Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Cozy Coop


 I am so excited to be sharing pictures of our chicken house today... mostly because it means we are finally in the final stages of completion.  It seems like we have been working on it for months, and really, I guess we have been!  

BEFORE:


 It all started back in January with an ugly shed that was on the property when we bought our house.  Ugly it may have been, but it was the only outbuilding and we were thankful for the storage it provided.  Justus sketched up a plan that included it as the main structure with a chicken house on one side and (eventually) another storage lean-to on the other side.  

Justus located the perfect spot in our yard for the chickens... shade the majority of the day, a nice breeze and good drainage.  That meant we had to move the shed, which took the two of us working together about five solid hours.  


 Once the shed had been moved, we then painted it white.  I'll never forget that day... although I usually do the painting, Justus took pity on me since it was drizzling rain... we snuggled into hats, gloves and jackets and worked away.  In February, construction on the chicken house began.


 In March, the building was still coming along, although Justus was only able to work on it during the weekends and half the time it seemed like it rained.  Still, it was exciting to see progress. 


 Justus used pine planks that were scraps from my parents' ceiling in the house they are building.  The boards were warped and not in a condition they could use them, but just perfect for an exterior chicken house.  The entire house itself is made out of these pine planks, and although we eventually painted the outside, we left the interior in this natural state. 



 The end of March, Justus built the door to the house, which is still my favorite feature.  It is large, heavy and fits the aesthetic of the house perfectly. 


This was the last before picture I have.  About this time, I stopped taking pictures as then it was time for me to start painting and Justus began constructing the run that is attached to the house.  

AFTER:


 I took these pictures early this morning as the sun was rising.  To say that we are excited this project is almost complete is an understatement.  This is the view I have from our kitchen window, and I can't help but look out at it throughout the day. 


 This weekend we got to hang the sign I've been waiting to hang for a couple months now.  My mom surprised me with this sign that she painted back in February and gave our chicken house the perfect name.  I laughed when she gave it to me... it was just so fitting (smile). 


 This is the side view... as you can see, the house is on the right and the run takes up the rest of the space.  We close the chicks in the house at night and open the little door to the run first thing in the morning.  I think the most rewarding part is to see how much they love it.  They come flying out with happy chirps.  When they are a little older, I will let them out to roam around the yard, but for now it's a safe place for them and also a way for them to still be outside when we aren't home. 


 Justus poured concrete around the bottom of the run so that no predators can easily enter.  I'd like to plant about eight boxwood around the side and even build a little bench to set here some day. 


 This weekend Justus used bricks from the original chimney of our home for a little landing in front of the screen door to the run.  We also planted two tiny little boxwood with dreams of them being lush and full one day.  

Justus also built this screen door for the run.  We considered buying one, but cut costs by building it instead. (Justus probably won't be happy with me when he reads this, but I have to say that I am so amazed and proud of all that he builds and does around our place.  He is such a hard worker and I am so thankful for him!) 


 We used 1x1 heavy gauge wire instead of chicken wire.  I felt that it was more durable, but I will give fair warning... it does not stretch easily.  Justus stretched it as much as he could and we just had to call it good. 


 We replaced the door hardware to the shed so it matched the barn hardware on the chicken house and installed a barn light.  The biggest expense was purchasing green metal roofing that matched the roof of our house... we considered galvanized, but we both love the cohesive look it gives our property. 


 The chicks are growing by leaps and bounds and seem healthy and happy.  We enjoy them so much already and I find myself going out to the chicken house several times during the day just to check on them and say hello. 


Sometime this fall Justus will begin construction on the other side of the shed for his storage building.  There's still some landscaping and little things to finish, but we're all so happy to be at this stage... enjoying spring days with our chicks.  I'll share pictures of the interior in a future post!

I hope you are having a great week!


54 comments:

  1. Your chicken house is wonderful. What chicken wouldn't love to live in your Cozy Coop?!

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  2. Absolutely fantastic! We are hoping to build a coop as well. I'll have to show my hubby this post so he can see your coop......and drool over the JD tractor :)

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  3. Everything about your cozy little coop is wonderful. What a sweet sign your mother made for you. Chickens roaming the yard when they get bigger will keep the bugs down. :) Enjoy your view!

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  4. I just adore your charming chicken coop! It's huge! Love the bright red sign. So perfect. Love all the added touches with the barn light and the green metal roof. I know y'all will enjoy taking care of the chickens for years to come. Your kids will have a great memory of it when they grow up too.

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  5. Simply precious! What a cozy coop indeed. :) How nice to have chickens, fresh eggs and a handyman.

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  6. This is so cool! It takes me back to gathering eggs in my uncle's chicken house~

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  7. I love your chicken coop! The sign is great too. What fun for you and your family. Hope you're having a wonderful spring! ~ Jamie

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  8. That' looks great ! You guys did a awesome job !!! Have a wonderful afternoon

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  9. If one could call a chicken coop "charming", then yours is charming! You are fortunate to have a handy husband, and he is lucky to have an appreciative wife!

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  10. Congratulations! It is so cute! I know how exciting it is to finally have a project done after months of hard work, so I know you must be over the moon. I'm glad you used hardware cloth to cover everything because chicken wire is easily ripped apart by racoons and other predators. This will keep your girls safe and happy! Great work!!!

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  11. Ohhhh I have been waiting for this post!! It is SO perfect, Andrea! Love the all white, the sign, beautiful doors, and it fits your style so perfectly- I (and my chickens) are jealous. Very good call on the heavy gauge wire- this is much more predator proof than chicken wire that raccoons can stick their hands through and strangle a chicken. You may want to bury the wire into the ground so predators can't dig underneath. Are you going to put their food and water outside in the pen area? I didn't see any so I assumed you had it inside the coop. My chickens basically don't go in the coop during the day except to lay so we have their food/water outside where they are the majority of the time. You will have so much fun with them!!

