# Built a new coop



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Including the meat birds we just got we have 62 chicken and 16 layer chicks coming in August. We needed some extra space.








And our duck is hatching babies.


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Love that!! Great job. I love using old doors!!


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Super nice!


----------



## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

Very nice! I like the covered runs. I bet it helps the building stay cooler in the summer.


----------



## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

Very nice! I want one now! Humm is there a cat images the middle section? It looks like kitty cat eyes reflecting through the upper door.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Thanks all! Someone was using that door as a country decoration. I polyurethaned it to protect it’s look. 
I see what looks like cat eyes in the picture. Lol I
have no idea what that was!
The covered runs are so great for summer and winter!


----------



## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

Wow. That is awesome. What a great looking and wonderfully functioning coop.


----------



## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

That looks fantastic! And oh my- you’ll be floating on eggs soon 😅


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

Quite the chicken complex. Nice.

Can we see it from the side?


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Nice.


----------



## friesian49 (Jul 2, 2018)

Lovely! I only have 3 and have a smaller one I bought. I'd like to get a bit bigger one whenever I move, so they have more room in the winter - they are free range and will go to the goat barn, but some snow days, they don't leave it. But it's all good for now - lovely job!


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Here’s it from the side.








And here’s the inside. The opposite side of the nesting boxes has the exact same poop board and roost








The overall size is 16x12 and the inner coop is 8x6. 
This is our “old” coop. We built it about 6 years ago. 















You can see that this is my preferred style of building and also the style I’ll build for the goats when it comes time. 
At this point my husband has bought me nearly every cordless Milwaukee tool I could ever need! Including the cordless grinder that made the wire fencing so easy to cut!
I still like our old coop but I do prefer the walk in. 
The meat chicks go in a chicken tractor, so nothing fancy there.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Oh, and I just realized that the chickens slipped some eggs into the duck nest so there’s really only two more duck eggs we’re waiting for. I didn’t even know chickens had a sense of humor!!
I have no idea whether or not the chicken eggs will get a chance to hatch. 😕


----------



## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

That looks like a chicken palace! Tremendous job! 😃


----------



## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

Chickens with a sense of humor lol wait until those ducks hatch their first chick. Someone will blame it on the duck version of a mill man hahaha.

Very nice coops! I really want one now!


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

❤ ❤


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

Beautiful job on the new coop. It looks very professional.

I added branches to my chicken run. They seem to enjoy roosting on them from time to time.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

Chanceosunshine said:


> At this point my husband has bought me nearly every cordless Milwaukee tool I could ever need!


Before I moved out here to our little farm a few years ago, I never owned any cordless tools, though I had plenty of power tools. Now I have lots of them. I cannot imagine life without lithium batteries. I even have a cordless chainsaw.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Before I moved out here to our little farm a few years ago, I never owned any cordless tools, though I had plenty of power tools. Now I have lots of them. I cannot imagine life without lithium batteries. I even have a cordless chainsaw.


Oh wow. What brand of cordless chainsaw? I would consider that for a gift for my hubby. I have a Stihl chainsaw that he got me a few years ago. Her name is Sawphia.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> Beautiful job on the new coop. It looks very professional.
> 
> I added branches to my chicken run. They seem to enjoy roosting on them from time to time.
> View attachment 235196


Nice! I’m going to do that too!

What breed are your chickens? They’re beautiful!


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

Chanceosunshine said:


> Oh wow. What brand of cordless chainsaw? I would consider that for a gift for my hubby. I have a Stihl chainsaw that he got me a few years ago. Her name is Sawphia.


It is EGO brand, 18" chainsaw.








Power+ 18" Chain Saw


The EGO POWER+ 18” Chain Saw delivers the power and performance of a 45cc gas chainsaw without the noise, fuss, or fumes.




egopowerplus.com





I love it so far. It is not much lighter than gas, but a lot quieter and no wrestling with getting it started. Also no fire hazard in summer. Have not used my gas saw since. Have cut down and cut up several trees up to 2.5' diameter.

Sawphia - That's funny.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

Chanceosunshine said:


> Nice! I’m going to do that too!
> 
> What breed are your chickens? They’re beautiful!


