Chicken Coop Update: February

Well folks, we started work on the coop in the bitter cold of January and have made some decent progress since then - especially considering the below freezing temps lasting into February!

Here's what we got accomplished last month:

February

I spent a lot of time scouring Facebook marketplace and Craiglist for wood and other supplies. Thankfully, Nashville has a ton of folks moving and building so we've managed to get a lot for free!

One particularly sunny weekend I was able to finally start building the frames for the run and the base for the coop:

The Run

I built the frames with 2x3s. The north facing frame is 6 feet wide and 6 feet tall while the south facing frame is 6 feet wide and 7 feet tall. This is for the roof over the coop and run to be slanted for proper water run off. It's also helpful to have one side 7' tall so that my 6'7" husband can easily get through the door!

I attached the hardware cloth (more predator-proof than chicken wire) to the frame with a heavy duty staple gun.

I've read online that it is best to either bury a foot of hardware cloth under ground or lay it out perpendicular from your structure as an "apron" to deter digging predators, so I left an extra foot of wire attached at the bottom of each frame.

The south facing frame is leaning against the deck. Hardware cloth is only covering half of it because the other half will have a door for people entry.

The Coop Base

Fun story: I am really good at measuring once and cutting twice. I built this without my husband present (I've planned out the project, but he's usually my "hey, are you sure that's the right length?" person.) Without my double checker, I goofed the measurements and had to disassemble and remake this later - go me. Moral of the story: keep your double checker close by!