Building a coop from scratch

[fatjay]

Disaster did strike, though. The chickens were laying against the fence. A fox reached in and grabbed a chicken by the wing and tried to pull her through.

I don't know if it's possible to hide an image, as this may be upsetting to some.

Just know that this chicken, 4 years later, is alive and well. I treated her properly, she has fully feathered out, and you can't even tell.

This prompted me to get some chicken wire and do a double fence with a gap between the two on the bottom 2'. It's been 3 years since and this has been the only successful predator attack.

 

[fatjay]

Chickens are happy.

 

[fatjay]

Nice!
Love the large overhangs, did you leave the soffits open for ventilation?(NVM just saw the next post, hardware cloth would be more secure.)
Too bad you didn't make the gables overhung too.

Curious, how close to the fence, can you get back there easily to side and paint?

Soffit is open, i did welded wire from the fence on the outside of the soffits, and chicken wire on the inside.

It was a bit tight but I was able to get back there and paint everything.

 

[fatjay]

Looks awesome! I love it.

This would make a great coop build article!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

We have coop article contests you can enter to win prizes too!

Looking at some of those coops actually makes me a little sad about my own coop.

 

[fatjay]

Got a flat on my chicken hauler. This is the first year I won't be using it, with my hopes to hatch myself and the new coop will double as a brooder.

 

[fatjay]

I got a shed from amazon for $100. It was awful to put together. I store my hay there though.

And I picked up a bunch of pallets. The ground around the coop gets muddy, so I wanted some decking. It's nice when a project is free instead of costing an arm and a leg.

 

[fatjay]

Fast forward to today.

TSC chicks are $6.99 and $9.99 for premium. Still no chicks at TSC.

As such, i've decided to breed what I have.

I'm building a new coop at the other end of the run, and I'm going to isolate my rooster, 6 egger hens, and 4 RiR's and split the run in half. Once isolated they'll spend 2 weeks together then I'll assume the eggs are fertilized. I'll start setting them aside then.

I have a 30 egg incubator that was a nightmare to find. But it's done.

Word has gotten out, people are asking me for fertilized eggs.

So here I have my new coop. Some assembly required.

New coop will double as brooder once the chicks hatch, so that'll be nice.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Looking at some of those coops actually makes me a little sad about my own coop.

You shouldn't feel sad! Your coop is wonderful and a lot nicer than many. And the contest is mainly about how well the article is written, not necessarily how good the coop looks.

 

[fatjay]

Incubator came.

Finished the walls. 4' in the front, and whatever that size of wood I had laying around in the back.