Building a chicken coop for city chickens can either be incredibly complicated or very simple. Ours is not at the complicated end of the spectrum but its on the way there - formal walls, doors, windows, and a proper structure and roof. I went this route for two reasons. First, the more sturdy the coop the better I'll sleep. Second, I had the vast majority of the materials sitting in/choking my shop. They are what remains of my former workshop.
First it was a foundation.
Then came walls.
Then a proper roof.
And last but not least, The chicks!
I took the opportunity to sit with them in the fresh bedding for a while. They are very cute in their new digs. The windows are working perfectly. I still have to build some nest boxes and their outside runs (coming soon).
They have adult sized feeder and waterer and a dust bath. The still have their chick-size roost but more are coming. The human door is attached, the chicken door still needs to be installed.
A couple things I did along the way:
First many thanks to the wonderful person who put her storm windows up on craigslist for free. These are the windows you see. I installed them backwards so they could be opened from the outside.
Second: The all of the sides and windows that are not covered by wood are covered with either hard cloth or chicken wire. This coop is critter proof.
Third: I planned for winter now. The walls are insulated if they aren't a window or door. Second, I set up a way to simply insulate under the roof when winter comes.
What do to from here? Plenty. I have to make two outside runs for these birds. Both of these runs will be solid and set up for winter ahead of time too. I plan to put plastic sheeting on at least one to help warm the coop. Also, I have a spot reserved for nest boxes and those need to be in by late August. And lastly...roosts. These birds prefer to sleep off the ground and the higher the better...so I need to put in a few roosts.
So there it is: Coop warming party will happen soon.
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