We have a chicken coop!
After another busy weekend and an early day home from work for Steve on Monday, the chicken coop is done!!The chickens were relocated last night and they're quite happy with their new digs. I went out around 11 a.m. It was 98 degrees, but the coop interior was nice and cool. We have a fan set up in there to circulate air, and it really seems to be doing the trick. I was worried about the birds being in the heat after growing up in air conditioning. It's cloudy today, which helps. But I think the coop design is proving to be a winner.
Steve started Saturday by giving some extra support to the two roosting perches. Because they're eight feet long, they wobbled a bit near the center. Whilst he did that, I installed the vents.
Steve decided that construction work afforded him plenty of opportunities to get a work out.
Steve gets to work - sort of - on the framing for the roof panels.
Steve doing some work on the coop in such a manner that was in no way staged to show off his muscles.
Some more work that was also not staged in any way to show off Steve's muscles.
Steve got the first roof panel in place. After he got two panels up there, he determined it made more sense to get the ventilation mesh in place first. So he got started on that.
Here he's hammering down the edges of the wire after he stapled it in place. We used 1/4-inch hardware cloth to minimize the number of critters that could wiggle inside the coop. Bugs are a given. This is Florida. But I figured the only thing skinny enough to wiggle through a 1/4-inch square is a snake so small the chickens should be able to stomp it to death fairly easily.
Steve came home early from work Monday to get the coop finished. Here's the roof in place.
We put the pine shavings on the floor before we put up the final wall, figuring it would be easier to do so. The chickens are going to love all these mounds of shavings. They love digging around and taking dust baths in them.
Because it gets so hot here, we knew we needed good ventilation and a fan to keep the chickens comfortable. We plan to buy a proper squirrel cage fan down the line, but for now, Steve hung up one of our Vornados to circulate the air. We also added a flourescent lamp. Chickens need about 14 hours of light a day when they begin egg laying. We're still a couple of months away from egg production, but we wanted a light in place. The coop is bright and airy during the day, but we thought a light would be nice for them until they're used to the place. Chickens are cowards, after all. And ours are afraid of the dark.
Steve put up the final wall at around 6 p.m. Monday.
The coop hatch will eventually be inside the large outer run, so if birds fly out when it's opened, it won't matter. Until then, though, we decided to keep the access hole small enough that I can keep the birds from flying the coop without much effort.
Here's the hatch with the door closed. Steve wants to add another bolt to it, so the door fits more snugly against the panel.
And here's the door open. We ran out of weatherstripping. That's why there's just one line of it.
We had integrated the four Phoenix babies into the flock a couple of days earlier. They were scared the first 24 hours, but were beginning to get settled. We moved them, plus Pascua and Onslo first.
Here's Onslo, Hermione, and either Luna or Tonks (I can't tell them apart without seeing their bracelets) hanging out around the waterer.
We brought the Orpington girls out next. While they settled in, I went inside and gathered the Rhodies. I guess Rose is going for her close-up as Steve snapped this shot of her and Luna.
The Orpingtons and the Sexlinks gathered around the food dish. That's Daisy in the front.
So, huzzah, it's done! I'm really proud of Steve for really putting his nose to the grindstone and getting the job done. And he did a really good job, too. He turned my basic design into a sturdy structure that's as safe from predators as we can make it. There's some fine tuning to do. We have to put gap filler along the roof line and the door needs more hardware and weatherstripping. I need to water seal that last wall and door. But that's minor stuff. The next big step is making the under run. Next is the nesting boxes. But Steve's getting a couple of weekends off. He deserves them.
Besides, we have a lot of yard work to do!!!
Steve started Saturday by giving some extra support to the two roosting perches. Because they're eight feet long, they wobbled a bit near the center. Whilst he did that, I installed the vents.
Steve decided that construction work afforded him plenty of opportunities to get a work out.
Steve gets to work - sort of - on the framing for the roof panels.
Steve doing some work on the coop in such a manner that was in no way staged to show off his muscles.
Some more work that was also not staged in any way to show off Steve's muscles.
Steve got the first roof panel in place. After he got two panels up there, he determined it made more sense to get the ventilation mesh in place first. So he got started on that.
Here he's hammering down the edges of the wire after he stapled it in place. We used 1/4-inch hardware cloth to minimize the number of critters that could wiggle inside the coop. Bugs are a given. This is Florida. But I figured the only thing skinny enough to wiggle through a 1/4-inch square is a snake so small the chickens should be able to stomp it to death fairly easily.
Steve came home early from work Monday to get the coop finished. Here's the roof in place.
We put the pine shavings on the floor before we put up the final wall, figuring it would be easier to do so. The chickens are going to love all these mounds of shavings. They love digging around and taking dust baths in them.
Because it gets so hot here, we knew we needed good ventilation and a fan to keep the chickens comfortable. We plan to buy a proper squirrel cage fan down the line, but for now, Steve hung up one of our Vornados to circulate the air. We also added a flourescent lamp. Chickens need about 14 hours of light a day when they begin egg laying. We're still a couple of months away from egg production, but we wanted a light in place. The coop is bright and airy during the day, but we thought a light would be nice for them until they're used to the place. Chickens are cowards, after all. And ours are afraid of the dark.
Steve put up the final wall at around 6 p.m. Monday.
The coop hatch will eventually be inside the large outer run, so if birds fly out when it's opened, it won't matter. Until then, though, we decided to keep the access hole small enough that I can keep the birds from flying the coop without much effort.
Here's the hatch with the door closed. Steve wants to add another bolt to it, so the door fits more snugly against the panel.
And here's the door open. We ran out of weatherstripping. That's why there's just one line of it.
We had integrated the four Phoenix babies into the flock a couple of days earlier. They were scared the first 24 hours, but were beginning to get settled. We moved them, plus Pascua and Onslo first.
Here's Onslo, Hermione, and either Luna or Tonks (I can't tell them apart without seeing their bracelets) hanging out around the waterer. 
We brought the Orpington girls out next. While they settled in, I went inside and gathered the Rhodies. I guess Rose is going for her close-up as Steve snapped this shot of her and Luna. 
The Orpingtons and the Sexlinks gathered around the food dish. That's Daisy in the front.So, huzzah, it's done! I'm really proud of Steve for really putting his nose to the grindstone and getting the job done. And he did a really good job, too. He turned my basic design into a sturdy structure that's as safe from predators as we can make it. There's some fine tuning to do. We have to put gap filler along the roof line and the door needs more hardware and weatherstripping. I need to water seal that last wall and door. But that's minor stuff. The next big step is making the under run. Next is the nesting boxes. But Steve's getting a couple of weekends off. He deserves them.
Besides, we have a lot of yard work to do!!!
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