More chickens meant needing a bigger coop… and a second one. Our first coop would only house up to 5 chickens and now, since we got the chicks, we have 7. We needed a coop that would house all 7 chickens while keeping our first coop as a transition coop for new chicks and to isolate any hens that get sick.
First I wanted to find a coop blueprint we could use. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, but I wanted to find a visual to go off of too. Pinterest was the best place to find all kinds of chicken coops! Vito and I found one we liked, but it still needed a few tweaks. Once we got the plans figured out (and a LONG trip to Home Depot), we got to work.
We started with the base.
We cut the studs to size and framed out the floor. I got to use the big nail gun!
Making sure everything was square, we got the frame for the floor put together! The next step was to add some legs. Having the coop elevated off the ground makes it harder for snakes to sneak in and eat the eggs. It will also create a nice shaded area for the chickens to hang out under.
We used 3/4″ plywood for the floor in our coop. Nailing the plywood to the frame, the floor was done!
This was so exciting! I know, it’s just a floor and there was still so much more to do to make all these pieces of wood into a house for chickens, but I’ve never been so happy about a floor.
We maybe went a little overboard with the framing for the walls… but I wanted the coop to be secure to keep my chickies safe! On the front wall we have a space for a door, the nesting boxes and a window for ventilation.
We were making good progress! But, this was a long project so, I’m breaking it up into a couple parts for you guys. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!
