The Chicken Coop Came First...
Have you ever scrolled over multiple ideas on Google, Instagram or Pinterest just to look for the best DIY Project for your garden or that unique planter for your front terrace?
Well, this is not quite a story of finding the best DIY Project online. This is a story about a young boy who had an interest in raising chickens and urged his mom to get one. There is a wave since the Covid pandemic to try and grow your own food. Some have started to make use of the space on their rooftops and others have transformed their backyard into a food growing garden.
Little did this little boy know about the big picture and how it could contribute to a self-sustaining lifestyle. Through his eyes, he was looking forward to raising chicks which would eventually provide him with eggs.
Every project is not just meant for satisfying the eyes, they all have a story worth knowing and sharing about it. Of course, it doesn't hurt making it pretty. Let me tell you about how the Chicken Coop Came First.
There was once this little 5 year old boy who told his mom that he wanted to have his own chickens. Nature is often closer to a child's senses which, if not fed with the right environment and education, the mind and the heart moves away from a connection we should all have with nature.
Understanding the challenges we all face on this planet, such as scarcity of resources and lack of empathy for all living things, this brave Mom chose one of the schools which would provide this child with the best tools to tackle his world. This particular Mom was frightened by animals, even more so if they had two little legs to sprint after you and wings to really hunt you down. But wouldn't hold this brave Mom back from creating this world of exploration and making her son happy. And so, She contacted The Handyman and explained how she would want a customized chicken coop for her son.
Well as my standard procedure, I met with the family to discuss measurements and features. Many times, I get Clients who tell me that they want it 'Simple'. The definition of simple may vary among different people but why limit ourselves to 'Simple'. I believe it is upon a tradesman or handyman to offer the Client with possibilities of going beyond simple. Customizing a wooden furniture or a metal structure based on that particular Client's requirement makes the product unique.
When designing this, what seemed to be an ordinary chicken coop, I placed myself in this little boy's shoes. I asked myself, how could I make this Coop functional for a 5 year old. Accessibility became the keyword here. He would need to be able to collect the eggs with ease without disrupting the chickens. It should be at his height to be in full control of his movements and reach easily available eggs. Feeding the chickens as well should not be difficult. Tasks such as having to crawl inside and managing to avoid poop or spilling the food, should be minimized. As for the maintenance, whether for the parents to take care of this or the children, each corner of the Chicken apartment should be reachable.
There are many projects which can turn out great using Pallet wood as long as proper sealant is applied. I chose to use pallet wood for this particular project and sourced the planks from someone who maintained some crates in good condition. I traveled a few kilometers to get them and I took my reciprocating saw with me. The pallets crates were whole and needed to be taken apart to have separate planks. Using a reciprocating saw would be the ideal way to do so to avoid splitting and cracking of the good planks. The blades would fit in-between the blocks and planks to cut through the nails. Using a crowbar is quite a brute method to remove pallet wood planks. Even if it is used to remove the nails holding the planks, somehow we always end up damaging a few. Bear in mind that these nails are inserted using a nail-gun and the excess length which sticks out the other side are bent. Pulling them out with a crowbar requires force and nails could rip through the wood. Anyway, loose planks can easily be transported in the trunk of a car rather than contracting a truck to pick up whole crates. By doing that, you would still need space in the yard to take the crates apart.
I designed the Chicken Coop in separate parts which would facilitate mounting each part step by step. Having the parts made separately allows each section to be sanded, sealed and expose any faults and hazards. They can then be addressed in an organized manner. I used a different, more dense wood for the frames. These needed to be strong to hold the whole structure to the ground.
When you love what you do, you won't mind working overtime to see your project coming together. I managed to assemble the four sections and it was ready to lay in the floor. Considering the size of the 'apartment', the family could raise at least four chickens in there. So I made provision to have four separate slots for each chicken to lay eggs. I used marine plywood for both the floor and the slot partitions. If not exposed to water on a long period, plywood can last enough time until it requires replacement. I made sure that every partition had rounded corners for safety reasons, both for the family and the winged residents.