It is an older picture. Those are Dorking. I now have Dorking/Welsummer crosses.


----------



## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

Your new coop is amazing! Good job!.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> It is EGO brand, 18" chainsaw.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for the link.


----------



## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

Chanceosunshine said:


> Oh wow. What brand of cordless chainsaw? I would consider that for a gift for my hubby. I have a Stihl chainsaw that he got me a few years ago. Her name is Sawphia.


I have an ego pole saw battery power I love. If I ever need a regular chain saw I will get the ego one too. Got the ego weed eater. Gas weedeaters don't last very long with me lol. Ego is pricey but amazing! My saws, drills, leaf blower and sawzall are ryobi just because dad alrwady had tons of those batteries on hand. We live next door and share equipment when needed. My husband has bosh and Milwaukee stuff.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

I wasn’t even familiar with that brand. The weed eater is intriguing. I have a stihl but I’m not sure how I like it.


----------



## K.B. (Mar 15, 2021)

We free range our chickens in summer but shhhh don't tell them they'd be jealous ! What a nice coop!


----------



## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

Chanceosunshine said:


> I wasn’t even familiar with that brand. The weed eater is intriguing. I have a stihl but I’m not sure how I like it.


The weed eater was the first ego thing I bought and fell in love! I researched the brand for a long time before I broke down to buy it and so glad I did. The weed eater is very well balanced . Just wished I had more batteries for it but they are expensive. Charge very fast. When you do get one store the battery fully charged and not on the charger stand. They discharge themself over time to maintain the battery and if not in use off seasons then I charge it about every 3 months to be sure the battery doesn't have issues.

If you get the self feeding string one there is a youtub e video that shows how to do it. Mine got some weed crud in an unseen place and it wouldn't self feed. After watching the guys video I saw the issues and cleaned it and has been the most amazing weed eater yet !


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

We already had the EGO blower and hedge trimmer. I wanted a chain saw that used the same batteries. I also wanted an 18" bar. So when my gas chainsaw was giving me a lot of grief, again, I finally broke down and bought the cordless. Stupid expensive but have no regrets.


----------



## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

My husband and son are getting very into cordless power tools. Especially since they are much improved and gas powered are slated to be illegal in California soon.

I love that chicken coop!😍


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

Chanceosunshine said:


> Oh wow. What brand of cordless chainsaw? I would consider that for a gift for my hubby. I have a Stihl chainsaw that he got me a few years ago. Her name is Sawphia.


My husband just got his new cordless chainsaw today. It's a Ryobi and uses the same battery as my leaf sucker/mulcher so it's nice to have 2 batteries now.


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

Chanceosunshine said:


> Here’s it from the side.
> View attachment 235101
> 
> And here’s the inside. The opposite side of the nesting boxes has the exact same poop board and roost
> ...


I really liked the 2nd chicken coop we built until I saw yours LOL Yours is awesome!! I'll have to show it to my husband. I have 49 chickens in 2 coops along with 8 ducks. I'm wanting to build something specifically for the ducks since so many of their eggs get ruined by the chickens. This is mine.


----------



## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

That is very nice too. Could you put up a side view also? Thankyou


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

AzPurpleLady said:


> I really liked the 2nd chicken coop we built until I saw yours LOL Yours is awesome!! I'll have to show it to my husband. I have 49 chickens in 2 coops along with 8 ducks. I'm wanting to build something specifically for the ducks since so many of their eggs get ruined by the chickens. This is mine.
> View attachment 235411


That’s an awesome coop and looks similar! How is your inside set up?
I need to build something for my ducks too.


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

Moers kiko boars said:


> That is very nice too. Could you put up a side view also? Thankyou




















Moers kiko boars said:


> That is very nice too. Could you put up a side view also? Thankyou


The first picture is before we attached the door to the inside hen house and there are 6 nesting boxes on the south side. A feeder hangs in the inside but now that the chickens are older I don't have a water container in either chicken coop. They run free during the day with access to 2 water troughs and the duck pond. Come night fall they're all in one of the coops and the doors are shut.


