Fly the Coop

This blog has been a long time in coming.

I have just been putting it off. We've actually been done with the coop itself for about 3 or 4 weeks, oops. I don't want to forget to record some things, so here are some pics of building the coop, the chicks as they've been growing up and our 2 new lovely ladies (Libby and Sun)

We have the run in the back, it still needs to be painted, but for now, with this heat, there is no way on earth I am painting! We have the big girls in the run to keep them away from the babies until everyone is friendly. (We've collected our first dozen of eggs this week! What a thrill!)

So here are the pics:
This was our baby chicks first outing! Aren't they adorable! I can't believe how much they changed and grown.

Here they are again a few weeks later getting all their feathers, and loosing their fluff, which you can see in patches mostly on their heads.


Here is some of the stages of completion for the coop

(if you'll remember the barn raising post, that left off at the walls)

Justin installing the roof.

I guess I forgot to photograph the siding install. I am really happy because we were able to "reduce, reuse and recycle" for about everything on this project. Justin collected all the 2 x 4 from people who were spring cleaning. So that was free. We only had to buy the flooring and roofing material and 2 sheets of siding. We actually used some siding from our neighbor too.

Of course when I actually helped, paint and caulk it all we didn't get photos either.

Here is an image of the front door. Santiago our neighbor was ripping out an old hot tub surround and gave us the old deck and a bunch of randoms, wood misc. This door was one of the things he gave us. I had Justin add the "X" and we moved the hinges to the side, but it is so adorable now. I would like to get an old piece of weathered wood and paint "EGGS 5 cents" (I can't find the cents symbol on my keyboard....) Then hang the sign in the upper portion of the door!

Again we talked to our neighbor Santiago, who has all the best connections. He introduced us to a contractor friend of his and he got us a deal on all our roofing needs- shingles, felt, nails and fascia drip stuff all for only $30.00. A square of roofing at home-dumpot runs around $25.00 (he gave us 2 squares, plus everything else! Score!)

We wanted to have a vent on the upper tower to keep airflow without any water problems. We checked out our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore to see what they might have we could use. First we saw some vent covers but finally found some prefect shutters for $8.00. I painted them and Justin cut them down and installed them. I think they really add to the quaintness of the structure.

Here is the finished coop. Sorry about the colors, Justin had to work until late in the nights to get anything done, so I usually got pictures around dusk.

On the window side Justin made some adorable shutters, out of scrap woods. Here they are shut:

And opened:

There are interior shutters to keep the chicks in, but get some good breezes during the day.

And finally here it is with the chicken run. I am planning on painting the fencing white. This fencing was also from Santiago. We need to invite him over to dinner!! (the old back fence, I am planning on staining a dark charcoal grey). Justin wants me to paint the siding a color, which will probably be a lighter grayish color, or maybe I'll get creative and go brighter!

Finally here are the babies today:

And here are the new gals: