Step 5: Outside coverings for added warmth and good looks

Next, we covered the entire outside walls with 6mm plastic (another $5 find at the auction!!) and although this wasn't a planned addition, it will make the coop more water resistant in the wet weather and warmer in the winter.

The plastic can be seen here hanging from a portion above the window, which has not yet been covered in slab wood.

The slab wood was a great find from a local saw mill/farmer/neighbor. I asked him about the cost of slab wood (which is basically the bark side of the cut off when he runs it through his sawmill to square of logs to make lumber). He said he had a pile that wasn't great pickings, because some could be thicker or thinner than other pieces, or that it wouldn't look the best, etc. He said that if we could find something, we were welcome to it. I was so excited! We went to the sawmill and found the pile, Patrick climbed all over finding 'just the right pieces' in his estimation and tossed them to me. I loaded the van as full as I thought was safe for my tires (LOL) and we came home to get going on our finishing touches.

By this time, the 'girls' had come to live with us; and they were living in a coop which was not fancy on the outside, but they were loving the inside!

The slab wood starts at the roof, just under the metal over hang and it goes completely to the ground. This is for more than one reason. As we were working on the finishing touches of the coop, one naughty bird kept running under the coop and getting herself stuck. We didn't want that to happen on a regular basis. We also didn't want predators to be able to get under the coop and cause anyone of us to be scared or harm (get rid of hiding places!) And, it

would help to keep the coop warmer in the winter. The 6mm plastic goes from the roof (under the metal) to the ground, and the slab wood covers the plastic.

The only part that didn't get the plastic (because we thought of it too late, was the roof itself). There was "no way mom" that I was going to ask for the metal, which Patrick had started to put up, would be lifted and then put down again. LOL

The picture to the right, shows what the coop looks like with the door open, and the window open. There was a small step added as well, but it isn't really for humans (not big enough really), and the hens use it as a 'hop up' to the coop when they go in to roost.