Chicken coop progress

Well dear reader(s), we're not moving as fast as I thought we would on the hen house, but my husband/builder likes to build things to last.  That's a good thing.   

The coop site

The boards on the ground are recycled plastic/sawdust lumber that won't rot like wood.

It's built away from the fence so we can walk all the way around it and also so that we can put hardware cloth along the ground to keep the coons and possums out.

Just starting to lay out the actual coop (on the left) which is built separately from the run in case we need to move it.  The wire will link them together, as will the roof.

The support posts of the coop are made from a donated 4x6 cedar ceiling beam.

The coop is off the ground so that the nesting boxes will be at a convenient height for us to open the hinged door and reach in from the back to collect eggs.  We'll also be able to slide the floor out and hose it off!

The back wall is in; we'll cut the door in later and add windows for light and ventilation.

Side walls are up.  The next step will be the metal roof, insulation, and coop ceiling.  The roof won't extend all the way over the run, so that the hens can have some direct sunlight in the winter.  

We do plan to let the chickens out in the yard when we're home and can watch them, but our fence doesn't enclose the side yards, so chickens could wander around to the unfenced front yard.   We want our hens to be happy, but we don't want them to wreck our front garden!