A few weeks ago I started construction of a chicken coop that we plan to start using next spring once the snows recede. As with most of the things I start up here in the woods, this structure reuses alot of materials from past projects or buildings. In this case, I pulled off of the paintball field an old paintball fort that had been part of one of the flag stations. It was never built straight or square when I first built it since it was more a prop and shield against paintballs.Once I had pulled it up into the driveway I removed the OSB sides that were pretty much rotted along with adding and replacing the 2x4 frame. For a project like this I used rough cut 2x4's from the family mill. I replaced boards from the roof that were rotten also. The plan is to re-use white siding I have collected for the roof (Much like what I did with the wood stove) and then use some good treated plywood for the walls that I will need to purchase in the near future. The end result will be painted barn red, but that is a little ways off yet.
After strengthening the old fort, I spent some time clearing off the area where the coop would sit. This I placed not to far off the driveway and near where the future garage will sit, though not so near since I currently have my trailer in that spot while I build the new house. After chainsawing and hauling brush to a pile that will be burned later this fall, I used the good ol"F150 to skid the coop to its new home. With a bar and a come-along, I positioned the building where I wanted it and then leveled it and squared it up. After that, I squared up the corners of the pen where the fence will be and dug out those holes with a post hole digger. Once done, I put in some solid fence posts that I had brought with me from my older property when I moved. Onto these I attached treated 2x4's that were 12 feet in length for the top of the fence. Onto this structure I attached the welded poultry fence I picked up from Menards with some fence staples.
So far so good. Next in the plans is putting the steel on the roof and putting the siding on the building.
