Sunday, May 29, 2011

Chicken Coop/Run nearing Completion!

Yup, I said it, we're almost done!  Okay, we've been nearly done for quite a while now, but with the long weekend (my other half actually got 4 days off for it), we were able to finally get out there when it was both light and warm!  We got most of the 2"x4" wire fencing up this afternoon as well as digging a couple if holes and setting pressure treated 2x4's in them, attaching them to the underside of the deck, and attaching even more 2x4's to the bottom edge of the deck to extend it down a few inches so we could easily attach our fencing to it!  Oh, and we went to Home Depot to pick up the p/t 2x4x8's as well as another box of "steepels" and a roll of 24 gauge wire (found in the picture hanging department) to use to attach the hardware cloth to the 2x4 fencing. 

The first photo up top is of the "long side" of the run, it measures 15 feet in length!  I know because I had to measure it when I was attaching the hardware cloth above my head here (that's the wavy looking stuff up top).  The run isn't the full 15' though, on the side under the stairs and at the back of the coop, we have decided to attach the fencing to the back of the coop of either end and then just run hardware cloth over the top and bottom edges to create the "back wall", it's still 14' though!  The second photo (to the right here) is that back side, or rather half of it.  The other half hasn't been done yet, the weather started to get "yicky" so we headed for inside.  We'll get it finished tomorrow!  I also caught my other half in that photo, he was in both tries!  From the looks of things, those jeans are way too big...time to make him go shopping!  Such a hard task to do when you're such a tall guy (he's 6'6"!), nothing in the "normal people" stores are long enough!
Last, but not least, we have the "short side" that took up most of our time today!  The only thing holding up our deck is those white-painted 4x4s across the long side, that leaves a big 10' space on the shorter ends!  To help hold up the fencing (and provide a little extra support to the fencing), we decided to go pick up a pair of 2x4x8s, cut off the last 12" or so, bury a bit in the ground, and then secure them to the deck with Drywall screws!  The next little dilemma we faced was the added space we needed our fencing to run vertically, the long end is attached to a board under these runners so this is 6" higher up!  We remedied that by attaching pieces of 2x4 (from my stash of $0.51 boards) just below the runner on the deck, adding just enough length to make everything reach like it should!  Luckily, my helper is much better at cutting straight lines!  He was in charge of all cutting today and everything looks really nice!

We should be able to finish tomorrow, doors and all!  Then, I just need to get the girls moved in, fill the sandbox (it takes 3 bags to do so), lay a layer of pine shavings in the coop, and build them a roost!  They got too big for the little stick that fit in the brooder, so they've been sleeping on the floor of the brooder for a while now.  I have a nice piece of 2x4 all ready to go...just need to get it something to sit in!

After the girls are moved in, I'll get the security camera hooked up and a light set to a timer for evening and winter use.  I still need to figure out how I'm going to get the camera line into the house, but that shouldn't be too hard!

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