The Scoop on the Coop: The Final Chapter

It's been a while since our last blog entry (March 18th). A lot has gone on, but we've either been too busy or too absent-minded to keep y'all updated. But we're back...

Few things kill the spirit like a pinched nerve in the neck. After so much overhead work (drilling and hammering staples) adding hardware cloth to the upper reaches of the chicken coop/run to plug every and any opening (one inch or bigger) that a critter could crawl in through, I was laid up for about 4-5 weeks. Nothing a whole lot of rest, stretches and a chiropractor couldn't fix.

With the arrival of the chickens on May 24th and my neck feeling back to normal it was time to get everything done. The pressure was on!

Guess what?
Chicken butts!

I still had to critter-proof, put down flooring, add a final rung to my roost and attach the ramp to the outside.  I finished adding all of the hardware cloth first and double-checked to make sure every nook and cranny was covered.

This was at the highest point of the roof of the run - the neck-craning part of the job

The outside where the coop meets the roof overhang.

We had leftover vinyl flooring from our house so we added that to the floor for easier clean-up and added the final rung of the roost.

The lowest rung is 18 inches and the highest is about 60 inches.

The ramp was attached and basically the coop and run are finished. Here are some pictures of the final product. (Nesting box to be built before they start laying eggs)

Yes, the grass needs cutting.

For those of you who watch HGTV like Neta and I do, you'll recognize what's in this next picture of the inside of the coop right away.

Chicken chic!

Since part of the interior wall of the coop is the exterior of the barn we left it red, giving our chickens an "accent wall". Pretty fancy, huh?

And finally the "piece de resistance". We gave our coop a name, combining the chicken theme with my love of baseball.

It will truly be "Fowl Territory".

So what once was a junky area on the side of the barn is now a very stylish chicken coop/run.

This was before

So that's pretty much it for the chicken coop and run. We can't wait to move them in there in a few weeks and see how things go. Here is a picture of the chickens (today) at 3 weeks old. See you next time!

Cowering in the corner to avoid the giant hand and camera phone.

One more thing... This Saturday we get...Guineas!!!