Building the Garden Ark

Our yard is huge. Huge-er than huge. Well, okay not huge-er than huge. Huge-er than we thought we would be able to afford. It’s private with trees and bushes all around. I have the “the little woods” in the corner of our backyard. The garage is large enough to fit 2 cars + a wood shop. A patio was hidden under creeping charlie. And we have a sunny area that’s big enough for a huge delightful garden + chicken coop/run + green house.

I’ve worked it all into a master backyard plan that we are going to implement over the next three years. We were planning on adding chickens next year. The flood this week sped up our time line.

Our friend Matt is moving away for a year apprentice to a sustainable farmer in Oregon. This wasn’t going to be a problem for his chickens because his roommate was going to take care of them. Well, the rains flooded out their basement and everyone has to move out now, including the chicks. Matt had actually just added a new group to his flock that are just 6 weeks old. They are super cute and have loads of personality. These are the two or three that we want to give a home:

Partridge Cochin

Blue Cochin

And maybe this Buff Polish (the one on the right)

We ventured into the world of chicken coops this week and are attempting to make the Garden Ark Chicken Coop:

Day 1

It is so not looking like the above yet, haha.

Day 1 was literally just shopping. We went to Lowes and it took 3 1/2 hours to buy all the hardware, tools, etc. for the coop. It cost a lot more than either of us thought it would be and we hadn’t even bought the lumber yet (which wasn’t so bad, just another $40 for all the wood). It was mostly the nails, screws, hinges and latches that made it so crazy expensive. A bit of that cost will be offset by using the screws and nails for other projects. We bought 7 different types! Holy crap!

After 3 1/2 hours, we had spent enough time working on it for the day.

Day 2

We went back to Lowes and picked up all the wood for the projects. The 8′ lengths wouldn’t fit in the car with the rest of the supplies.

By this point we had cut and sanded all the 8′ lengths and were getting to work on the ply wood paneling. Our DIY table saw is composed of a table, 2 saw horses and a handy guide that the Garden Ark ebook actually included the instructions for. So handy. I don’t think we would have been able to make the cuts without it.

Here is all the wood nice and smooth.

And here it is all sealed up. Jason and spread it out on two tables and the saw horses.

These are the cut plywood panels that are all ready to go.

Since I took these last two pictures we finished cutting all the panels, doors, and all the little pieces. We’ve even sanded and stained them too. Tonight or tomorrow we are going to start actually putting the thing together, hooray! I’ll take loads of pictures and post them next Wednesday.

See ya later!

Kristin

7 thoughts on “Building the Garden Ark

  1. That looks like quite the project- I can't wait to see it finished!

    I have turkeys wandering around my yard… but my yard is a farm, so that's not too interesting until they attack you like the dinosaurs they are.

    1. It really is. The plans for the coop are so well written, illustrated, and photographed, that it's really been pretty easy. It's more just a time issue we are having. We have been trying to put an hour or two into it each day.

      Turkeys! They sure do look like dinosaurs, pretty funny looking creatures. I've been kicking around the idea of building a pond and getting a duck or goat as well. Not sure what city ordinances have to say about them though.

  2. Looking good, my husband grew up on a farm so he only asked me to pick up some latches and chicken wire when we built ours. He built a chicken tractor and large coop in the barn. We have about 23 hens now and one happy roo. If you really need homes for some chickens let us know, but we are a ways away!

    1. Oh that would be one really happy rooster, haha. I'll let Matt know. I think these were the last few he was looking for homes for. I think his mailman is going to take most of them.

      Yeah, it was the tools, screws, and latches that cost us the most. It was like we $3 ourselves to death. The wood was only $40. They recommended hardware cloth vs chicken wire and that cost a bit. It's fully contained though and we can move it around the yard because it has wheels – pretty sweet. It's not a full on chicken tractor, but definitely in that vein.

  3. It really is. The plans for the coop are so well written, illustrated, and photographed, that it's really been pretty easy. It's more just a time issue we are having. We have been trying to put an hour or two into it each day.

    Turkeys! They sure do look like dinosaurs, pretty funny looking creatures. I've been kicking around the idea of building a pond and getting a duck or goat as well. Not sure what city ordinances have to say about them though.

  4. Looking good, my husband grew up on a farm so he only asked me to pick up some latches and chicken wire when we built ours. He built a chicken tractor and large coop in the barn. We have about 23 hens now and one happy roo. If you really need homes for some chickens let us know, but we are a ways away!

  5. Oh that would be one really happy rooster, haha. I'll let Matt know. I think these were the last few he was looking for homes for. I think his mailman is going to take most of them.

    Yeah, it was the tools, screws, and latches that cost us the most. It was like we $3 ourselves to death. The wood was only $40. They recommended hardware cloth vs chicken wire and that cost a bit. It's fully contained though and we can move it around the yard because it has wheels – pretty sweet. It's not a full on chicken tractor, but definitely in that vein.

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