Our Chicken Coop; A Fancy Birdhouse

Pinterest Inspiration

My wife and I wanted to have a chicken coop as part of our backyard renovation project. Our neighbor has chickens, and we enjoyed getting fresh eggs. It did not seem to be too much work for him, and having the chickens looked fun. Knowing the scale of our greenhouse, we didn’t want an ordinary coop just feet away. As a result, we looked through Pinterest to find the right design to go with our plan.

Looking through all the Pinterest pins, one pin stood out. It had what we were looking for, and was just too cute for words. Since we live in the Pacific Northwest and our chickens would not be free range, a covered run was important to us. Additionally, we loved the rustic aged look of the wood from the picture. Lastly, the historical window of the coop would tie in to our greenhouse theme we were trying to create.

Inside Chicken Coop

Neither my wife nor I had ever owned or been around chickens, so knowing what was needed in the coop needed to be researched. We looked up the internal coop needs like roosts, nests, poop deck, lighting, heating, and ventilation needs. From there, we laid out the inside of our coop ourselves because there wasn’t a corresponding Pinterest pin from the coop we found.

One of the creative solutions we made was to have both an egg door and a hinged 4’ x 4’ door for access to clean. The full access door is invaluable for us to maintain the chicken coop. The cleaning of the coop is simple, and when we have issues with our birds, we can easily get them out.

Cedar Aging

One of the touches we were looking to do was to have different colored cedar to accent our chicken coop. For the trim of the coop, we wanted an aged or grey cedar. While shopping for cedar, I was informed that cedar can be easily aged with steel wool and distilled white vinegar.

The process of using steel wool with distilled white vinegar is quite easy. Put tore up steel wool into a container with a gallon of vinegar, and let it sit for about a week. Then, paint the mixture on your cedar boards, and it will turn the wood grey. It will also turn your fingers grey, and it is almost impossible to get off, so I highly recommend using rubber gloves. Lastly, when you have construction cuts where the color doesn't match, use the mixture to touch up the project.

Our Fancy Birdhouse

During construction, one of our neighbors asked, “What kind of fancy birds are you putting in that house?” It reminded me of my wife and my first trip to New York City. We saw a very large dog, and we said it was a big city dog. Was it a BIG CITY dog? Or, a BIG city DOG? Our coop is definitely a fancy birdhouse. However, it fits in with our entire backyard plan, and anything less would have taken away from our vision. The chickens provide entertainment, eggs, and fertilizer for our garden. We couldn’t be happier with the way our coop turned out.