You know as well as I do what is coming.  Living here in Ohio, the cold weather will be here before we know it.  It’s not that we can’t do anything outside in the cold weather, because we can and we still do.  BUT, there are certain things we want completely wrapped up before the snow flies.  One of those things is the chicken coop.  We started this coop several months ago.  Our lives have been so busy with the new build, our business, taking care of the cottage, etc.  You know the drill.  

Deb recently finished the space by the pergola swing.  It is a job she has always wanted to do and it looks so pretty.  I will be sharing that project this week, as well.  As we were finishing up our coffee this morning, we started talking about what our project list and what is left to do on the chicken coop.  But, we are both determined to mark off all of our to-dos for the chicken coop.

Project Check List: What’s Left on our To-Do List on the Chicken Coop

We have been asked this question a lot…

Are you still getting chickens this year?

We want to.  And we are still hoping that we can find some that are almost ready to start laying.  Deb found a place but this morning said there are none left.  So, who knows.  I really don’t want to start with baby chicks this time of year, but we may have to.  The good thing is if we do, they will be laying for sure by spring.  We will see.

Electrical

Deb has the inside of the chicken coop almost wired.  She added several plugs, a place for a small heater for the dead of winter, a ceiling light, and she wired up the egg box and the hatch door into the run.  We decided on a purchasing a chicken coop door because it is self-locking to keep the predators out.  She also added an automatic door opener with a timer and light sensor.  It will be able to be set for a specific time to open and close or set from dusk to dawn.  We used to go out every morning and every night to open and close the hatch, but this seemed like a good thing for us.  Because remember, we are making our property and structures as low-maintenance as possible.  It may be a bit of extra money for things now, but in the long run, we will be thrilled.

She also added the outside lights around the door and a few plugs on the outside for anything that may come up.  

The Interior

We are going to insulate the interior of the coop.  Our last one was not insulated icicles hung inside the windows of the coop depending on how cold it got.  So again, while we are doing this, we want to do this right.  After the insulation is added, we will be hanging something over that to protect it.  We grabbed a few 4’x8′ pieces of white plastic that we hope to hang inside.  I will for sure share once that is hung and I know it worked.

We will also add self-feeders and self-waterers so that we won’t need to worry about that on a daily basis.  Because remember… LOW maintenance.

The Sliding Door

We divided the inside of the chicken coop so that we would have a bit of storage inside for their food and extra chicken supplies.  It will work perfect to hang a sliding screen door so that we can see them when we open up the exterior door, but they won’t be able to get into that area.  We have a screen door already.

The Run

The run will be very important to get done as soon as we can if we get the larger chickens.  It won’t be so crucial if the chicks are still small.  We can finish that up after we get them.  But, we are planning on adding the run off of the left side as you are looking at the front.  The entire coop is 8’x8′.  So we want the run obviously the same width and maybe a bit longer.  It will be a bigger job because living out in the country, we have to prepare for predators.  So not only will we be digging holes for the posts, but we will have to dig a trench around the outside of the run.  This will help stop any predators from digging under the wired run.

We plan on using some of the found items that we have in our stash… mainly the large columns. I thought it would be nice to use those as decorative pieces over the 4x4s that we will be using for the run.  We will see though.

The Watering Station

We had the guys, who were running the line from our well to the new house, run another line to the coop and add a spigot so that we don’t have to haul water.  It will also work perfect for our garden, another huge project, which is right beside the coop.  Well, Deb came up with this awesome idea.  Someone gave us a huge galvanized metal sink that we thought about using for herbs and flowers around the coop and garden.  She mentioned it would be fun to build a base out of the old porch posts we have and set it by the coop.  We would have a place to clean up our vegetables from the garden.  And then we could toss the scraps directly into the run for the chickens.  I, quite frankly love that idea.

The Landscaping and Decor

You have to know there would be landscaping and decor involved with this chicken coop.  I can see it all clearly in my head and cannot wait to get to work on that part, which will more than likely happen next spring. I want to add very simply boxwoods to keep this area green all winter and be low maintenance.  We have an old weather vane that I want to add to that area.  And, of course, there will be flower pots of herbs, etc, around the step area.  This, of course, is my favorite part of a project.  The finishing touches.

Stay tuned for all of these updates on the chicken coop.  We hope to complete lots of these items on our checklist soon and actually starting work again this week.  If you are on social media, make sure to check out stories as I always share there, as well.