Coop Scoop

I've been working on a chicken coop, a hen house, since April. As with most of my projects, a great deal of time is spent in on-the-ground, on-the-fly design. Why? is it that I'm lazy? Nope. Truth is, I have limited resources, so I have to be very creative with what I can find. Take a look at this coop:



I had other materials available (plastic panels, siding, etc), but I wanted it to look "authentic." I wanted the coop to look like it belonged at the farm, that it predated our arrival. The bones of this construct are the A-frames of wooden playground set, 4x4's that are rock solid. I bought lots of fasteners, maybe 8 2x4's, but almost everything else has been re-purposed, aka scavenged.

The way the build has gone, I'd be ciphering how to attach a piece of tin, then I'd find a bigger, better, often more rustic piece of tin. I'd have the frame skinned, then read up on ventilation, and then redesign to double the open air windows to have that swank roof over them. That roof also shelters the egg gathering doors, which will keep them more dry and cozy, even when we snatch their eggs. The south and east sides open up entirely for cleaning (which was a high priority). The north side is fully enclosed and pretty-much air tight (and I'd say iron-clad, for it's very sturdy tin panels from WWII era). The super steep roof-line will be great for shedding precipitation and increasing airflow, too. The chickens will have a ground-level that will be accessible to them year around, so they can scratch and take dust baths anytime. This will not only help them feel less "cooped up," but it will also keep the main level a little cooler, as there will be air flow below. In the winter, I can box the lower level in on the open sides with hay bales, making things uber-comfy.

I will be SO HAPPY to finish this project this week, for I've been dying to get back to work on my pirate ship playground.