This family resides in a highland area and therefore exposed to winds and cold. These weather conditions have to be taken into consideration. The pallet planks used for the walls would have gaps between them, small ones, but this would not make any difference if wind forces its way between them. To solve that, I lined all four interior side walls with a thin sheet of plywood.
Once I was done with the interior, I tackled the top flap-door cover. There would be two openings on top, one for accessing the laid eggs and the other for cleaning and maintenance.
I was particularly proud of these roof openings. Like the floor, I used sheets of plywood with a strong thickness. Each flap was installed with barn door hinges. As I predicted, the roof openings using plywood as thick as this would be too heavy to handle while operating inside the coop. I did not want to have a hood lift like support which can be in the way and which you would still need two hands to manipulate the door and the rod simultaneously. For drivers and mechanics, this can be an easy task but a challenge for a 5 year old. I went with two pairs of Gas Struts often used for high box kitchen cabinets. These struts are really practical, anyone would simply need to lift the door and it would go up and hold itself opened. I chose small strong struts so that they would be out of the way as well. 'Out-of-the-ordinary' did not stop with the struts. The roof was designed to slant on two sides to not leave rain water to stagnate and affect the material. Pushing the roof protection further, I got hold of some waterproofing membrane normally used for houses and fixed that to the roof. Yes, I did install the membrane using my heat blower... and not flames, I would not want to burn the house down... literally!
Once I completed the roof, it was time to attach the main house to the open space frame. Enough space to run around and feed themselves is what these birds need, so a 2 meter long by 1.20 meter wide by 1 meter high cuboid frame was built.
The same dense hard wood was used for the exterior frame. It can withhold rain and hold tight against winds. The open frame as well as the area underneath the coop were closed up using a galvanized coated metallic mesh with 1cm by 1cm square holes. This, together with a floor frame, would keep rodents away.
This chicken coop would be placed on a lawn in the corner of the yard. Since chickens like to scratch through soil for food, the lawn underneath would dry out and die. The coop should therefore be regularly moved around allowing previously used areas to grow back. I fixed two wheels on the building side so that the whole structure can be dragged by lifting on the open frame side.
Ideas for feeding the chickens are numerous and we all know where to look for these practical ideas. We went for a PVC Pipe one. From the outside, I used a 45 degree elbow on which a lid is screwed on. The pipes go downward connecting to a 90 degree elbow which goes through the metallic mesh and underneath the coop. They are then connected to two other 45 degree elbows from which the chickens will receive their feed. I used PVC Pipe clamps to hold the feeder in place but both 90 degree elbow can be removed easily for cleaning purposes. The feeder is opened from the top and grains etc can simply be poured in. Food can be stocked up the pipe allowing it to gradually come down as the chickens feed themselves.
For the Chickens to enter and exit their coop, I made a basic ramp for them to climb up and down and a nice little door opening with a lock on the outside.
On the side of the exterior frame, a door was also made for the owners to get access or to allow the chickens to wonder out in the yard.
After applying wood sealant on all sides of the coop, I coated the pallet walls white so that if ever the kids would want to express their artwork, it would be well exposed. Maybe little chicken footprints painted black going around on the walls or some green grass with eggs painted on it. A child's imagination is limitless. This chicken coop would be a means to allowing kids the opportunity to learn what it takes to get eggs, the whole circular system. This is but the base of the Chicken Coop, with time it will evolve depending on how the chickens behave or whether the Clients would get more chickens and so, I kept in touch with this family for any adjustments. I also went back once or twice to provide with wood shaving from the workshop. Wood shavings are the best for chickens to lay eggs on. They keep warm and can easily be cleaned out and replaced. I must honestly say that this project really meant a lot to me.
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It is always a pleasure sharing my experiences, the challenges and how I overcome them. Delivering the best products and services to my Clients is my priority. The shortest way to improve is through receiving readers' feedback and I look forward to read your comments submitted below.
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