Building the Cluckmahal

Seems like I'm always building something on the "farm" here.  After we picked up the new chickens, I realized that the coop we had was fine for 3 girls, but a little too small for 5.  So I decided to build a new coop. There are tons of coop designs and plans online, but I decided to do my own to fit my needs.  And the one need was something that one or two people could easily move around the yard.  Right now the coop we are using weighs over 200 pounds and I would guess that it's actually closer to 300 pounds.

So for mobility I decided to put the coop on wheels and I ordered two large casters off of Amazon.com.  Next my dilemma was how to mount the 10" casters to the coop.  In the end I just put a 2x10 on the bottom of the base so I would have a sturdy platform for the wheels.

Here they are all bolted on with the front legs attached as well.

Here it is sitting in the yard with the girls and curly checking it out.

I also decided to build the coop like a was building a small house so I have the decking on the base and the first wall up.  This wall was going to have the handle to wheel the coop around the yard.  The 2x4 is where the railing brackets will go.

Here we have the second wall with the chicken door.  I like putting those angle pieces on the walls especially since I decided to make the walls out of 2x2's.  They add a lot of structure stability to the frame.

Here's the third wall. This wall will have the nesting boxes attached to it.  Something the old coop lacked.

And here's the front door.  2 1/2 feet wide to access the coop for cleaning and what not.

Starting to add the sheathing.

Starting to put the outside sheathing on.

Adding some insulation, and yes I hand cut each piece to fit.

Adding the interior walls.

Roof ridge pole.

Added the lifting handle to the back.

Here we have the roof coming together.

The roof over hangs by about 6 inches on the ends.

You can see we got a little late snow during the build.

Starting to work on the nesting box.

Nesting box attached.

The nesting box is insulated as well.

Here we have the front door and one of the girls checking out the new digs

Took me a few tries to get the nesting box roof just right and hinged.

Nice latch on the door.

And here we have the nesting box lid raised to show how to get all those delicious eggs out and the insulation too.

Added the nesting box dividers.

I decided on metal roofing. I really don't know why, but shingles would have cost me just as much.

And the finished product. I still need to paint and winterize, but I think it's ready to be used.  Now I just need to get rid of the old coop, finish insulating my houses foundation, and move the coop to it's new location.  I don't think I made this coop any lighter, but she's 100% more movable.  I can lift and wheel the house all by myself, although it's hard to see where I'm going, so two people moving the coop probably would be best.

All in all she probably cost me about $150 to build.  Almost all that cost is in the wheels and roof. I did have to buy some screws and a few 2x4s.  My neighbor gave me a table saw so I was able to rip my own 2x2's which was really nice.  But most of the building materials were recycled.

I'll post some photos of her all painted up and being used a little later this summer.