laying out one end of the chicken-house… The scorch-marks are residue from our son Kapena’s ceremonial burning of a sweatshirt from his ex-girlfriend
Well, after tackling the political angle of backyard chickens and mustering our (mostly free) resources, we finally got our start on building the chicken house… Or, to use the Hawai’ian handle, the Hale Moa (HAH-lay MO-wah).
We got through the framing today, so here’s our chicken-house-building (part one)—mostly in pictures, because I’m saving up most of my words for the 40K-word project I’m supposed to be doing now (and will actually have to get started on in a few minutes)…
So far the only item we have bought for this project is a box of three-and-a-quarter-inch sinker nails ($10.48 for a 5-pound box at Home Depot). All the wood we’re using was found, begged, or bartered—including the fortuitous find of the “house”-shaped pieces of plywood we’re using at the two ends of the chicken-house.
girl with power tools!
We wanted to use four-by-four posts at the corners, but since our “finds” were all two-by-fours, we nailed two of those together for each corner post. We measured out our lengths, and then I got to use the laser-sighted mitre saw that was my Mother’s Day gift a few years back (in the days when we did have money)… Hey, does Keoni know me or what?
Also, please notice and admire our nifty makeshift “sawhorse” of several stacked soda-crates (which we got for free from the grocery store) held together with zip-ties.
After measuring, cutting, and nailing our improvised four-by-four posts to each of the ends, we stood them up, propped one of them with a couple leaning boards, and nailed 8-foot two-by-fours along each side.
nailing our measured-and-cut 2x4s to the end-piece
setting up the ends before adding the side cross-pieces
Keoni had to leave for work, but I wanted to keep playing (because, um, there were 40,000 words waiting for me inside—never mind that it’s 103 degrees OUTside), so I sanded down one of the cross-boards on the “front” end of the chicken-house, got out the kids’ paints, and labeled the project with a sign: Hale Moa.
chiseled-out cross-piece for the top
We’d talked about a single cross-piece across the top center, so I traced the apex of the house-shaped end, traced that onto both ends of a two-by-four, and chiseled out the shape on each end so it rests neatly on the top.
So here’s our first day’s progress; total cost so far just under $11. And Christian & Elena Grace are due to arrive any minute, so it will be fun to see what they think! I suppose I can’t put off those forty thousand words any longer…
Ta-da, the chicken-coop frame! I guess I could take that “temporary support” off the front now…
July 12th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Nice job! Very resourceful!
July 12th, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Very nice! I wouldn’t have a clue how to build something like that.
July 12th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
I love it Granny! Daddy is very resourceful! I earlier was looking at a pic of me as a kiddo swinging on the home made swingset he made us out of tires, chains & telephone poles! Love you Tyler Boys!
July 12th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Great job!
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
July 12th, 2012 at 10:13 pm
Good luck with the livestock end of this project! What an adventure!
July 12th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Yep … you’ll get through those 40,000 words in no time now that the coop’s half done! … looks wonderful. Lucky chooks!
July 12th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
When will the chickens be moving in to their new home?
July 12th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Funny you ask that—it seems to be the foremost question on Christian’s mind as well. ;) We’re picking up the chicken wire tomorrow, but then we’re leaving this weekend for ten days of grandparent-visiting… Hopefully before the end of the month, though. :)
July 13th, 2012 at 12:31 am
So, I guess you’ll get the chickens first and the eggs later?
(Now finally that ‘riddle’ was solved)
July 13th, 2012 at 12:36 am
Yup! :) Christian specified “teenage chickens” rather than chicks… Guess I’m about to find out what qualifies as “teenager” for a chicken! ;)
July 12th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Wow, that’s nice! I used to have some chickens back home in Colombia. I wish I could do it here in Canada, too. Oh, well.
July 13th, 2012 at 4:55 am
Looking good!
July 13th, 2012 at 7:44 am
Kana,
This Montrealer is proud to say that he now “knows” a tattooed chicken farmer. Wait ’till I tell my friends… I’ll be the most coveted clown in town.
Le Clown
July 13th, 2012 at 9:48 am
I imagine you already ARE, tattooed-chicken-farming-friend or no… ;)
July 13th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Kana,
Stop that. Now enough with the chicken and off to my blog you go.
Le Clown
July 13th, 2012 at 10:53 am
Aye, aye, Cap’n Clown!
July 13th, 2012 at 8:35 am
This is great! We are planning on chickens too! Thanks for the inspiration!
July 13th, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Amazing what you can do when you’re resourceful.
Just make it extra solid and plan well, so when the chickens move it you can rent the place.
July 13th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Or put the kids in it when they misbehave! (Not that they misbehave, cough cough) :)
July 13th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Hey, depending on the kids outlook, hold it out as a reward! ;)
July 13th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Excellent point!!
July 13th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
You’re pretty good with tools! Nice job on the name.
July 13th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Thank you. :) To my surprise, it wasn’t the chicken-house, but the PAINT job that got rave-reviews from Christian…
July 14th, 2012 at 1:56 am
[...] the wood for our chicken-house project (including the house-shaped end pieces, from the same abandoned fruit stand). He came home on [...]
July 14th, 2012 at 2:13 am
Nothing like some good ol’ hardwork ay! :)
July 14th, 2012 at 4:46 am
Wow, congrats, Kana. I’m going to recommend my partner Sara read this, as she wants chickens so badly. This is wonderful news, and I can’t wait to read more. Fun to see you building!
Hugs,
Kathy
July 14th, 2012 at 4:50 am
I sent this to Sara, only to find out she had already read it. I didn’t know she subscribed to your blog. Cool!
Hugs,
Kathy
July 14th, 2012 at 10:50 am
It’s one of those “imagine-meeting-you-here” moments… ;) Well, we’re happily pioneering the chicken-project, though I confess it’s one of those things I hadn’t envisioned myself doing… Until the kiddo piped up with his chicken-wish. Who knew? :)
July 15th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
I love your blog site. So glad I found you and your family. I will enjoy following your adventures.
July 15th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Welcome to the Crazy! ;)
July 16th, 2012 at 11:54 am
8-)
July 17th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
I love your chicken coop! :)
July 31st, 2012 at 1:35 pm
[...] building a chicken coop for laying-hens. This is a project that began with our son Christian’s disclosure of his [...]
July 31st, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Awwwwesome. Heh, those are to be some lucky chickens!
September 21st, 2012 at 4:38 pm
[...] finished! (Previous pieces of the poultry play-by-play, if you’d like them: Home to Roost, Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens, and Our Little Patch of [...]