We Have A Coop!

Our coop is done!  We started it last Friday, a week ago, and finished it on Monday.  The girls and I did it ourselves and the best part is that most of the supplies we used we already had.  We raided the lumber scrap pile from our fence building project last spring and my bucket of miscellaneous supplies I keep in the garage.  A lot of re-using and recycling came into play.  I love that!

We began Friday morning preparing the area where it was to be built.  We had to dig up landscaping pavers and rock, move a couple of plants and level the space.  Then we laid down chicken wire to cover the ground for two reasons – so varmints can’t get in and the chickens won’t dig big holes when they are dusting.  We surrounded the perimeter with pressure treated 2X4s and a row of bricks along the fence.

The majority of the coop construction was done on Saturday.  We worked our tail feathers off!  (pun intended).  Saturday we headed to Home Depot for a few supplies early that morning and then once back home we got out the tools and got busy.  My oldest sorted through a coffee can of miscellaneous screws to supplement what I already had on hand.  My youngest held the ends of a lot of boards while I cut them on the saw.  She was also awesome at helping me keep track of where I left my pencil. 

We took a couple of breaks throughout the day but we literally got started at 8:00 am and stopped at 8:00 pm.  It was a very full day but we got so much done! 

Sunday morning I woke up stiff, sore and hardly able to move.  My hands had cuts and blisters and ached something else.  We took it easy and only spent two hours on it by finishing putting up the chicken wire, adding a latch to the door and repairing the landscaping.

Monday we finished the coop adding a back door for easy access, finishing the roof and trimming it all out. 

All in all I had to buy a roll of poultry wire, a box of staples, two boxes of screws (the price on screws – holy cow!), a pressure treated 4’X4’ and some extra fence boards for the roof.  I think it made for a very economical project.  Final total came in at $110.89 including sales tax!  If I hadn’t already had so much lumber and other stuff on hand my total most likely would have doubled. 

I like that I used the fencing for siding and roofing.  It not only was a wise use of leftover materials, but the cedar will hold up really well, it blends with my little yard nicely (no eyesore here!) and it looks really good.  My girls think the chickens will be spoiled.  I hope so!

It was a lot of work but it was also a lot of fun.  The girls and I had a great time working on it.  We are amazed we got it done so quickly but we were pretty motivated.  We are really proud of ourselves. 

I told the girls, if nothing else, you now know how to build a chicken coop!