The pre-fab chicken coop is now constructed along with its companion detachable pen.  The kit was fairly easy for one adult to assemble, though a helping hand every now and again would be nice.  The girls helped, but we also had the chicks out running free in the yard and therefore the girls were easily distracted and wanted to play more than work.  I can’t blame them.

This coop is constructed from the artificial wood planks used these days for decks.  The advantage to this material is that it does not absorb odors and is easy to wash out.  I wish this coop design had a slide out tray system at the bottom to help in the coop clean out process.  As it is, the roof slats can be removed with minor effort and the coop can be accessed from the top.

The materials were all individually numbered which made the assembly much easier.  1 connects to 2 connects to 3 and so on until you run out of numbers.  The instructions encourage you to sort the parts out by number, and I concur.  That helps speed things along.  The directions to the pen assembly, however, did not have the part numbers listed in the assembly instructional drawings, which I thought was odd.  The biggest tool I needed to use in this project was the snippers I used to cut the plastic straps off the boxes.  The coop and pen are actually assembled using hand tightened jumbo plastic screws.

Another modification I might wish to make is for the door.  As it is now, I think I’d have to open the pen door, reach in, then rotate the clip that holds the coop door shut.  I wouldn’t mind rigging up some sort of system where I can raise and lower an additional door via a twine line.  We shall see if that develops or not.  Also, I will need to line the boarder of the pen with some paving stones, or perhaps lay down some hardware cloth on the ground and secure it to the sides so other critters cannot gain access to the chickens from below.

The chicks are growing daily now, and watching them mature is amazing.  They should be ready for their outdoor home soon.

Total cost for the coop and pen, including sales tax, was ever so slightly under $500.  In talking to other people who have custom built coops, this is about what they paid in materials, so I decided to remove all the hassle of designing the coop I’d want and having to develop a materials list and take, I’m sure, several trips to the store to obtain such materials.  So far I’m pleased with that decision.

Thanks for coming by to Humbleville, USA … and GOD BLESS !!!