This is the third post in a series on building a Catawba Coop. The coop is built from plans that can be printed out for ease of reference during construction. Part one discussed the materials list. In part two the frame was built, deck attached, roof installed and the bottom fence was attached.
In this third phase of construction the finishing touches are put in place in order to complete the coop. The next step is to build the handles and attach them to the frame. In order to do this a template comes in handy. I used high visibility orange poster board and drew the templates free hand. After tracing them on to the board, a jig saw was used to cut out the pattern and a router was used to ease the edges.
Constructing the side panels was next. These panels are glued and screwed together. After completion, two handles are added to each side panel to enable them to be removed from the chicken ark.
Adding a ramp enables the chickens to move between the two stories of the Catawba Coop. The upper level contains the nest box and the roost. The lower level provides access to the open air and room to move around.
Finally, the egg doors and chicken doors are built. Two of each are needed for both sides of the coop. Once again, building these doors will give your miter saw a work out.
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