Chicken coop

Built this two summers ago when we decided to do the backyard chicken thing and ordered ten baby chicks. They came in a small box, at the post office, the day after they hatched. Kinda trippy. But I digress.

Built mostly from plans bought online, but I’d change stuff if I were to do it again. Overall dimensions 8×6, 2×4 frame construction, insulated (in Virginia? Seriously? yeah, that over-engineering thing again…). The front panel (under the nesting box lids) folds out and the nesting box array is free-floating on the floor and thus removable, so in theory you can get it good and opened up for the occasional deep cleanout (optionally involving a hose, as the floor material (Duradek) is waterproof).

First pic is the relatively finished product. Two years later I still haven’t managed to get the whole thing painted yet (see comment in previous project post regarding “good enough”...), and we recently moved to a bigger property so this summer I added some wheels underneath so it could be moved around and such. That was a project by itself, finding and attaching wheels big enough for the size/weight. Would you believe this thing weighs over a ton? I wasn’t planning on moving anytime soon when I built it, or I would have thought that one through a bit more…

Second pic shows the free-floating nesting box array.

Third pic shows it on wheels, after it was moved to the new place.

Fourth pic shows it after I used the tractor to put it in place and set up the fencing so the girls could finally get out. Happy hens, happy farmer.

-- Anyone who wants an excuse can find one. Don't bother telling me yours; I have enough of my own to fight off.