The Little Yellow House is the coop for our layer flock of 4 birds. It is made to looking like a smaller version of our house. It is 2 stories with 2 external hen boxes.
Building
Step 1-
We started with the structure of the main upstairs house part. We used old and new wood. Since Florida is hit will hang storm and hurricanes we used metal brackets to keep everything very secure.
Step 2-
We boarded up the walls with treated wood and started laying paneling along the side. The over lapping look did not work well so we just used one flat board. There is 2 windows on the front, a small door the can open and close, and one main door so you can clean out the coop. The roof is pinched to allow water flow. There is 1 very large external hen box that we latter put a divider in. We lifter the main coop and laid down the wood fame for the run.
Step 4-
We wanted to be able to take of the run and clean out the floor if needed so we build the run by itself. We used white outdoor paint to seal it. We used hardware cloth 1 inch by 1 inch.
Step 5-
We put latches attaching the run to the coop. 2 locks on main door, 1 on hen box. This coop is predetor
Step 6-
We put shudders on the windows to seal them in the hurricanes. We are constantly decorating our coop per season so here are some pictures. Later we added a perch outside mounted to the structure. A tarp over the hen box kept some heat out of the coop. Lights in the winter and a turkey for thanksgiving. We added an outhouse fan that is solar powered to the coop so they could get some air flow on hot days. My old cat used to guard the coop.
Recent Fixes-
We ended up lifting the coop about a foot of the ground and filled the run with 1/4 ton of sand. We replace all the sand 2 times a year and scoop the top of when it gets really dirty. Our yard floods all the time so this was very necessary. It helps with the flys too.
What I wish we could change-
I wish we made the run longer because we could barley fit the perch in it. While my birds get to free range for a few hours a day I feel that should get more indoors space. I feel that there should be one more hen box in a different place so that Dixie (the head hen) can lay her eggs and not peck everyone else out. Lastly I wish the coop was taller so I could actually stand in it.