----------



## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

Thankyou for the pictures. Those are very nice coops! Looking at ideas & functions. Ive gotta build one this fall. And a run for my peacocks. So thankyou for shareing with me


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

AzPurpleLady said:


> View attachment 235441
> View attachment 235442
> 
> 
> The first picture is before we attached the door to the inside hen house and there are 6 nesting boxes on the south side. A feeder hangs in the inside but now that the chickens are older I don't have a water container in either chicken coop. They run free during the day with access to 2 water troughs and the duck pond. Come night fall they're all in one of the coops and the doors are shut.


Very nice!

I really need something separate for my ducks because they trash the chicken run (in the orange coop NO DUCKS IN THE NEW COOP). 

Poor Bev (the duck hen) is still sitting on her nest and only has one duckling, Chuck, to show for it. Tonight we're going to buy a couple little ducklings and see if she'll accept them. We're going to lure her and Chuck out and put the babies in there, remove the eggs and see what she does.


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

Chanceosunshine said:


> Very nice!
> 
> I really need something separate for my ducks because they trash the chicken run (in the orange coop NO DUCKS IN THE NEW COOP).
> 
> Poor Bev (the duck hen) is still sitting on her nest and only has one duckling, Chuck, to show for it. Tonight we're going to buy a couple little ducklings and see if she'll accept them. We're going to lure her and Chuck out and put the babies in there, remove the eggs and see what she does.


I want to build something specifically for the ducks because the chickens keep breaking their eggs. I have a restaurant that buys up every dozen duck eggs my birds will produce. I only had 2 females so I bought 5 more. Those 5 are laying now but the eggs are only the size of chicken eggs so can't sell them yet but I'm tired of all the broken duck eggs in the morning. I got lucky this morning and got 2 intact eggs that can be sold. It's going to be a while before I can do this though because we are creating a master bathroom and trying to get the tile all dry fit for the shower pan has been a total pain in the backside. That's going to be the hardest part as I'm only using 4"x12" tile for the walls. All cabinets are in place so as soon as I'm done making a mess with the thinset I can then lay the floor tile and my husband can finally set the toilet. I can't wait to have 2 bathrooms and a walk-in shower instead of a tub/shower combo. It's only taken 17 years to get this house finished. The place burned down in a forest fire that came through our area and the insurance companies had cancelled everyone out here a few months before the fire came through so we've had to do everything as we've had the money. This bathroom is the last room of the house to be done. Then we'll add on a front porch. Not bad for 2 senior citizens LOL


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

AzPurpleLady said:


> I want to build something specifically for the ducks because the chickens keep breaking their eggs. I have a restaurant that buys up every dozen duck eggs my birds will produce. I only had 2 females so I bought 5 more. Those 5 are laying now but the eggs are only the size of chicken eggs so can't sell them yet but I'm tired of all the broken duck eggs in the morning. I got lucky this morning and got 2 intact eggs that can be sold. It's going to be a while before I can do this though because we are creating a master bathroom and trying to get the tile all dry fit for the shower pan has been a total pain in the backside. That's going to be the hardest part as I'm only using 4"x12" tile for the walls. All cabinets are in place so as soon as I'm done making a mess with the thinset I can then lay the floor tile and my husband can finally set the toilet. I can't wait to have 2 bathrooms and a walk-in shower instead of a tub/shower combo. It's only taken 17 years to get this house finished. The place burned down in a forest fire that came through our area and the insurance companies had cancelled everyone out here a few months before the fire came through so we've had to do everything as we've had the money. This bathroom is the last room of the house to be done. Then we'll add on a front porch. Not bad for 2 senior citizens LOL


Do you know what kind of duck house you'll build? I have something I'm going to use for now, but eventually I'll work on something for them. I love duck eggs for baking!
Seventeen years is a long time, but that will make you appreciate it all the more! These projects will keep you young! My husband started this house in 2015 and we're still working on it. 
I'm sorry about the fire and the insurance. What do these insurance companies think we use their services for???
I too have a bathroom project. It's a walk in shower as well! I am so intimidated about laying tile that I've been putting it off. At one point we had a "contractor" come in and put tile in. When my husband checked his work he was appalled. He called me up to see it and I literally started tearing out every tile. I have such a huge mess to contend with now. I should have just put on my big girl pants and put the tile up myself.  
I literally built the walls and lined them with shower liner and it was ready to go. 








