Coop Interior
I saw some nesting boxes with round openings on BYC and really liked the idea. With a goal of 5 hens, I wouldn't need more than 1-2 boxes. So I decided on 2. And I had some fun with the design 
The lid has hinges and opens for easier access. I painted the inside black to make it look darker and cozier. I don't have "in use" pictures of the nesting box, in the finished coop, because my chicks aren't laying age yet and I took the nesting box out to give them more space. When they start nearing laying age, I'll put it back in.
I stained the interior with Behr Waterproofing Stain and Sealer like the exterior, but I picked a light, warm yellow color. I put oilcloth on the floor, to protect the wood, because it was cheap and easy to get (through Amazon). It feels quite heavy... I hope it lasts. The coop bedding is pine shavings and I'm keeping them very dry, plus the floor is stained with the waterproofing seal as well.
The poop flap and its ramp:
I ended up getting an auto door - The Happy Henhouse. That wasn't in the plans when I was designing the coop and the pop door framing, so I had to retro-fit it in there... It obscures the window a bit and doesn't look very elegant, but it works. And I can still open and close the window. I was doing this late at night with the head lamp on.. I was tired and frustrated... so I just banged those boards on to drill the motor onto, and didn't see how offset they were until the next morning. Now they will bother me forever, but I just can't bring myself to drag the tools out there to even them out
I installed the auto door's metal frame a little below the level of the bottom wood frame, to prevent little raccoon hands from slipping under the metal door to lift it up. Right now the door slides down behind the wooden frame in front of it.
After I added the additional wood to accommodate the auto door, I ended up with a weird gap between the boards right in the bottom of the doorway. I observed the chickens going in and out to see if it would be a problem. They were mostly okay, but they did occasionally get a toe stuck in the gap. I didn't want to risk it, so I cut a piece of leftover wide flashing (the kind I used for the doorway of the human door) and banged it across both boards, so now the chickens have one solid piece to walk on:
Also, side note - I put the hook half of a hook-and-eye latch on the outside of the pop door, so I can hook it onto the faux ivy mesh outside and keep it from closing. Second side note - the ramp is attached via two hinges, so I can lift it up if I ever need to rake or clean underneath it.
Hung some essentials on the walls:
The kids contributed:
Curtains, because why not:
A WYZE pan cam to spy on them day and night:
A remote temperature sensor so I can monitor things from my desk:
I have been very happy with all 3 of my chicken tech devices - the auto door, the cam, and the temperature sensor. I know they're a bit extra, but I think they are worthy investments. The auto door for letting me sleep in or go away for a day or two, the cam for letting me keep an eye out for trouble (one time it helped me see that a chicken had knocked the lid of the hanging feeder off and had gotten stuck inside the bucket... so I was able to rescue him quickly), and the thermometer for showing me just how awfully hot it gets in there in the summer, even with the giant vents and both windows open all the way! It has prompted me to plan an addition - I want to build a HC-ed screen door in the frame of the human door, so that in the summer I can keep the solid human door open and only have the screen door there, to let more air in and help the coop cool down faster at night. Right now it's summer and 95 degrees in there and my poor babies are panting at night.
A couple practical details - I added a thin strip of wood along the inside of the human door frame where the door was swinging in, to stop it, so it would have something to rest against (it's an outward-opening door), and I added a hook and eye latch so I can secure the door while I'm inside and make sure the chickens don't run out (since the door handles are just handles without any latch like a real door).
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For roosts, I used thick tree branches and 6" screws to attach them to the roost supports:
I had help spreading the shavings
And here's the finished interior!
The residents approve:
To the left as you walk in, as you can see in one of the above photos, I put a small stump. That's the visitor chair. When I go in for a visit, I sit down on the stump and the chickens hop up to say hi or to take a nap on me
And here are the views from my chicken cam (it has two way sound and can record video, too) -
A note on roost space: there are currently 11 chicks in that coop, but I'm not ultimately keeping all of them. I'll cull the 6 males when the hormones hit and they get too loud and obnoxious. Which will leave me with 5 hens and enough roost space. Until then... they'll be tight on the top roost and when they start falling off, somebody's gonna need to settle for the lower roost until I thin out the flock.
