The Chicken Coop

As my first auction (fall Poultry Auction in Powassan, Ontario) that I planned on attending drew closer, the necessity for a chicken coop grew. We knew that the likelihood that I would actually buy livestock was quite high, that the coop had to be completed.

In between the rain showers, (which it rained a lot in September), we scheduled work outside days. We did as much work on the covered deck on rain days that we could, but the majority had to be constructed at the actual site of the coop, on dry days.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!:

First thing that was important was deciding a location. The location needed to be near (but not too near) our house. We had only lived here about three weeks by the time we started on the coop, we didn't have time to clear land. So, we picked an area where it was higher (not a low lying area), fairly level (we live on a slope, so the chicken coop had to be leveled on the side of a slope.

FLOCK SIZE:

Secondly, deciding how many chickens we wanted to start with (wintering them especially). The coop size would be dependent on the quantity of birds that would live their peacefully with plenty of room. At this point, we still didn't really have a clue if I would be coming home with any birds!

SORTING MATERIALS (WE USED A LOT OF RECLAIMED, RECYCLED MATERIALS):

Next, we gathered what materials we had available from a pile that we had been collecting, scrounging and reclaiming. We had 10 pieces of corrugated roofing metal, and a van load of wood from a local hardware store which underwent a makeover in an area of their outside lumber yard. They didn't mind us hauling it away, and we sure took a van load! We had some lumber from previous projects, so we reclaimed and reused where possible.

SKETCHES:

The sketches for the hen laying boxes and construction, came as the first project for actual building. This gave us our size for the width, length and height of one wall. The laying boxes (pattern we used will be included later in this blog for your use!), are mounted on a stand, off the floor. This piece is very sturdy and my son used this to stand on to assist with the building of the higher areas on the coop (we had no ladder), so this stand made it safe and easy to work.

FOUNDATION:

Any construction project starts at the bottom, so we collected bricks (what we could scavenge), we used a sturdy hardwood pallet ("skid"), and we leveled as we went along. We built a floor frame from 2"x4" spruce. The frame was placed on top of the skid, which was on top of the bricks... leveling as we went along (there will be photographs to see this). The floor frame on top of the skid made it a bigger overall floor area, with additional support. The skid has bricks under it, and then there were bricks placed under the additional frame for more support.

THE FLOOR:

The floor itself, is made with a scrap piece (in very good condition) of aspenite ("chip board" or "OSB")

THE WINDOW (FOR LIGHT & VENTILATION):

Next we worked on the walls, building the framing for the walls. The first "wall" to be placed, was the massive window I found for $5 at an auction during the second week (remember, it rained a lot, so we didn't get very many work days). So, the weekend before the livestock auction, the window was purchased along with a few other building supplies (it was a very good auction). The window is very heavy, double layered, thermal and included a screen with hinged locking mechanism. We stood the longest side upward (it would have been used in a house on it's long side down); there will be photos so you can see what we did.

The framing for the window wall had to be strong and the remaining 3 walls had to be started in order to provide more support for the window wall.

CONSTRUCTION & INSTALLATION OF LAYING BOXES:

We screwed together most areas, with deck screws and most studs were 2"x 4" studs a few studs were 2" x 6", this was the case above the window. Occasionally it made better sense to use long nails, then we did that too. The frame made the building really look like, a building.

We placed the laying boxes and stand for the laying boxes, because we knew it wouldn't go through a door. By this point, most high areas could be reached from inside the coop, from the floor level (with a few exceptions).

THE WALLS:

The walls went up, they are made with the same material as the floor (aspenite), this was because it was less expensive and I had to buy the wall and roof pieces (we just didn't have time to scrounge for all of our materials). I bought 4 sheets, (they are 4' x 8' sheets). This made enough to cover the three remaining walls and roof. We made the door from the same material, and there was a piece leftover at the end of the project.

GAPS & INSULATION:

As needed, we filled places where we could see any gaps (this happens when scraps and reclaimed wood). This wasn't a big deal, but necessary to prevent drafts and predators in the coop.

