Hi all,
Here's a couple of pics of my little fathers day project.
After (for the second time) losing my little brood a couple of years ago to fox, I have attempted to make my garden less inviting to Mr Reynard with a 2m high fence all around, a more secure coop and some other measures.
I used this excellent basic coop design from a site called "BarnGeek" here:-
http://www.barngeek.com/free-chicken-coop-plans.htmlI am modifying to suit my needs and budget. The main difference being mine will be a single, low angle pitch, corrugated Onduline roof. Also the timber I'm using will be less substantial (3" x 2" and 4" x 1" for the frame and sidings and good 1/2" exterior ply for the boxes) I also added a drop door and have made the rear easily removable for spring-cleaning.
The frame and floor will be totally creosoted. I had some probs with mites last time around and am hoping that doing this I can avoid the little *.
The overall dimensions of the coop are 6' (l) x 6' (w) x 4' (h) The footprint of the coop interior will be about 20
2ft. I'm planning on buying 4 birds (perhaps 5) to live here. There's a fairly large, grassed area around the coop where they will have a free run during the day.
I like this design. It looks solid, traditional and practical. There will be 4 good-sizes nestboxes and the other side box will serve as a storage area for feed etc.
I used the brilliant (Free!) Google SketchUp to plan my coop. Here is (what I hope) my finished coop will look like:-
And here's the beginnings of the project in-situ
Anyway, the Welsh weather's holding me up ATM but I will be updating as I go on here.
I just wait to get my new girls in and frying up some proper eggs again :=]
CdT