It All Hinges on This

The coop was looking good, but we were still missing a very important part... the door! This was a small problem because we weren't exactly sure what we wanted to do for the door. I read on a chicken website about one guy who used a $20 wood screen door on his coop. That sounded great to me! Unfortunately, we didn't come across this helpful tip until after we framed the door and the only cheap screen doors we could find were not the right size.

Ana White had instructions in her plan for a door but it required a tool we didn't own (Kreg Jig). After much discussion we decided to just buy the Kreg. The good news is it worked great! And as an added bonus we can now build all kinds of things with Ana's plans... she's a big fan of the Kreg.

The door is basically a frame with hardware cloth in the top opening and a little bit of leftover siding for the bottom panel. We custom made it to fit our opening. We used 1x4s since Jerry was concerned it would get too heavy if we used anything else. It really looks great! 

Jerry chose the hinges and a little handle. There is also a little hook and eye lock to keep it closed. We plan to add a spring so it self closes so our little chicken wranglers don't leave it wide open and let the dogs birds out.

If you look closely, you can see the chickens are in the coop checking out their new digs. I was actually brave enough to let them sleep out there! I thought they might get chilly but they survived the night and have been sleeping in there the past few nights without any trouble.

For now I just put a scrap of siding over that cement block by the door to act as a ramp for them to get in and out. We plan to cut a little chicken door on the side for them. We also need to add a roost and nesting boxes eventually as well. We put up a little bit of chicken wire to make a "yard" and keep them contained for now. When they are a bit bigger they'll be allowed to roam a bit more. So except for a few finishing touches... it's pretty much done!

In case you missed them:
The Coop Part 1
The Coop Part 2
The Coop Part 3