At the auction (where I picked up the window), I was able to buy a roll of 6mm plastic for only$5 what a deal! I covered (using staples) the walls outside of the coop, including the door, with the plastic sheeting (plenty of plastic left for another project). This would help in the winter with draft prevention and insulation. This was an easy job, and I would have covered the roof outside, if we hadn't already started installing the metal roof just days before!

The plastic sheet runs right from under the roof to the ground. The coop is about 16-18" off the ground and this sheet will help maintain the heat in the winter.

THE DOOR:

The door was made from aspenite as well; and the hinges (another $5 find at the auction for a whole tub!). The door was cut to overlap the wall opposite to the hinges, to prevent drafts and predators.

THE FINISHED EXTERIOR WALLS:

Next, we spoke to a neighbor who owns a sawmill on his farm, not too far from here. He said he had "slab wood" that we could have to cover our coop, and we just had to come and pick through the piles. This was great fun, because the pieces were great (they weren't salable for the man who has the sawmill, but they were a great find for us!). Slab wood is the pieces that remain after a sawmill cuts the log into building materials. It is the bark side of the wood, with a small side of squared off wood on the back. It makes it very rustic looking. See the pictures, you'll totally understand what we did!

The slab wood was put up with nails, this was better than screws. Extreme caution is needed when cutting the slab wood with a circular saw. It has knots, and other pieces (bark!) that can catch on the high speed blade and kick it back at you. Have another person hold the wood slab and make sure that you are holding the saw with two hands (my saw has a handle for the left hand and the right hand has a handle with the power button). This is very important, it may all look like a good piece or easy cut, but it can be very unpredictable, it is not like cutting a 2"x4" or piece of plywood.

THE ROOF:

The building wasn't constructed by professionals, but it had to be safe, secure and able withstand my son putting a metal roof on it! That was a task for sure, in total 9 pieces of metal were used, overlapping their seams and running about a 6" piece extra off of each side of the roof (will describe this later). The metal was badly bent in some places, but he banged out the pieces on the ground and got them in a working order. Patrick installed the lowest row of metal first (the closest to the ground because there is a pitch to the roof). Then progressed up the roof to complete the process. This, by far was the most time consuming part of the project (the foundation/floor was definitely very time consuming as everything was based on it's proper installation).

FENCING & LIGHTING:

A temporary winter fenced area for the chickens has been started, it will be completed with the slab wood (another trip to the sawmill for that). But the fence looks great so far, it's only temporary and nothing fancy.

The lighting is all solar. I used a package of garden solar lights, I used 3 out of a package of 6. I made holders for each post/lantern and installed them. The lantern can be taken out of the post holder if need be, very easy but will provide a touch of light in the coming winter months when night falls early. (and they look pretty too!)

What needs to be finished:

1. On the to do list (maybe tomorrow if it isn't raining!) we'll finish the roof. The metal over hangs the sides by about 6" and I want to finish off the look by bending that over hang down to the wall, and nailing it into place.

2. A small table or shelf, for entering the chicken yard, when we go out to open the gate (which is a board propped up on the start of a fence right now) we have to put down the water, food, etc. This would make it easier for the person looking in on the chickens.

3. The chicken outside yard, is temporary for the winter. They won't want to play in the yard, nor is it really safe (we live in very rural Ontario). Predators looking for another meal, would be more likely to come by in the winter and we don't want to take a chance on that. So, completing the fenced winter yard needs to be done (another trip to the sawmill for some more slab boards will do it.

4. An indoor lighting source, solar (with another garden solar lantern from the lot mentioned above). I have to rig it in such a way that we get light IN the coop, but that the solar panel can work to collect energy for the battery to store. Still working on that, fighting a bit with shade.

5. Door to the chicken yard, that will have to be built when the area gets finished. Not sure if we will use slab wood or not. It is temporary, but it would look nice.

Pictures will be posted soon, and more to come as we begin our life in the rural Ontario north.

Thanks for reading.