Comment by Ellen Peavey on June 8, 2012 at 4:37pm

Hi Chris I really like your coop. Is it finished and how many chickens are you going to keep in it? How long did it take to build it? We really need another coop now have added to our flock and the coop is too small, we have ten chickens now and 8 chicks in another area. The coop is really small on the inside and very old      Ellen from Georgia

Comment by Chris Henderson on June 8, 2012 at 5:26pm

Ellen,

The coop isn't very large 14'x7' total, and the "living area" 7'x4', so I wont keep too many hens. Right now we have 8 but soon we'll only have 6. We hatched out 4 barnevelder's in April and have a 50/50 split on hen vs. rooster. We live in the city and as much as I would love to keep one of the roosters we cannot. I'm not sure how many we will end up with, but I would like to have around 10 or 12. We will just have to see how they do as they mature. I don't want to end up being a little factory farm.   

I still have a little work to do on the coop. I would like to stain the wood to make it look old and weathered. I also need to finish the rock path and put flowers around it. 

It took a lot longer then I would I have liked, but that was due to using old pallets for the wood (except for framing.) I had to grind down or pull out nails, screws, and staples on almost every piece. It was worth it to me because I built it for under $150. The down side is it took probably 20 hours to build, but I'm new to building things, so someone with better skills could knock it out much quicker. 

I don't know the layout of your coop that you posted, but I love the building, especially the wood and windows. I love the "very old" look! From what I can see there is a lot of potential in modifying it instead of tearing it down...for what its worth. 

Hopefully I answered your questions. If not, let me know and I will be happy to try again. 

Chris

Comment by Ellen Peavey on June 8, 2012 at 8:45pm

Hi Chris  we won't tear it down just build another one for the 8 chicks. The windows just came from a house, the wood over laps and this is a problem. We have snakes that come through, but so far no other predators. Better view of it, thanks for the information     Ellen

Comment by Ellen Peavey on June 9, 2012 at 7:58am

Hi Chris the wood looks old because it is old and weathered right now we have a chicken tractor that we use but the chicks are still too young to be in it. The garden is keeping us busy and I love being out in the garden and the canning. We hope to have a bumper crop of veggies this year, not like last year the year of the cucumber              Ellen from Georgia

Comment by Chris Henderson on June 10, 2012 at 10:29am

Ellen,

What beautiful land and garden! Looking at your pictures and others from Georgia entices me to move there.  Very beautiful country. Best wishes on this years garden. I am sure it is a lot of hard work, but the reward looks delicious! 

Comment by Ellen Peavey on June 10, 2012 at 6:48pm

Hi Chris the garden is a labor of love to me , work in it every day and we are doing so much better then last year. Last year was the year of the cucumber that is all that survived the deer ate all the corn this year we have Bandit a big black dog who barks if a turtle moves and his home is right by the corn, when it is all done he is getting a steak Go Bandit, keep the corn safe  Ellen

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