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  12. He did an awesome job, Andrea! Love that you reused the old shed and your mom's sign is so cute:)

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  13. What lucky hens! And lucky you for having such a clever husband.

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  14. Andrea, what a great chicken coop. Your husband is certainly very handy to add onto your building. I sure wish I could have chickens, but living in the city has draw backs.
    Your mother did a great sign for you, it looks so good.
    Have fun watching your little chick grow and soon you will be gathering fresh eggs everyday.
    Have a great weekend.
    Mary

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  15. What a blessing it is to have such a talented hubby! I love love love your adorable coop! You'll have eggs galore before you know it! Hooray! xoxo

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  16. Love it. Beautiful and resourceful. You do such nice things and your property is charming.

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  17. Oh, how lovely, lovely! Your chickens are so lucky to have such a sweet home. And yes, your hubby is such a hard worker to do all he does for his family. Kudos to both of you on a job well done! And the sign is perfect.

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  18. The coop turned out great.....your husband did a wonderful job and love the sign your Mom made for it!!

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  19. Oh my! this is amazing! so cute and beautiful! Can't wait to show my hubby. I've wanted to have a coop for a long time, but since my neighbor supplies me with eggs I've really got no reason. But I still want a coop!
    The sign really makes it!

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  20. I totally forgot how ugly that shed was!!! Your coop is so awesome and you guys should be so proud of yourselves! And the sign goes perfectly! ~ Mom ~

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  21. Your chicken house is so cool!Those chicks are pretty lucky!
    xx
    Anne

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  22. That is the most beautiful chicken coop I've ever seen....LOVE...xo

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  23. As soon as I saw that coop I fell in love with it. Those baby chicks are the cutest little things. You have quite the farm growing there.

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  24. Your chicken coop is perfect! I love the sign too. Great job to you and your hubby!
    Lucy

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  25. Andrea it is the most beautiful and cozy coop I have ever seen. It is the French cottage of coops. I love it! Perfect. I love the name on it too. I want to play in there if I was little I would never come out of it playing in it with the chickens. You have such a talented hubby. So happy for you dear. Love it. Love the post with photos.
    xoxo
    Lisa
    Leeshideaway.blogspot.com

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  26. How wonderful that your re-purposed that building!!! It is adorable and it looks so efficient.

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  27. A wonderful chicken coop! Great!
    Lots of love, Carmen

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  28. Wow...what a cute little coop! Your chicks will be happy there. I'd love to be able to look out my kitchen window to see my own coop and chicks.
    Farmhouse hugs,
    Cindy

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  29. Amazing! What a beautiful chicken coop. Those are some lucky chicks! I am so impressed when people make things themselves because we are not handy like that (well, my husband probably could do more if he had the tools, which we don't have because we have no place to store them!). Congratulations to you and Justus. You should be very proud of the hard work and skill you put into this. It's lovely.
    Claudia

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  30. Prettiest coop ever! Justus did a good job. He reminds me of my husband. Now I will show this post to my husband to inspire him too..

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  31. Oh Andrea...I love this. I think the sign and name are perfect too. The view from your kitchen is one you will never tire of. Those chicks have a happy home for sure!

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  32. Lovely blog, and it sure does seem cozy!
    Stacey
    www.downtoearthdigs.wordpress.com

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  33. Adorable! I can't wait to get our chickies this summer.

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  34. Oh my goodness I love, love, love it... it is so cozy for your sweet chickens.. You really lucky to have a good handy man...

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  35. I am in LOVE!!! I already love chicken coops and post them on Pinterest - and will share your's as well. But this is a wonderful, charming design. I have also discovered your mom's blog so I know where those boards came from :) My hubby is amazingly handy having built our house, shed, garage, greenhouse, woodshed, arbor, fence, deck (twice now that we've lived here so long). After our remodel I am thinking a screened porch would be perfect. But I may add chicken coop to the list. Thanks for sharing!

    PS: I love the new photos across the top of your blog. I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

    http://northislandcottage.blogspot.com/

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  36. THis is INCREDIBLE!!!! I am in awe:). How lucky are your girls to get to experience this. Beautiful job Justus!!! I am in love with this
    "Cozy Coop!"

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  37. Gorgeous! Your chickens are so lucky :).

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  38. Wow, it is wonderful! Our chicken coops were never quite so lovely. :)

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  39. oh wow! it is so nicely done....I bet you wanted to move in and make it a potting shed didn't you? do you have one of those?

    so so great....can't wait to see more of your beautiful chicks later :)

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  40. Wow! I just love your coop and the sign is fitting!

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  41. Looks amazing and great work by hubby and mummy for her sign. I can see why it feels great looking out the window. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia

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  42. Your chicken house is so amazing and cute!!...I just love the name of it!....What a fantastic job!

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  43. Wow,I have been looking for the perfect style Chicken coop to go with my 200 year old farm house and you created it!! I love it and its perfect to keep the little critters safe form big critters! THank you for sharing!
    Best,
    Karolyn

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  44. What a great idea to transform an ugly old shed into a cute little chicken coop.

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  45. Looks great! Our family got chicks on Good Friday, and we just started getting eggs a couple of weeks ago! Also, my youngest son's name is Justus. Glad to know there is another one!

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  46. I found you on Pinterest and have to say that this is exactly what I was looking for. We have an existing shed, and it's seen from the kitchen window, too. I think this is the perfect plan for our little coop, and I can't wait to show my husband!

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  47. I wish I could see the inside ~ need some ideas for that part...Thanks!

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  48. I love the coop. And I agree with Capt. and Mrs. S.G. Court. I'd love to see some pics of the inside also!!

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