The Chicken Coop - Using Metal Shelves!

Have spent the past week thinking about how to make the actual chicken coop for the birds to lay and rest in and was really stumped about what to do.
Since I'm not much of a carpenter, I was reluctant to go out and buy all the gear and tools and wood to put together what would basically be a poor example of a chicken coop.
And the other option, of asking for help - shit, I am so over that I had to find a way of doing this, (to quote mt three year old) "ALL BY MYSELF!"

So, whilst I worked at our warehouse, I actually stumbled upon some spare pallet racking lying up the back and thought it would be just perfect for the job! The shelving is solid, supports a ton of weight, is made of steel so it won't rot, and I have all the bits and pieces so that I can put it together. And it should be easy to cover the open sides to give some shelter when it is put together.

Backyard Chickens In Merewether

Here's how I spent the few free days I had over the Easter long weekend. There was a fair bit of rain and the soil was soft, so digging the footings wasn't so hard, more that it just had to be done. So, with a skirt of chicken wire extending out from the coop by about 500mm, it should be quite a strong defence against the foxes.



Then the wire sits buried under 300mm of trench, backfilled with bricks, and then covered with finer wire and then filled in with concrete. It looks very solid and I hope it cures properly with all the sporadic rain and showers.

The corner posts are a bit messy, but whilst i was putting it together I thought it was more about function and security as opposed to form and design. For sure, the brick work isn't the tidiest or neatest, but it holds the wire in place wll so will be a firm deterrent to marauding foxes.

The chicken coop has a gentle downward slope away from the house so the waste has a clear run off. I initially planned on making the coop a third of its final size, and you can see the original trench I had dug across - it was stopped by thick tree roots from the eucalypts. I'm not sure if having the big tree inside the coop was such a good idea.

Anyway, more refinements and improvements as time goes on, am getting anxious to have some actual birds in the coop laying eggs for us!  Gourmet Hampers

Afternoon at Bar Beach

Spent a glorious day at the beach on Sunday, was particularly keen to get some sun as we recognize it is nearing the end of sunny days.

Was a beautiful day and we flirted with the storm clouds, running over the rocks and exploring through the pools until near dusk. Once we were home and in steaming showers we heard the first of the big raindrops plopping on the roof.
Nothing better than standing on the verandah with hot-shower-skin watching the rain splash off the steaming road.