Just to prove to you that we really do welcome all kinds of odd jobs we're showing you a chicken coop that we built.  Now, this isn't your ordinary run-of-the-mill chicken coop this is the Tashima Hall Of Chicken Coops. 

The footprint of the shed will be 10' X 12' overall. 9' X 10' of the footprint will be dedicated to the coop and the remaining 3' X 10' will offer a place for the coop supplies and a place to hang up the garden tools so they are all in one spot.

Here's a picture of the corner posts that were drilled by use of the auger (in the background). All posts are set in concrete for strength. We loosely fastened with deck screws the pressure treated lumber to the posts to get the whole thing square. More permanent fastening will come later with large carriage bolts.

Here we have finished about 1/2 the support structure before the rains came. We're using 2"X6" floor joists so there is no flex or bounce in the shed floor.

The support structure is just about finished in this picture. 

I used 3/4" pressure treated lumber for the floor. It's glued & screwed so it isn't going anywhere and there will be no squeaks.

Two windows like the ones in the picture were "rescued" and donated by a local distributor. Turns out the paint was scratched so they were removed from a new home and were to be scrapped. You are looking at the front stud wall being nailed together in this picture.

In the last two pictures you can see the walls and roof framed in.

We a "rescued" set of steel French doors. They were removed from another remodel job and were headed for the scrap pile.

I took the best of the two and since it needed a frame I got busy and cut a set of hinges into a 2 X 4 that will later be cut down to size.

The front door is installed here that will lead to the coop. 

The siding starts to go up.

Things are starting to come together very nicely at this point.

The side door and siding are now installed. The roof is in the process of being installed here.

The roof with ridge vent is now finished, the front windows are trimmed with pine. 

We installed vinyl flooring so the coop floor would clean up easily. The small hatch on the right side (floor level) will make it possible to sweep the coop out into a wheelbarrow for ease of cleaning also.

This shot is looking in the side door where the coop supplies & garden tools will be kept. A divider wall was fabricated to separate the coop from this area. Steps will be added shortly.

We finished the soffit & fascia and the various hatch doors have now been installed. Pine trim is also being nailed in place.

The pop-door is a way for the hens to enter & exit the coop and it must be able to be secured at night to keep predators out. Here's how we handled the challenge. The first rope you pull lifts the hinged 2X4 and the 2nd rope lifts the pop-door. When you drop both the weight of the horizontal 2X4 keeps the prop secure against the sliding pop-door locking it. Simple but it works very effectively.

The Black box that you see in the picture to the left of the pop-door is actually a foundation vent that we mounted in the sidewall. It has a bi-metal that automatically opens a set of louvers at 70 degrees. This will give the hens some fresh air when it isn't to cold outside.

We then took an old box fan that we got for free and framed it in overhead to draw air through the coop. I am going to add a furnace fan control that I'll wire into the fan so it automatically starts as the temperatures in the coop rise. The fan really moves a lot of air through the coop when its running.

We finished up the 1st of two banks of nesting boxes with perch. The eggs can be collected from outside the shed via a hinged door.

The door you see below the nesting boxes will aid in sweeping out the coop at cleaning time.

We made the nesting boxes to lift out for easy cleaning.

The coop has been trimmed and painted. We added motion lights (yes power was run to the shed) to help keep the predators at bay. The General Store sign was added for kicks.

The steps were added to the storage area (side door). We also plumbed water (see spigot on side of coop) to make clean up easier.

The hatch that is open on the left is for cross ventilation. There is also one on the right side of the coop as well. We added heavy screen behind each so when they are open predators can't use them to get in. We designed the coop to let as much natural light in as was possible. The glass exposure is to the south keeping the coop well lit and adding warmth to the coop in the winter months. 

Needless to say we're pretty happy with the way the coop turned out. This was an unusual and fun project and I'm sure that you'll agree that we are real sticklers for details.

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