We have selected our location, about 25 feet away from the front porch under a big tree
We begin by removing grass from the site & clean out the footprint 9’ X 11’
Hen House: 99 square feet
We began with the hen house design. Large enough to accommodate 20-25 hens. Two banks of nest boxes and a very open design. A wire divider can be added to create a small area for brooding chicks and includes one of the nest boxes for broody hens.
Aviary: 63 square feet
The Aviary was added after we completed the main Hen House because we felt we needed more room to expand! It is fully secure and can be seperated from the Hen House or integrated.
- We use course construction sand as the flooring in all of our chicken coops & pens.
- 2X4’s as roosts for perching
Pier blocks are used with 2X6’s and landscape fabric to set the foundation
Floor joists completed and here I am installing supports to help unify the flooring. Showing late afternoon shade.
Here is hubby & I laying out the plywood sheeting for the floor base.
DD sealing the installed plywood floor. We will be using a Pond liner over it
Framing our first wall, the low side of the coop.
First wall, the low wall 5'9" tall is up & braced. We only had to scab together 1 joist for this wall. The center 3 joists & boards are one complete pallette that we found, which determined this walls height. You can see the pallettes for the front wall being prepped.
Our temporarily clamped partial front wall. This is another complete pallette which really makes framing easy. Above the pallette here will be completely open with screen 3 seasons a year.
We added some of our driveway rocks to hold down the fabric & here you see the center support installed & the floor joists going in
Front wall is up & complete with only the top board scabbed together. It certainly took a while to figure out & I'm sure there was a better way to do it, but with some strapping it'll work! Onto the back wall..
Back wall started using one full palette
Back wall complete using 3 whole palettes! DD is working hard to help the project along!
The last wall is now going up, the first part is already being secured into place. It is a single 7’ tall palette!
The last wall is complete!!!!!!! We used two full 7’ tall palettes to do it. Talk about EASY!
Roof joists are in and ready for roofing
We are getting so close!!!
A closer shot of the back wall, and the roof joists. You can see the empty space in the back wall for the poop shelf door
Using scrap woods to build the nest boxes. On the left we have the “broody box” which can be seperated with fencing from the rest of the nests & house to give broody an area to raise chicks
My husband is installing the TufTex panel roofing we chose, alternating clear with smoke panels
Finishing roofing and adding welded wire to windows & doors throughout
We’re closing up the wall, the pond liner is in, tree branch perches have been fashioned and we’re getting ready to add the construction sand on the floor
The sand is going in. It’s alway so pretty when it’s fresh!
Well the hen house is ready to move in the chicks
7 Buff Orpingtons move in!
And they love that they can sun bathe & dust bathe all in one place! 
And the hen house is complete!
I don’t have any photos of the Aviary going up because it went so quickly! We placed 2 4X4 posts 7 feet from the Hen House, and connected those to the hen house with 2X6 boards along the bottom. We did the same for the top, using hangers to make the hen house connection. Then the roof went up the same way as the Hen House shown above and we simply used two rolls of welded wire to cover the outside. It was quick and easy. OH.. yes, we framed in a door we found on the side of the road.. that is the only vertical 2X4 in the whole avairy. We added a perch and a nest box for breeding season and use plastic on the sides for bad weather days that we roll up like a roman shade.
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