FINALLY! Finally it’s happened to me, right in front of my face… Yes, I’m a 90’s teen! Thank you Cece Peniston! I wasn’t really sure how I was going to edit this video because I didn’t know if it should be more of a tutorial or just “copy this.” 😁 Also because I was too tired to speak.

Since I designed it myself and I’m not going to know the actual supply total until it’s finished, I decided to show it as a time-lapse. For example, during the build and not in a previous sketch, I decided to make the top section on the east side of the coop a window. Because of this I needed some additional 2×4’s to frame it out so that I had something to staple the chicken wire to.

THE DOORS

Unlike their current coop, this one will have two doors for them instead of one. I did this for two reasons. The first one is to provide my chickens and gardens with a permaculture design. One door will open to one garden and the second door will open to another garden. When the chickens are grazing and fertilizing one side, I’ll be planting and growing in the other and vice versa. The second one is to provide two separate sections in the coop for when we’re raising baby chickens. The laying hens can sometimes be too aggressive with the younger chickens and they need to be kept separated until the younger ones are almost full grown.

It also depends on the breed of chicken you have. The gentle breeds we’ve had are the Buff Rock, the White Rock and the Australorp. The more aggressive breed we’ve had and won’t be ordering again are the Barred Rock. I purchased them because they’re known for producing a lot of eggs, especially in the cold of winter but I much prefer a kinder breed and less eggs. All this requires is a few more chickens.

THE NESTING BOXES

I’ve tried both wood nesting boxes and plastic nesting boxes and unfortunately plastic works better. The wood takes a huge beating from accidentally cracked eggs and scratching from the hens. I think I will continue searching for a better alternative but for now, I’m going back to using the five gallon buckets. This time I’m going to cut out the backs and build a door on that side of the coop for easy access to the eggs. I’m also going to build a normal sized door on the tallest side of the coop so that when it’s really cold, we can just go inside to collect eggs.

CHICKEN COOP MATERIAL

Even with coating the untreated wood from the previous coop, it still had mold growing on it. So this is all treated wood and so far, the only sizes I purchased were 2″x4″x8’s and 4’x8’x8′. I’m really pleased with the way it’s turned out so far and I’m really looking forward to getting it done. I’m currently waiting for a time when I can get my family all together to help me carry it out to the backyard. Until then, Joe doesn’t want me working on it and adding any more wood to it because it also adds more weight.

Thanks for reading/watching! Wishing you a super productive day!

videos