New Coop for the Girls

[Dad2FourWI]

Hello All,

Compared to some of the awesome sheds/barns/buildings that everyone else is posting.... well, I feel kindof "cheeky" posting this... but here goes!

The girls (27 chickens and two ducks) needed some new "digs" for the Winter!!! (that, and to keep a black bear from bothering them!!!)

We milled all of these 3x6's from dead-standing Red Pine on the farm... this was what I was doing when I hurt my back!!!! <groan>

We ran out of time (it started to snow today here in central Wisconsin) so we decided to just use a bunch of flitches/slabs for the roof, covered by a tarp.


Lots of 3x6's to choose from... (and we still ran short!!! - go figure!)


 


The "plan"...


 


Foundation ready


 

Here we go....


 




 


Nest boxes ready...


 


Almost ready for the girls... (temporary roof!)


 

There is nothing more rewarding than to harvest a tree that was destined for bugs and rot and to turn it into something useful... in this case a new chicken coop!!!

What fun!   

Cheers!,
-Dad2FourWI

[redbeard]

That is heavy duty! Nice job.

[customsawyer]

Looks pretty good to me.

[kelLOGg]

Wow! So far my coop has kept out foxes, et. al.,  but bearproof - that's a new high standard. Keep us posted. I want to see the window and door. NICE JOB.
Bob

[clww]

Great work.

[Gasawyer]

Very nice coop! Gives me some ideas. Hope the girls liked it!

[glenn molenaar]

Great job!

[dboyt]

Here in Missouri, that would be a tornado shelter!  Nice design.

[WDH]

The girls will be tickled.  That thing is stout.

[yukon cornelius]

that looks great! we would like one too!

[thecfarm]

There's a building that would look real nice with some wooden shingles for a roof.  That looks nice.
I put some of those hinges that closes the door for me. I found some cheap at a yardsale.

[AdamT]

That is one heavy duty chicken house! It looks great.

How are your 3x6s fastened together?

[Chuck White]

Looks to be very solid, nice job!

[Dad2FourWI]

Thanks all for the kind words!!!!

My father used to call us (him and myself) "nothing but a bunch of wood-butchers" as we built and maintained the buildings on the farm... but we are slowly improving!!

We placed some vertical supports inside the walls at the corners and all openings (trap door, nest boxes, window, etc) so that if/when one of the wall boards rotted out, we could back out the 5" deck/timber screws and replace the bad beam - and not have to get into taking the whole thing apart to remove a bad "bottom" board!!!

We are kindof new to this whole bear-thing too.... I have lived here for 50 years and never saw a bear... until about two weeks ago... and s/he was _not_ small!! Standing right alongside the existing coop - AFTER having already smashed two fences to get into the yard and then into the girls' area!!!

We yelled at it and it very slowly smashed the fences again on the way out... we had another visit two nights after but still all beaks and bills are accounted for...

Today we will add a sliding door... not exactly in keeping with the "rustic look"... but highly functional.

-Dad2FourWI

[Skoalbandit78]

Great job, a new chicken coop is on my honey do list also. I am not about to show yours to my wife, then she will expect something that nice. Keep up the good work.

[Magicman]

That is a neat build.   

[hunz]

Very neat, I know my chickens wish their coop was that nice. Funny story, just got home at 8:00pm and saw 2 hens out.....very unusual so I proceed to the coop to find my first possum in it. Two broken eggs, one sacrificed chicken and one nasty dead mean possum. If I could only rig up an automated closing coop door I would be in business.

[jmouton]

thats really kool  ,  i think it will keep the bears out , hopefully

[5quarter]

The big bad wolf ain't gonna be blowin that down. Great work!

[drobertson]

I like it! bonified heavy duty, but I reckon up yonder not a bad idea. Pretty and coops really have not been associated in the past, but this one should really stand out,  nice work,   david

[manoverboard]

Wow! A bit wider and you could use it as a hunting cabin! Nice work...

[YellowHammer]

The girls should be so happy that they will have eggs dropping out every few minutes :D


YH

[bandmiller2]

That's certainly a coop de ville. Prehaps some electric fence wire around the coop would discourage that bruin.Bad comes to worse snap that bear most states allow you to protect your livestock. Frank C.

