Today was day two of the chicken coop project… as the sun set I had one very smashed finger, two bruised knees, four strong walls, and a borrowed screw gun. My neighbor (who is a contractor) intervened when he heard me hammering angrily… mentioning that I might “have more fun” if I borrowed his screw gun. The man is an angel… it was definitely easier!

Today’s goal was to get the walls finished. The first wall I tackled was the hardest… the wall that would have the door for the people to get in and out of. There was just a lot of measuring and cutting.

The next walls I tackled were the two side walls. Each of these will have a window, complete with shutters to keep the elements out. I’ve decided that I won’t be putting a glass window in… just screening it with hardware cloth and then adding functional shutters. Much of my chicken research has said that ventilation in coops is notoriously bad… people are so worried about their girls getting cold that they don’t provide a healthy respiratory environment. So, I’m counting on those feathers to do what they’re designed to do and I’ll use the shutters to keep the rain out.

And, the chicken door wall. This one is the one I’m most proud of. It looks deceivingly simple… but for someone with zero experience building things, I think I did a pretty good job. I had to Youtube how to cut at the 15 degree angle, but I got it! This will be connected to the run and will have the door the chickens will use to get in and out of the coop.

That little lip is intentional… since the roof is designed to slope towards the chicken door, I’m going to put a little gutter on and get it to drain into a barrel… that way we’ll have reclaimed water for the garden!

Finally, the finger. I got frustrated with the screws (pre-neighbor intervention) and started using nails… was doing a great job (hammering hard) when the nail wobbled and I smacked my finger. I hate to say it, but I said some choice words that are not appropriate for use on Sundays. I dripped blood around the garage (now muttering those choice words because my finger went numb) and then went inside to wash it out. I slapped a band aid on and headed back out to dominate the nail. True hardcore carpenter style. I think I’m gonna make it through the night, but wouldn’t be surprised if I developed one of those really cool black finger nails.

Next up… we attach the walls and get to work on the roof! I can’t wait for it to look like a real structure!