Chicken Accommodation Available for a Handsome, Single Young Man!

Stephen Taylor
by Stephen Taylor
We recently acquired a rooster (cockerel), he was on death row as his old family were emigrating , we named him Duke (after John Wayne who played Rooster Cogburn in True Grit)
He is quite large, and the only house we had available for him at night was, lets say , a bit snug. He likes his own space away from the girls, so it was time to build him some better accommodation.
Almost everything is this project was either recycled. left over from other jobs or found in scrap bins.
Step 1: Tools and materials


2x2 timber


Chop saw


Jigsaw


Drill


Screwdriver


Measuring tape


Hammer


Roofing Iron


Chicken wire


Ply for floor


Cedar Tongue and Groove


Screws Various


Stables


Scrap Steel for Roof Ridge


Scrap Angle Aluminium
Step 2: The Frame


So all the frame wood was given to me by a neighbour as it was the cheap framing 2x2 (50mm x 50mm) that he was going to burn now his house is built.


I first built 3 "A" frames, and for ease of construction decided on a 90 degree angle at the top and 45 degrees at the bottom.


so I cut 3 pieces of 825mm length on the long edge, (this was decided by the size of the piece of roofing iron I found in a skip (dumpster)) and 3 of 775 mm (50mm shorter to account for the timber size.


I joined them together using 75mm screws (which were saved from an outside table I dismantled for the wood)


I then cut 3 pieces for the bottom of the frame to suit (they turned out to be 1170 mm) I could have worked it out but was easier just to offer up the wood and cut to length, again screwed together with 75mm screws, at this point I attached the roofing iron to get my spacing
Step 3: The roofing iron


I cut the piece of roofing iron in half using a nibbler, if you haven't got one of these you can use tin snips or have it cut in the shop, but get one of these they are great fun and SOOOO noisy!!


I then attached the iron to the frames using roofing screws (left over from the shed build), the whole thing was a bit saggy so I added a couple of pieces up inside for reinforcement, didn't measure just cut to fit)
Step 4: Floor


Added a floor made from cheap ply from discarded packing boxes, by this time it was getting fairly heavy so I decided to relocate to where it was going to end up and run power down to there for assembly
Step 5: Assembly of the run


I cut 3 pieces of 2x2 (50mm x 50mm) for the ridge and base, these were 1700 mm long as this suited the combined length of the roofing iron and chicken wire.


I screwed the wood to the outside of the bottom of the shelter part and the inside of the top.


I then attached the 3rd "A" frame
Step 6: The Night Roost


Another 2 pieces of 2x2 with a 45 degree angle at the top were put in, one right at the front and one about halfway along to give a wind free space for roosting.


These were them panelled out with cedar T&G left over from my shed ceiling.


The observant among you may also notice that I took out the roofing screws from one end to allow me to attach the chicken wire.
Step 7: Closing up


I attached chicken wire to the slopes and one end, I found a piece of angle aluminium to support it in the scrap bin at work (to be fair I threw it in the scrap bin earlier!!). The chicken wire was a free end of roll that was being thrown out


The other end I panelled with cedar T&G and then cut out a triangular door. The hinges were salvaged from a broken shed in a skip, as was the catch


The door/entry ramp was reinforced with a couple strips of scrap wood that were the separators for some decking timber.


I bent a piece of scrap for the roofing ridge on the bending machine at work


Finally I put a couple of finishing pieces at the roof bottoms to tidy it all up.
And here is the happy camper!!
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4 of 6 comments
  • Haysha S. Haysha S. on Sep 04, 2016
    Looks like you did a great job!
  • Bonnie Bonnie on Sep 04, 2016
    Thank you for giving Duke (handsome devil!) a second chance...his new accommodation is beautiful!
    • Stephen Taylor Stephen Taylor on Sep 05, 2016
      He is something of a misogynist. (don't know where he could possibly get that from!!) He also hates plastic bags and brooms, but he's fine with me even when I tease him!
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