The hens are getting their coop pimped out some more. Okay not really, but I say that to make them feel more special. We have needed to get the hens into another part of our property for a while now as they have completely and utterly stripped their lot of anything that moves or looks tasty. It’s pretty much a barren waste land. Lee has been working on skids for the coop so he can drag it behind his tractor to their new spot. It being winter in Oregon though has made his enthusiasm for crawling around in mud under the coop just a tad bit low. So our coop has mostly been sitting on jacks for the past week. Boy that sure goes with the Oregon love of all things blue tarp and trailer jacks. I am now hereby not admitting that my coop is on jacks.
So Lee did something, I just handed him the nails and whatnot. He will have to give the details to his grand chicken coop skid plan. It’s not all done yet but at least one of the skids is part way on.
Lee – Oh, it looks like I’m required to say something here. The photo above shows one of the two skids that are being fastened under the coop. The coop’s floor framing consists of 4×8 timbers arranged in a 6′ by 10′ rectangle. In the narrow dimension, 2×6 joists run on 2′ centers. (Yes, we know this is overkill — Next time I build a coop, it won’t even have a floor.) Anyway, the skids are 4×6 timbers, with angle cuts front and back to go over bumps easily and notches so they can rest on both the beams and the joists that support the floor. I’m then adding Simpson StrongTie fasteners to attach them permanently: two twist straps front and back, three angle brackets on the outside between the skid and the floor beam, and three hurricane clips on the inside between the skids and the floor joists underneath. All of this works out to over 2000 lbs of holding force per skid. I don’t want to end up in one of those youtube videos where somone tries to tow a shed and it pops off its skids.
Eventually we will need a new coop, so this may be what we should be looking at too.
Yup, it’s the chicken palace. I think they are living better than you are!
I love it – Robin’s story, then Lee’s version!!
That made me laugh!
I usually say things like “No, you can’t talk to Randy on the phone right now, he’s out doing man things out with tools and whatnot in the garage”… instead of “”No, you can’t talk to Randy on the phone right now, he’s rebuilding the ingnition on the tractor due to a requirement for a manual overpass which made the tractor not start properly”.
Anyway, your chicken palace grand scheme sounds good. I always say my chickens live better than me, too.
Lynn- HA! That is great. People know better (or should) then to ask me what Lee is up too because it’s to hard to explain when I don’t completely understand what it is or why he is doing it. When I try to explain it comes out missing a couple of the important pieces
The chickens, by the way, really do have a better house then I do. All I need is indoor plumbing in their house and I think I would move in.
I understand, Robin, my chickens have a better house than mine, too! Really! My house is drafty and cold. Their coop is draft-free and has 2 heat lamps. Yeah, they are missing indoor plumbing/running water…
Didn’t Lee mention setting up plumbing for your chicken waterer…There you go!!
One day your house will be really fabulous, and the chickens will be jealous…
To bad that those new windows you had put in didn’t help with your house being cold. Our goal for this year is to mostly complete the upstairs two bedrooms and bathroom. I will be happy if we get that accomplished. Then I won’t feel the need to move out to the coop.