Remember that truck box we got ages ago on eBay? Just this week it started to look more like a building than a truck.

I finally found the time to get a coat of paint on it to match our other outbuildings. Paint is really magical. In a couple hours you can transform a space! I painted over all the trim, reflectors, stickers – everything – so the truck box looks more uniform and clean. We have a little paint sprayer which, once I got the generator out there and hooked up for power, made the job go much faster.

When I saw this huge expanse of wall at the end of the coop facing the road, I knew right away that it needed a barn quilt painting. A chicken design seemed appropriate considering the purpose of the building. I looked some quilt squares up and finally drew up this sketch:

It took me an afternoon to draw it out on the coop then the next dry day I got to it. When I saw the plain brown I decided against the polka dots. Looks classic the way it is. I just need to make the beak a little darker so it’s easier to see.

Aesthetics have always been important to me. I know it’s a coop but if it’s going to be here on our land and we have to look at it everyday, I want it to be beautiful. I love the charm of barn quilts.

Josh has also started on the pitched roof. We are adding the roof so we can collect water back there like we do at our main coop. The first step was to put a central beam in. Then he ran rafters down from that on either side. Now we need to measure and order the metal.

We also made the feeder for inside. It can hold three 40# bags of feed, which means we’ll only have to fill it every few days.

He also made an enormous waterer that’ll go on the outside and hold 37 gallons of water! Might be a little excessive but we’ll see…

It’s been a long time in the making but it was exciting to see the truck box coop turn a corner this week and begin to look more like a really building.

We need to make nesting boxes next as the babes are beginning to lay. They made a sweet little nest in the bale of hay that’s in their coop.

What’s your favorite nest box design?