After the "contractor's" mess, this is what I have to contend with now after I busted all the tile off. It literally makes my stomach sick to look at it.


----------



## The Goat (8 mo ago)

You can do this


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

Chanceosunshine said:


> Do you know what kind of duck house you'll build? I have something I'm going to use for now, but eventually I'll work on something for them. I love duck eggs for baking!
> Seventeen years is a long time, but that will make you appreciate it all the more! These projects will keep you young! My husband started this house in 2015 and we're still working on it.
> I'm sorry about the fire and the insurance. What do these insurance companies think we use their services for???
> I too have a bathroom project. It's a walk in shower as well! I am so intimidated about laying tile that I've been putting it off. At one point we had a "contractor" come in and put tile in. When my husband checked his work he was appalled. He called me up to see it and I literally started tearing out every tile. I have such a huge mess to contend with now. I should have just put on my big girl pants and put the tile up myself.
> ...


OMG!! I too would be crying. That is why, in spite of it being a PITA I will do it myself. I've seen what these so-called contractors do and I don't want them anywhere near my house. I was a contractor's daughter so I grew up on a job site. When my husband & I got together we didn't have 2 toasters and 2 coffee pots. We had 3 table saws, 2 drill presses and enough cordless tools to take on any project. We could have had this house finished years ago but there were other things that were more important to us. We've built 2 barns, 2 chicken coops, one hell of a garden shed, 1 4-car garage, 2 out buildings for storage and the cutest "She Shed" you've ever seen where I have my laser engraver, heat presses and my inventory of shirts when people order from me. In between all of that we've worked on the inside of the house. The shell was already here when my husband & I got together so I used 3D software to lay out all the walls, electrical etc. I took measurements of all my furniture to see what would fit where and it has all come together quite nicely. I am really proud of what we have done as this building was originally supposed to be a work shop for my husband but we have turned it into a cozy little bungalow. This is the picture of my She Shed.


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

AzPurpleLady said:


> OMG!! I too would be crying. That is why, in spite of it being a PITA I will do it myself. I've seen what these so-called contractors do and I don't want them anywhere near my house. I was a contractor's daughter so I grew up on a job site. When my husband & I got together we didn't have 2 toasters and 2 coffee pots. We had 3 table saws, 2 drill presses and enough cordless tools to take on any project. We could have had this house finished years ago but there were other things that were more important to us. We've built 2 barns, 2 chicken coops, one hell of a garden shed, 1 4-car garage, 2 out buildings for storage and the cutest "She Shed" you've ever seen where I have my laser engraver, heat presses and my inventory of shirts when people order from me. In between all of that we've worked on the inside of the house. The shell was already here when my husband & I got together so I used 3D software to lay out all the walls, electrical etc. I took measurements of all my furniture to see what would fit where and it has all come together quite nicely. I am really proud of what we have done as this building was originally supposed to be a work shop for my husband but we have turned it into a cozy little bungalow. This is the picture of my She Shed.
> View attachment 235497


I forgot to comment on the type of duck housing I'm going to build. It will be something long but not too tall since they don't roost like the chickens. I figured it would have 32 sq ft covered and probably the same uncovered. The top of the covered portion will have hinges so I can raise the roof to get the eggs. Just have to figure out where to put it. Don't want it too close to any fencing or the chickens will get on it and fly over.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

Yes! It’s all those other things that become priorities and keep us from finishing too. Someday…
As far as our shower issue, I’ve never seen my husband so physically bothered by something before so I held it together to not add to his stress level. You should have seen this house. I had to scrape mortar off of walls, door handles, floors, the side of my house, my porch is still stained with it and they even used some of my tools without permission and left them to dry with mortar on them. it was awful. 
I really have no duck experience and am trying to learn what kind of housing is best. I hope you’ll post some pics when you get something built.


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

WOW! That is awful! I hope you posted on any local FB pages about their terrible work and work ethic. 

