I can't sleep. Any ideas how to battle insomnia?

Yes, many, but this one always works for me.

Put a podcast on. Not just any podcast, but one with soothing voices discussing quietly. No laughter. Exhale deeply for fifty breaths. Drift off before you get to fifty. Repeat the breathing exercise if needs be.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

I don't know, I'm too hot from working outside in the sun. A little ice would hit the spot!

So, discomfort drove me to down tools for the day.

Here's the story...

This is the corner where the roosting box will be.

View attachment 3005595

I got my kit ready.

View attachment 3005597

Off I went.

First job: a bit of re-thinking and it worked out well. By using the railings that are already in place, I eliminated the twisted timber from the project. This makes the floor higher than planned but not too high for me to manage and the hens will like a higher roost anyway.

Second job: mount a side rail.

Hmm no clamp big enough to accommodate the post.

Oh well, make do.

View attachment 3005601

Job done. Very level.

Thanks Neighbour for the tip on how to level rails when working single-handed!

View attachment 3005604

There's a bit of overhang, but I'll get a saw and trim it later.

It's a tough crowd and they wish I'd go away with my noisy tools.

View attachment 3005612

Third job: fix the brackets to the centre rail. This was a fun task because I used up a variety of mismatched woodscrews that had been cluttering up the garage for a while.

View attachment 3005615

After some tapping back and forth, and up and down, I had it in the right spot to support the joists.

I used the longest joist to measure the distance. The others are a tiny bit shorter, but those brackets are very forgiving, so it'll work out ok tomorrow when I get the joists in.

View attachment 3005616

And that's all for now! It looks like 5 minutes work, but I was out there for an hour or so.

So you built a whole new coop?

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Yes, many, but this one always works for me.

Put a podcast on. Not just any podcast, but one with soothing voices discussing quietly. No laughter. Exhale deeply for fifty breaths. Drift off before you get to fifty. Repeat the breathing exercise if needs be.

Ah. I have my MP3 right next to me. Exhale deeply, but not inhale deeply?

 

[MaryJanet]

Ah. I have my MP3 right next to me. Exhale deeply, but not inhale deeply?

Is it possible to do one without the other?

 

[MaryJanet]

So you built a whole new coop?

No. At this point in time, it's not a coop but a run with a little prefab coop in it. The run was built by tradies last year.

There's a larger fox-proof coop separate to the run.

I'm constructing a 3-sided roosting box in the run, with a raised floor.