Coop construction

A few months ago I hauled home a ton (maybe more) of lumber from a neighbor's deck project that was torn down and rebuilt. My great plans included building a chicken coop with most of the found lumber.

The baby birds we have been raising all summer are getting big and it is about time for them to move out of my storage shed and into the much-too-small-for-7-birds coop that is out in the yard. So yesterday I started framing Coop 2.0. Also because of the new job, the birds are not going to be free ranging on school days, so they all need more room in the coop.

Coop 2.0 is going to have a solid roof and side walls to keep the rain off of them. It is quite an upgrade from the modified dog kennel that has served as my main coop for a couple of years.

The skeleton of Coop 2.0

Please forgive the quality of the picture. I am working in the backyard after dark, since daytime temps have been hovering around a million degrees for the past week

It may not end up being much to look at, but to quote my Father-in-law, this coops is "hell for stout". Most of the lumber I brought home was 2X8 and 2X10. I would never buy this these huge pieces for a small framing job, but I am going to use as much of the lumber that I have on hand for this project.

I'll have to buy some thinner material when it comes time to frame up the roof. but for now, the coop is looking pretty good.