So, we finally got chickens at the beginning of March (something we'd been talking about seriously for at least a year). Now we just needed a chicken coop!
There are a variety of chicken coop kits available to purchase at Tractor Supply (or online), but we have that old double-bench swingset that was just rusting away in our backyard, and the idea of repurposing it was too good to pass up. A quick internet (Pinterest!) search flooded us with ideas. We took a few of them, Jay modified them with his own designs, we discussed things with Jean (she was here visiting when we got started on this project in early March and she grew up on a farm with chickens), and soon enough it started coming together. Things were tweaked and improved upon as we went along, and we are really happy with the outcome! It took longer than planned (due to the weekly severe storms and soccer games and other fun activities we were fortunate to enjoy this spring), but it's DONE. Now to just hope the Lindsay Chicken Clan likes Fort Lindsay as much as we do!
Prepping the area for the coop (cutting up fallen trees and clearing out vegetation):
Sanding and scraping the old paint (and rust) off the A-frame:
Pressure-washing the rust off the nesting box we inherited from friends that moved into town:
Painting it with a (rust-repellent) bright and happy red:
Moving it into place and starting to add support boards for the chicken wire and metal siding:
Painting the door and support boards with weather-repellent (and even brighter and happier) yellow varnish (which was leftover from the picnic table Jay made me for Mother's Day 4 years ago):
As soon as I finished painting one thing, Jay brought me another. These slats were cut to cover the back side of the coop (so we can add a lifting hatch for easier egg collection):
Getting the nesting box in place and leveled and adding the vertical boards:
Painting into the night...
Super Helper James is on the case now...
Jay had him carry boards and cut chicken wire (with leather gloves on, don't worry):
Completing the back of the coop:
Demonstrating the egg hatch for me:
Getting closer... Some of the hardest parts are complete!
Adding the door (just wait - you'll see Jay's genius design below):
Siding going on to the back half of the coop:
Jay was very careful to make the coop as predator-proof as possible: the chicken wire is heavy duty, the wire AND siding is buried about a foot beneath the ground with brick pavers to further deter digging predators, there are extra patches of small-gauge chicken wire in the center to prevent predators from reaching their hands in to grab chickens perched on the cross bar at night, and the door will be equipped with two heavy steel bars to prevent predators from lifting it.
Siding complete!
Demonstration of the hatch door with the heavy steel bar locks which double as door props when we let the chickens roam free:
Finishing up the chicken wire (to be buried a foot or so beneath the ground):
Shoveling the last of the dirt into place:
Filling the water and feed buckets so we can move the chickens in!
Getting the buckets hung at the appropriate levels:
Getting ready to release Chester and Elsa first:
Sunset and outside chickens...
But it didn't last long... On the second night, the neighbor dogs arrived and started digging. Jay saved the chickens within seconds of a paw reaching their necks and moved them back inside the sunroom in the crate while he reinforced with hardware cloth and gravel and an electric fence, oh my! The chickens did get to enjoy supervised outside time while we worked though...
Lady demonstrates the chicken feeder (head in the hole) and waterer:
The hardware cloth along the bottoms of the sides wasn't enough in Jay's opinion, so he added EXTRA thick hardware cloth along the base and let it splay out a couple feet, which should really prevent digging!
...and there you have it: Fort Lindsay!
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