The Coop is (almost) done!!

Well, I'm really happy to show you all how our chicken coop is coming along. Since I last posted about the coop, I've painted the front wall red and framed it out with white trim made from 1X2s. Also, we added a white cabinet pull to the people door so we could actually open it.........very helpful. Today, DH cut a chicken door in the left front wall. Then we used plywood to make a large panel to hang over it. I framed out the panel with white 1X2s just to make it look pretty. I did all the angle cuts myself with a handsaw and my little mitre box. I also painted out the trim. As DH hammered it together for me I asked him if he knew all this hard work was just to make it look cute. He said he knew that. The panel is hinged at the bottom and latches at the top. That way, when opened, it doubles as a chicken "ladder" so the chickens will be able to get out of the coop into the chicken run (which we haven't built yet). It is a pretty steep slope, so it may be more of a chicken slide (ha!). We'll probably nail a few strips to the inside of it so they have a little traction. We also added a 2X6 to the bottom of the front of the coop (below the door and wall) because the wood was all yucky and rotted out. To give you a perspective of what we've accomplished, the first photo shows the shed BEFORE it became the poultry palace that it is today.

Here you can see the front panel opened and the little chicken door for the chickens to "pop" out of on their way outside. They are going to love it!!





Here's what is left to do on the coop: finish outside window frames and add plexi-glass inserts for cold weather, add ventilation to the roof, reshingle the roof, build roost, build nesting boxes, and cover the back shelf inside so the chickens can't fly up and poop on it. And we also have to build the chicken run. BAWK!!