Planning

I’ve been planning to build a chicken coup for ages. Chickens seem like they would be some of the easiest creatures to have on our small property; not too noise, not too much trouble, and they pay their own way. That’s the theory anyway.

But first, I have to sort out their housing. Every time I mention chickens to my mother, she automatically says with certainty, “They bring rats, you know?!” So, I have decided that my chicken coup must be rat proof.

There are a few other requirements too.

• Meet the New South Wales building exemption codes for chicken houses, so that I don’t have to submit a Development Application (guidelines).
• The building part should include two rooms. One as a home for the chickens and the other as a garden shed / vaguely comfortable place to hang out.

Building

What I think I need to do (bearing in mind that I have experience in precisely none of these skills):

• Dig foundation trench.
• Concrete for foundations.
• Run underfloor pipes.
• Brick upper foundations.
• Concrete floor section.
• Wooden framework.
• Roof and guttering.
• Install water tank.
• Attach outer weather board.
• Install insulation.
• Inside wall finish (some sort of tin or laminate).
• Solar panels for lighting and water pump??

My wife has taken to using Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s endearing term of chickenopolis to describe my ambitious chicken coup plans. Only time will tell whether I can pull it off, or whether one corner of the garden will remain a building site into perpetuity.

Cleared ground waiting for me to dig chicken coup foundations.