[Deese]

Very, very NICE

[Finn1903]

no better feeling then building something with wood you milled yourself

nice job!

[Dad2FourWI]

Thanks all for all the kind words!!!!

This is pretty small compared to some of the buildings other FF members are making... but I agree.... it is so neat to see this coop and know that all these logs were destined to lay in the woods for the "bugs and slugs" to feast upon!!! Red Pine (Norway Pine) does not last long once the bark beetles are done with them!!!!!

We installed the sliding door and the girls will have to deal with a temporary roof for the winter... made of flitches and a tarp. The fun part is... in the morning, when we go to open the door of the new coop.... it is WARM inside!!! So the girls must be happy!

Here are a few random pics of the girls and one of the fence after the bear was done with it....

Nest boxes ready for eggs....


 


Sliding door ready for "Raider" the bear!


 


Maisy and Chuck (the chick who wanted to be a duck!)


 


One of the girls - an Araucana


 


Another - a Buff Orpington... and a Barred Rock hiding below...


 


"Raider" (the bear) was here!!!


 

Tomorrow........ we go to look at a LT 40 with HYDRAULICS......

Take care,
-Dad2FourWI

[beenthere]

Nest boxes ready for eggs....

And the cart ready to haul them off....   ;D

[thecfarm]

I always like the Araucanas. I just feel that you seen one Barred Rock, or RI Red you have seen them all. The Araucanas always seemed to look diffeant,no 2 a like. Not the best layers this time of year here in Maine. There are fair weather fowl.

[Dad2FourWI]

!!!!!!

You are too correct!!!!!

It was cold here in central Wisconsin today.... even with the nice new "digs".... we harvested only two eggs today.... and BOTH were from the ducks!!!!!!!!!!!

Go figure! - no matter, they taste great too!!! (thanks Maisy and Gildy!!!)

-Dad2FourWI

[bandmiller2]

If you plan to sell eggs you don't want arucanas folks are real suspicious of green eggs.Used to have a flock of indian runner ducks they would lay an egg a day without fail. Frank C.

[chevytaHOE5674]

In the last 12 months we have sold just shy of 800 dozen eggs all a mixture of brown, white, and green and we have never had a negative comment about the color. In fact most people are just thrilled when they open the cartons and see the variety of colors inside.

[bandmiller2]

Chevy,you have customers that know,mine were suburban yuppies that were nervous of anything that didn't come from a super market. Frank C.

[Magicman]

   I was hoping for a rear picture.   

I appreciate your statement about making something out of nothing.  Your project was recycling junk logs into something of value in the truest form.   ;D

[thecfarm]

bandmiller,I have one better than that. I use to sell eggs to city people at work. Had one guy that insisted I feed the fowl organic feed. I use to sell my eggs for $1.50 about 10 years ago.I told him I can do that. The price of eggs will be $3.00. He gave me the look. I knew what was coming. I'm all set,don't bother and walked off.  :  :D  They did like all the diffeant colors of eggs. I had a bunch of diffeant girls,some might not of been the best egg producers,but I like to see the differant breeds.
And I never had trouble with bears,but had trouble with all of the other much smaller 4 legged critters. Seem like I had to build something like Fort Knox,spend $500 to get $100 worth of eggs.  :D

[JohnM]

  I was hoping for a rear picture.   

Dad2FourWI, please, please, PLEASE post a pic of a chicken backside!  ;D ;) :D :D

The coop looks great!

[papow22]

Wow!!!!,Now that is a chicken coop of platinum chicken coops .I notice the dirt floor very good,also just another ?, what kind of watering have you got.For I use a plastic 50 gallons roughly sit on a stand enclosed with a electric light & then it is connected to calf water,I used a short chunk of garden hose.I closed it from the chicken area also my feed bind is besides it.I separated the chickens from water tank with a chicken wire fence Then the heat from the chickens keep everything in working order.I also put straw in the boxes in the winter time also on the floor and also I used a small tree to make a roost for them to sit on and they like it better than boards.

[arnold113]

Nice looking chicken digs, Dad2four. If you build that nice of a chicken coop then maybe I should get you to build my next home. It would be a fort knox. NICE!!!