My Resin/plastic coop construction thread :)

[tigger19687]

I rent and will be here for 2 more years so I don't want to spend money on much if I can't take it with me. I have a small coop now but this will not do and it was a fast job so I could house 4 hens I got free at 9-10 wks old
I use Craigs List (CL) for a ton of free or almost free stuff.

I had to level out the back yard a bit and I hate that. Local yard waste dump is down the street and I got a bunch of free compost.
Off CL I got FREE about 40 of the huge 80# wall blocks, plastic corrugated roofing panels, sq boxes for nest boxes, Cinder blocks, fencing 4' tall, various wood stuffs, bamboo/reed fencing. Most other things are re-purposed from my house or I got at the $1 store.

$491 7x7 Rubbermaid shed from Home Depot ($60 off coupon), Rubbermaid has a double thick wall that I need for Winters here. The other sheds have thin outer walls and are not as strong. I have a 4x6 shed for yard stuff that had a flattish roof that has gone through a Bunch of Blizzards with a foot of snow on it and it is still as strong !.

My back yard is about 25' deep from house to back fence and about 50' from fence that divides the other duplex back yard and my driveway.
There is a Koi pond back there too.
Here are before Chicken pics, beginning chicken pics and after leveling area for big Shed/coop

Males of old straw are used against the fence to help with insulation on far side. The big 24# rubber squares were $1 off CL and makes for a cheaper flooring.
The bamboo fence is against the new side fence to make the fence taller but also to stop the reflection of sunn off the white white fence. The sun raises across from it and MAN IS IT BRIGHT BACK THERE !

 

[tigger19687]

Here are some more pics I just did this last week. It is a slow process trying to figure out where I want things to go and what I can use without spending anything.
Across from the doors of the shed is an area I will be using for a sitting area. Got someones Sod they took up from CL free. Hoping it grows, not perfectly flat and growing seed would take too long.

Fence will attach to front Left corner of shed, there is window screen in the door windows. I will put the plastic windows in when it gets colder out.

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Sod, so far some is growing. Was not great, but if it works

Looking into shed. Got $1 shower curtains from the Dollar store for the walls to keep poop off it. Easy/cheap to replace and could be washed, just stapled in. I used plastic shelves for the roost/nest boxes as I didn't have any wood to hold it up and wanted not to screw too many things into the shed. I had shelf in the house not being used. The top part is a free wooden box (about 2 inches deep, only one installed so far, have 2) used a shower curtain to cover it and staple in place for now. It is screwed into back wall and will get PDZ today at Tractor Supply. Made an attic area for light weight stuff storage and to cover for Winter heat, has left over fencing up on the left. Corrigated sheet in front is to block off my front storage spot from coop for Winter, it's not screwed in, and will put a few more for attic area to the right. I have some wire for the front storage area instead of the corrigated sheet for warm/hot seasons but it is being used right now so I will re do it later.

This is inside to the Left. I will make a Pop door towards the front where that small round table is.

Thanks for looking !!!

NEED INFO !!! ..... What SIZE to make the Pop door? I will get an auto opener to pull the string to open the door. I was going to buy the whole thing but they all just had thin metal for the door. I want something thick and a bit heavier for protection and Winter.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I would not put bales of hay sandwiched between the coop and fence without covering the top and sides. Good insulation, but huge mold/rot/staining problem IMO.

Good to know that Rubbermaid sheds are stronger.

 

[tigger19687]

I am not too worried about the straw. It is already there and I will toss them once Spring comes and see how well it worked after this Winter. It also stops snow from getting behind shed and pushing it inward.

 

[aart]

I would not put bales of hay sandwiched between the coop and fence without covering the top and sides. Good insulation, but huge mold/rot/staining problem IMO.

Good to know that Rubbermaid sheds are stronger.

I am not too worried about the straw. It is already there and I will toss them once Spring comes and see how well it worked after this Winter. It also stops snow from getting behind shed and pushing it inward.

I remember the long discussion about whether to put those bales there or not.....will be interesting to see how things look come spring.

It is a slow process trying to figure out where I want things to go and what I can use without spending anything.

Looking forward to watching this develop...good start so far!

 

[tigger19687]

@aart when the coop is done I will be using your run idea next. I may have to wait till Spring but ti depends on what I have going on.

 

[tigger19687]

Above and below are outer and inner pics of the Pop door with 1/2 cinder blocks for them to get in and out. It was a drizzly cloudy yuck day but I wanted to just get out, get the door cut out and then figure how to cover it later. They all came in once I moved the fence for them to get in. I put their food and threw dried mealworms in there while I sat in there. The Black feeder is now on a Cinder block and not hung up.

Below is the poop board with PDZ in it. The hens were roosting on a flat board in the small coop so I thought that I would give them a 4x4 length of wood to get used to. In about a week I will make blocks under it so it is raised up more. It is about waist high so for today I put a milk crate with a Cinder block on top for them to jump up. They didn't even try but I just went out and took them out of the small coop and put in the new one. Darn things were not even sleeping. Got a wing in my face by 2 But all are tucked in to the new coop.

Below is looking into coop, pop door is on the left side of coop. Bamboo fencing is temp till I make a better door. When they were in there this afternoon scratching the shavings I sat with fence closed and me on the door side so they could see me and I was feeding them. I thought they would get used to me being there and not freak out when I open the outside door.

This is Momma a production red I am sure and I think Speckles in the background on the stick, Columbian Wyandotte ? All hens are about 22 weeks old.

This is Pecan a thin production red who watches out for them all like a Roo but is NOT top hen. No one seems to be , yet.

I have to make a ramp to the roost if they don't understand jumping up on the cinder block. I will wait a few days. I also need to make my 5 gal water bucket with water cups and figure out where to put it in the coop.

 

[aart]

Have a bunch of questions but will hold off.
One tho, why not use wire mesh for inner wall instead of that opaque corrugated roofing?

 

[tigger19687]

I have wire, but it is being used right now to close off a section of the yard so chickens don't eat the grass seed I put down. The roofing panels were just here so I thought of just using them.
I have to look for more wood to make a door (with wire), stud out that section so I can attach said door and wire.

Took out the old coop today. Will see what they do at bedtime.

 

[tigger19687]

So last night I had to close them in. Kate would not go in the coop. I left the light on in there on low and they all jumped up. Took a bit but they did it.
Not enough light gets in in the morning. At 7am I went out to open the pop door and then went in MY door, they looked at me like I woke them in the middle of the night !

Today I went out and got some lumber so I could attach wire too, and wire.
I actually got plastic chicken fencing and not metal. Put it up today and hoping there is enough light to get in through the door window, thru the fencing and wake those freeloaders up.

Tonight I wanted to see what they would do without the light on inside.
2 Reds went in but the 2 Whites did not.
I went out and turned the light on after I found out the remote will not work from 10 feet away 1 was already up, then the rest once I got the White ones in. Turned light off, .
I did not close the pop door. Will see if they go out on their own in the morning