The lid has hinges and opens for easier access. I painted the inside black to make it look darker and cozier. I don't have "in use" pictures of the nesting box, in the finished coop, because my chicks aren't laying age yet and I took the nesting box out to give them more space. When they start nearing laying age, I'll put it back in.
I stained the interior with Behr Waterproofing Stain and Sealer like the exterior, but I picked a light, warm yellow color. I put oilcloth on the floor, to protect the wood, because it was cheap and easy to get (through Amazon). It feels quite heavy... I hope it lasts. The coop bedding is pine shavings and I'm keeping them very dry, plus the floor is stained with the waterproofing seal as well.
The poop flap and its ramp:
I ended up getting an auto door - The Happy Henhouse. That wasn't in the plans when I was designing the coop and the pop door framing, so I had to retro-fit it in there... It obscures the window a bit and doesn't look very elegant, but it works. And I can still open and close the window. I was doing this late at night with the head lamp on.. I was tired and frustrated... so I just banged those boards on to drill the motor onto, and didn't see how offset they were until the next morning. Now they will bother me forever, but I just can't bring myself to drag the tools out there to even them out
I installed the auto door's metal frame a little below the level of the bottom wood frame, to prevent little raccoon hands from slipping under the metal door to lift it up. Right now the door slides down behind the wooden frame in front of it.
After I added the additional wood to accommodate the auto door, I ended up with a weird gap between the boards right in the bottom of the doorway. I observed the chickens going in and out to see if it would be a problem. They were mostly okay, but they did occasionally get a toe stuck in the gap. I didn't want to risk it, so I cut a piece of leftover wide flashing (the kind I used for the doorway of the human door) and banged it across both boards, so now the chickens have one solid piece to walk on:
Also, side note - I put the hook half of a hook-and-eye latch on the outside of the pop door, so I can hook it onto the faux ivy mesh outside and keep it from closing. Second side note - the ramp is attached via two hinges, so I can lift it up if I ever need to rake or clean underneath it.
Hung some essentials on the walls:
The kids contributed:
Curtains, because why not:
A WYZE pan cam to spy on them day and night:
A remote temperature sensor so I can monitor things from my desk:
I have been very happy with all 3 of my chicken tech devices - the auto door, the cam, and the temperature sensor. I know they're a bit extra, but I think they are worthy investments. The auto door for letting me sleep in or go away for a day or two, the cam for letting me keep an eye out for trouble (one time it helped me see that a chicken had knocked the lid of the hanging feeder off and had gotten stuck inside the bucket... so I was able to rescue him quickly), and the thermometer for showing me just how awfully hot it gets in there in the summer, even with the giant vents and both windows open all the way! It has prompted me to plan an addition - I want to build a HC-ed screen door in the frame of the human door, so that in the summer I can keep the solid human door open and only have the screen door there, to let more air in and help the coop cool down faster at night. Right now it's summer and 95 degrees in there and my poor babies are panting at night.
A couple practical details - I added a thin strip of wood along the inside of the human door frame where the door was swinging in, to stop it, so it would have something to rest against (it's an outward-opening door), and I added a hook and eye latch so I can secure the door while I'm inside and make sure the chickens don't run out (since the door handles are just handles without any latch like a real door).
For roosts, I used thick tree branches and 6" screws to attach them to the roost supports:
I had help spreading the shavings
And here's the finished interior!
The residents approve:
To the left as you walk in, as you can see in one of the above photos, I put a small stump. That's the visitor chair. When I go in for a visit, I sit down on the stump and the chickens hop up to say hi or to take a nap on me
And here are the views from my chicken cam (it has two way sound and can record video, too) -
A note on roost space: there are currently 11 chicks in that coop, but I'm not ultimately keeping all of them. I'll cull the 6 males when the hormones hit and they get too loud and obnoxious. Which will leave me with 5 hens and enough roost space. Until then... they'll be tight on the top roost and when they start falling off, somebody's gonna need to settle for the lower roost until I thin out the flock.
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