Not much happened in the world of chickens this week. They are still growing and crowing. The growing part has me the most concerned. They have all effectively outgrown their current space. But I have no where else to put them....yet.
Today began the first phase of construction. After toying around with various ideas for what the coop would look like and where it would go, decisions have finally been made. I've settled on a 8' x 10' shed/coop design with a slanted roof. It will sort of look like this. The coop will end up on the south side of the house - originally, it was going to be on the east side, so it would be completely out of view unless you were in the yard. But after looking at space and reading about what's best, it was decided to put them elsewhere (truly, the main deciding factor was that the snow will be gone from the south side of the house later this week if the weather forecast holds.)
So yesterday, plans were drawn up on a post it note, a list of materials was compiled and shopping began. The day started out by stopping at the feed store in Rosemount. Mainly to pick up feed and look to see if they had chicks in yet. No chicks...whew. Not really ready yet, but I do need to think about replacing the boys soon. For such a small operation, they have the best prices on feed and supplies.
After the feed store, it was a quick stop at the Dakota County Library across the street. I had to pay a fine ($ 0.30) and pick up a book on building sheds. The book was mostly to get ideas/plan for the roofing part of the job.
After the library, it was time to go shopping for materials. If you've never been there, you should really stop at the Building Materials Outlet in Eagan if you are doing any sort of home improvement and want to find stuff on the cheap. You have to dig around, but there are some great finds.
I was going to the BMO primarily to find windows for the coop. From what I've read, I should be planning on one square foot of ventilation for each bird. Simple math tells me I need 20 sq ft of ventilation if I max out my permit. I think I went overboard. At the BMO, there was a 72" x 60" double slider window for $105. This was perfect. The chickens will have a great view, will get plenty of sun and will have ample ventilation when needed - they'll be the envy of all the other chickens in the area.
The decision to buy this window also presented me with which way to orient the coop - the 10' side will run parallel to the house. The big 'picture window' will be in the front along with the chickens pop up door (how they can get out during the day).
Then I decided that there should be windows on the sides to allow for cross ventilation. There were options at the BMO, but the prices were actually better at Menard's, so I will get those there.
However, I didn't actually buy the window on Saturday - I didn't have a way to get it home. So I'm going back on Wednesday and hoping it is still there....it'll truly suck if it isn't...more on that in a bit.
The only thing I did end up buying was the exterior man door. There was a decent plain white insulated exterior door that I got. About a third the price of one at the home improvement stores.
The exterior siding and interior wall coverings were also available for about a third of the price of buying new at a home improvement store. The option for the siding is limited to one style, but I don't think the chickens will complain. I know I won't.
That was it for Saturday.
This morning, it was off to Menard's again and Home Depot to pick up lumber. Anyone who has shopped at Menard's for lumber before knows there stuff is VERY hit and miss for quality. In fact, I didn't even buy any new lumber from there this morning - just insulation (since it was on sale) and a few other miscellaneous parts.
Quick aside...I had purchased some lumber a few weeks ago for an aborted attempt to start on the coop before the last snow storm. I used most of that, plus new stuff I got today.
So it was off to Home Depot to get the rest of the lumber. I ended up spending around $125 total on all lumber. I still need to get some of the roof pieces next weekend, though (the 12' lengths wouldn't fit in the car). So all in, I'll be at around $150 for lumber. I also rented a framing nail gun. Man, what a time saver that turned out to be.
Anyway, so once I got the lumber home, it was time for lunch - priorities, right? During lunch, the plan was refined to include the windows and door framing. After lunch, it was time to begin building.
The floor was the hardest part. The pressure treated wood was still pretty wet and heavy, so driving the screws into it took longer than expected. It was a good idea to use joist hangers, too.
Once the floor was done and put to the side, it was time to work on the walls. The first wall was put together pretty quickly. But! This is also when it was discovered that the plans weren't exactly accurate. A critical component was overlooked when drawing up the plans - you need to account for the width of the wood...d'oh! Oh well...lesson learned. The only place it really mattered was for the placement of the window studs. One of the studs had to be cut out and moved. Worst thing that happened is the chickens will have a window slightly off centered. I'm sure it will bug them to no end, but what are you gonna do?
After that small set back, the rest of the framing all went very smooth. It took around 2 1/2 hours to build all four walls and the floor. This is where the issue of not buying the window on Saturday comes in.
The front was was framed out taking into consideration the window that was at the BMO that will be picked up on Wednesday. If it is sold before then, I'm not sure what to do. The front frame is 70 sq feet - 30 of which will be holding a window. If that window isn't there, I'll have to come up with a new plan and re-work the opening. Re-work...ish.
So that's the update for now. I didn't take any pictures of the process as it really was quite boring without much to see. When the coop raising happens next weekend (come hell or high water, it's happening next weekend), I'll document the process.
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