|
|
Following directions The website said building this chicken coop was, “so simple, my wife could do it.” I’m capable of holding two opposing ideas in my head, so all at once I thought this statement was
I know, this reveals that at
first I doubted my own ability and Mr. So-and-so’s apparently
incompetent wife helped me believe that even an apparently incompetent
woman like me could do it…but that’s basically the case.
But the great thing about
trying things is that you try things. I needed a project in October,
and after several full days (and then letting it sit for a month) and
then several more days, I had an amazing testimony to trying something
completely new and getting it mostly right.
At times I thought “Who is this
wife of his? Is she a genius?” Figuring out this guy’s directions was hard, mostly because I didn’t know what a miter saw was, hadn’t ever
used an air compressor hooked up to a nail gun (kind of scary at
first) [Dave's note: I recommend screws to nails for this project. The coop will hold together better], and didn’t know the basic vocabulary around woodworking. I took
Woodshop in junior high, but it’s one thing to use the electric jig saw
in the shop, it’s another to use a handheld jig saw while balancing a
twelve foot piece of wood between the patio table and an old door you
set up on saw horses. And while trying not to accidentally take off a
finger.
Now that I’ve learned about all
kinds of wood, sliced and diced every cut combination possible on a miter and a circular saw, measured and re-measured, drilled and
re-drilled, and improvised when nothing fit correctly, I have a
new-found confidence in my ability to
I can’t build you a new set of
kitchen cabinets, and you shouldn’t enlist me to make anything needing
excessive measuring (I’m not as interested in precision as I probably
should have been) but I have a new home for six chickens right in
my own backyard.
Many, many thanks to David Bissette of Catawba ConvertiCoops (www.catawbacoops.com)
for the amazing plans. Check out his site to download your own plans or
read about chickens and coop building–and you can see a picture of my
coop on his site, too.
Also, thanks to Cameron, who lent me all his tools and helped me get out of tight spots.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 6432 Comments (10)
Jennifer Shearin
said:
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
I need help! I set out today to mark my wood and start cutting, and quickly figured out that the instructions aren't clear on the subject of angles. I was measuring angles (using a protractor) from the side of the piece of wood, and my know-it-all boyfriend says that in woodworking, you always measure angles off 90 degrees. I thought he was full of it, so I went to the store and looked at some miter saws. A miter saw cutting a piece of wood straight across is set at "0", not "90"...so a 30 degree setting on a miter saw actually does cut a 60 degree angle when being measured from the edge of the uncut wood. So, where is the origin of the 30 degree angle? the edge of the wood, or the 90 degree mark (as it is with a miter saw?). I found this online which only confirmed what I was beginning to suspect...that there are two ways of measuring angles when cutting wood. Which way am I supposed to do it???? http://www.rockler.com/articles/woodworking-angle-scales.cfm |
 |
The footprint of the coop is 4x8, or 32 sq ft. 16x20 is 320 sq ft... which means that you have 10 spaces for the chicken ark. If you move it every 2 days to a new space, that's almost three weeks for the area to recover before you move it there again. Here in NC, the space would recover in about 5-7 days. Does grass grow fairly quickly there? |
 |
I love your coop and a friend of mine (who has tools) is willing to build it for us. My only question is our back yard is VERY small. By that I mean 16' x 32'ish, a third of which is taken up by a small concrete patio and, extending straight out, a garden area. SO - with a grass area of 16' x 20', will there be enough for them to graze on without completely destroying what grass I do have? I realize you area the coop expert and this is more of a chicken question, but thought I might throw it out there anyway. Thanks! |
 |
Almost any situation ---good or bad--- is affected by the attitude we bring to.Perhaps you can’t control your [url= ]http://www.nikeaf1jordanshoes.com/productlist.php?fid=79&cid=256] cheap prada shoes job, but you may be able to make other changes in yournew nike air max life |
 |
The tragedy of the world is that those who are imaginative have but slight ed hardy clothing experience, and those who are experienced have feeble imagination.The way to win an atomic ed hardy hoodies war is to make certain it never starts |
 |
I bought your plans and can't wait to get started. One question, though. If I'm only going to have 6-8 hens, couldn't I get by with one next box? Then I could leave more free space and extend the roost a little further. Thanks. |
 |
Our family lives smack in the middle of unincorporated Santa Ana,California. WE too have lifestock ordinances and a NO rooster ordinance but after reading what you have said I think this could be doable for us. We do have two dogs,an English Lab and Border Collie mix.We also have pool. So how could be keep the chickens safe??? |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
