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In this video I'm going to give you some tips on creating a door for your chicken coop
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At this stage your coop will have the sides front and back fastened to the bottom
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but it won't look quite like this because this shows the trim in place and the door hinges and the latch
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All you'll have is a plastic plywood box with an angled top
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So your first job is to decide which side you want the door on
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In this case that's the front here, that's the back over here, and the door is on this side
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It could have just as easily been on the other side, or you could have a door on both sides if you want
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So when you're installing the side, when the side you've decided will be the door
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when you're fastening the side piece just remember not to put glue along this line here
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because you're going to want to... well the plywood that you cut out for the door opening will become the door
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So this is going to be removed. You don't want this bottom edge glued to the bottom of the coop
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So keep that in mind while you're assembling. Next step is to draw the shape of the door you want. That's this line here
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It goes all the way up and across. So using a circular saw, a handheld circular saw, you'll want to cut through this plywood but no more
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So you're going to need to adjust the depth of cut so that it goes through the 5 eighths inch plywood
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but then maybe just a smidge more because you don't want to cut into the bottom piece here
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If you do a little bit it's no big deal. But the idea is to make a circular saw cut here up close to the point and then another one along here
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and then the final cut down here. Now you probably won't be able to get right into the corners with that circular saw without overshooting a little bit
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so you can finish up these cuts with the handsaw and if all goes well that door should just come out
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Now the beauty of this approach besides not wasting any wood at all
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is that you automatically have just the right amount of clearance between the door and the opening
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because the saw blade chewed up some wood and that's just about the right amount of clearance you want
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So that's how you make the door and the trim and things will be added later to add strength and good looks
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but that's the deal with the door and as you're deciding which side to put the door on or whether to put it on both
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keep in mind the value of having a couple of coupes like this a certain distance apart
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maybe 5, 6, 7 feet apart and the distance between them covered in clear plastic all the way around the perimeter
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forming a kind of a greenhouse in the space between the two
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Now this is ideal for winter applications because it gives the hens a chance to go outside and stay out of the wind
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but get some sun. They'll be a lot better off for this. They'll be a lot happier. They'll get along with each other better
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and in order to do that you'll need to have a house that has a door on this side and then a door on the other side
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that you can't see here. That way they can open up to each other and you'll form this one long continuous tunnel