I took a picture of the plans I have drawn up for my duck hut. It is 4' tall at the front and 3'at the back, 4' wide and 16' long. I will use 2-1/2 sheets of siding for the sides of the enclosed area and 1 sheet of plywood for the roof. The plywood will be painted to protect it from weather and then will install metal roofing over top. I have 8 ducks and they are only locked up at night so I figured that 32 sq ft was enough. 4 sq ft of space per bird seemed reasonable to me. Here is the picture. Each square is 6". I hope it gives you some ideas of something you can create. The area with the hardware cloth is totally open area. I will have a hook to keep the door open during the day. I'm not building it till my bathroom is done. 

If it would stop raining here I could set up my wet saw (outside) and get these tiles cut to finish dry fitting them for the shower pan. Then I decided that I would number them so all goes together the way it's supposed to.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

AzPurpleLady said:


> WOW! That is awful! I hope you posted on any local FB pages about their terrible work and work ethic.
> 
> I took a picture of the plans I have drawn up for my duck hut. It is 4' tall at the front and 3'at the back, 4' wide and 16' long. I will use 2-1/2 sheets of siding for the sides of the enclosed area and 1 sheet of plywood for the roof. The plywood will be painted to protect it from weather and then will install metal roofing over top. I have 8 ducks and they are only locked up at night so I figured that 32 sq ft was enough. 4 sq ft of space per bird seemed reasonable to me. Here is the picture. Each square is 6". I hope it gives you some ideas of something you can create. The area with the hardware cloth is totally open area. I will have a hook to keep the door open during the day. I'm not building it till my bathroom is done.
> 
> ...


That's pretty basic and functional. Thank you for sharing it! Will they need any kind of nest area for the eggs? Did you say what breed you have? 
Our birds are out a lot too, but they usually spend weekends cooped up as we travel.
I actually built a "chicken tractor" for our first set of meat birds that is similar to what you have planned...meaning half is covered and half is open. It's smaller though (4x8x2) and I used fiberglass panels for the covered roof over top of hardware cloth to keep it lighter. It's still a beast to move though. 
Good luck with the bathroom! I hope it goes well for you! I'm still nervous to start the tile in mine but I can definitely do better than what was done before.


----------



## AzPurpleLady (Jul 11, 2013)

Yup. Very basic but I honestly think that's all they need. No I have not designed any actual nesting areas because they seem to just put them in whatever corner suits them. I do cover the bottom with a mixture of straw and pine shavings and underneath all of that is dirt and they seem to like that.

Good luck with your tile. Just take your time and you'll do just fine. Watch some YouTube videos to help you. That's how I learned to do tile when I was first starting out with it. I did a bubble tub surround in my previous house and then one for friends of ours. I've also laid ceramic tile in front of the front door and in front of our wood stove. One word of advice. DO NOT use premixed grout. My daughter and I both tried it at our homes and it was a disaster. Wound up digging it all out with a screwdriver and using the powdered stuff that you mix yourself.


----------



## Boadicea (9 mo ago)

Mike at Capra Vista said:


> It is EGO brand, 18" chainsaw.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We also have this chainsaw and I love it! It’s light enough that I can use it on my own.


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

AzPurpleLady said:


> Yup. Very basic but I honestly think that's all they need. No I have not designed any actual nesting areas because they seem to just put them in whatever corner suits them. I do cover the bottom with a mixture of straw and pine shavings and underneath all of that is dirt and they seem to like that.
> 
> Good luck with your tile. Just take your time and you'll do just fine. Watch some YouTube videos to help you. That's how I learned to do tile when I was first starting out with it. I did a bubble tub surround in my previous house and then one for friends of ours. I've also laid ceramic tile in front of the front door and in front of our wood stove. One word of advice. DO NOT use premixed grout. My daughter and I both tried it at our homes and it was a disaster. Wound up digging it all out with a screwdriver and using the powdered stuff that you mix yourself.


Thank you! I appreciate the advice and encouragement!


----------



## Chanceosunshine (Nov 29, 2021)

@Mike at Capra Vista I finally added some limbs for the chickens the other day and they’re now using them!! Thank you for the inspiration!
















I have them along the back as well and on the other side where the silkies are for now.


----------



## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

That is really neat! The girls all look so content!


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Nice.


----------



## Mike at Capra Vista (Nov 30, 2017)

Looks great. Chickens enjoy sitting in branches and just hanging out at times.


----------

