OMG we finally finished the coop! Today we put up the rest of the siding, framed and installed the door, nailed down the plywood roof, stapled in the hardware cloth vents, and secured the plastic tarp which acts as our interim waterproofing.

Just as dusk was settling in, Scott returned from the pet store with 4ft3 of wood shavings, we spread them 5” deep over the plywood floor, moved the heat lamp out to the coop, and finally brought out the little girls. Freak out! Yes, yes, little ones, we know, totally novel and scary. They quickly adapted, immediately pecking and scratching at the bedding.

We will miss them and their antics in the den, but they looked so right out there in their new coop. We are nervous about their first night outside: Will they be warm enough? Will predators try to get into their coop? If they do, will they succeed?

If you’re curious about our coop, here is a tally of the materials we used.

Purchased:
150’ of lumber (~$60)
2 sheets of plywood for the floor and the roof (~$25)
Nails, screws, 2 hinges, 2 latches ($20)

Acquired:
70sqft of siding (mostly OSB) via kind folks on West Seattle Blog
Various pallets, some of which the coop sits on

Re-used:
20’ of lumber
½” hardware cloth for vents
cube window