Sunday, August 24, 2008

New Roof on the Chicken Coop

The coop is at least 80 years old. FIL says he remembers that it was used as a brood house when he was a kid. Indeed, I found penciled notes on one of the interior walls stating that in 1925 so many red leghorns and so many white leghorns (pronounced LEG'GURNZ, or so I hear) were purchased from Murray McMurray Hatchery...

I would guess that the roof had not been replaced in those many years. When we bought our chicks three or four years ago, we had to do some work to get it ready. One entire wall was missing. The door between the coop and the feed room was down. Roosts needed replaced, nest boxes hung...and a wire enclosed run needed to be added on. The roof was intact at that time, but some of the joists were cracked. The corrugated metal on top was pretty rusty and had some holes.

It lasted us for the first two years, but then with some heavy winds one winter, the metal roof was peeled back and that was the beginning of the end! Things soon began to rapidly rot and deteriorate and last winter was a messy mush inside. I have been using composted peat moss as litter. I have about a four inch layer...peat moss and chicken doody mixed with rain makes for a sloopy, sloppy mess! I had buckets everywhere! Nothing could be done about it until summer though. The chickies and I just had to deal with it! The floor of the coop was one place where freezing temps were welcome!

With many chores and things to do on the list, we finally got around to getting it done. We were not going through one more winter in that mess!


DH getting it done for me!

A nice shot of the interior with the new roof.

I also gave the nest box a new crazy paint job and painted one of the walls white. I did paint over the 1925 penciled notes.
An outside corner.
There is still work to be done. Not on the roof, but walls will need to be replaced as they continue to deteriorate. By the way, two years ago I used Behr's soy based water sealer on the two walls with new siding. It already needs to be redone! Guess it's back to Thompson's Water Seal, unless I can find something better.

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