The Misfits' Farm is a collection of abandoned, orphaned, and otherwise unwanted critters. Tony the pot-bellied pig was dumped in the woods, mother-to-be Dolly Llama's daddy died and she had no one to care for her, Hannah the donkey was almost killed by another donkey, Finnibar the mini horse almost starved to death, the first version of the Chicken Chorus was left behind when tenants moved out, and Roger the 29-year-old wonder horse was too much for the previous owners to handle. The geese are George and Martha and their three kids are Irving (who should be "Irvette"), Gertie, and Clifford. George and Martha's first human mommy died and that's how they came to live at the farm. The kids were born there. Dink the cat was dumped with her mother and siblings and barely survived, the rest of them didn't. Willy the cat was a "bottle baby" who came from a couple where the new spouse didn't like cats. Calvin the cat was found trying to get into the La Pine grocery and spent the next few weeks at the vet clinic there, but nobody wanted him. The mother of the whole clan is "Dr. Ruth Dolittle." They all come running and raising a ruckus every time she shows up in the barnyard. I think they're cheering.

    When "Dr. Ruth" and the Misfits (which she says includes her and her husband) moved to a new farm, the Chicken Chorus needed a new coop. So, the Jack-of-all-trades was called upon to build the 12' x 24' Chicken Palace. With the exception of some help from Grandpa Lloyd and Uncle Laddie on site preparation and setting the pier pads, as well as help raising the two long walls, the entire structure has been built by the Coop Carpenter himself.

    This Web site was created to chronicle the building of the Fabulous Chicken Palace and pay homage to the lovely Egg Lady of The Misfits' Farm.

Day One.

    Removing the sod with the trusty Yanmar Bush Hog. I had to teach myself to operate this tractor to do the job. Fortunately all the controls have pictures on them. The engine speed control has a picture of a tortoise and a hare.

    There are 24 pier pads that hold the 4x6 beams that form the major framework of the floor.

Day Two.

    The chickens are helping by removing pesky worms.

The Coop Carpenter leveling the beams.

Day Three.

    Decking the coop. There are approximately 1010, 7d galvanized nails holding the nine sheets of 1-inch plywood down. There are 66, 2x4 joist hangers attached to the 4x6 beams, each with four nails. There are 33, 2x4 joists bridging the spaces between the beams, each with four nails through the hangers. That's a heck of a lot of nailing by hand. The Coop Carpenter has a nail gun, but it only shoots 16d nails.

Day Four.

The first wall framed.

    Nailing the plywood to the framed wall. There are approximately 585, 7d galvanized nails holding the 1/2" plywood on this wall. The nailing pattern is four inches on the seams and six inches in the field.

    The north wall standing. It took three men and a babe to raise it.

Day Five.      

The south wall framed.       

    Window framed. The cripple studs under the window opening are in "odd" positions because they continue the two-foot-on-center layout of the wall.

Day Six.

The geese calling everyone to come look at the new wall.

    Windows installed.

Day Seven.

    Sheeting the wall. This wall has about 600, 7d nails in it.

    South wall standing. This wall took four men and the babe to raise because of the additional weight of the 4x8" headers over the windows.

Two walls standing.      

Day Eight.

    The west wall almost finished. There'll be a door in the center of the wall.

    The west wall in place. The plywood is applied to the ends of the wall after it's in place and nailed to the other walls because it helps to connect the two walls by overlapping.

Day Nine.

The Chicken Chorus' Inspector General. This chicken cannot be intimidated.

    The east wall framed and being scrutinized by the Inspector General.

    This wall wasn't finished as quickly as the others because the Coop Carpenter had to get the Brush Hog out of the barn, after moving another tractor out of the way, hook up a trailer, drive back into the barn, load several sheets of plywood, close the east barn door so the critters wouldn't escape, open the west barn door, drive the tractor and trailer through, close the barn door, and thread his way through a gate and the Chicken Chorus to get back to the coop. Then the Egg Lady and the Coop Carpenter had to go to the lumber yard to get more nails and lumber 'cause the Coop Carpenter couldn't think of everything when he made out the materials list. Especially since he didn't have a blueprint and had to make it up as he went along.

Day Ten.

The east wall standing.

Day Eleven.

    The interior wall. The Egg Lady wanted plywood on the bottom half of the wall. She plans to put screen on the upper half. The east end of the coop will be used for hatching chicks. The braces are there to pull the exterior walls into alignment so the interior wall can be nailed to them.

    The walls finished.

    It's been raining off and on for the last few days, so the Coop Carpenter hasn't gotten much done. The chickens are eager to get in the coop and start laying eggs in their new nest boxes and they've been getting pretty pushy about it.

    The Coop Carpenter has taken Memorial Day weekend off because thoughts of barbecued chicken keep running through his head and he didn't want to alarm the Chicken Chorus 'cause they and he are psychic.

Day Twelve.

The east gable framed and being covered.

The east gable finished.

    The Coop Carpenter showing off.

Day Thirteen.

The east gable finished with joists installed.

    The first rafter with temporary braces.

    The first rafter from below. The ridge board is typically split in the center of a rafter.

    A full view of the coop with the first rafter in place.

A shot of the east gable with a joist in place.

The rafters on top of the walls ready to nail in place.

Full view of the rafters ready to be covered.

The Coop Carpenter goofing off.

Covering the rafters with plywood.

The roof is covered with plywood and ready for roofing materials.

The felt paper is in place and ready for the roofer.

In the middle of the wiring-the-coop process. The Coop Carpenter is also the Coop Electrician.

An upper view of the wiring for the lights. There are two unswitched outlets for heat lamps and two switched outlets for fluorescent light fixtures.

A view of the coop with one side roofed. The roofing was done by the Egg Lady's husband. You can see the lattice skirting around the base of the coop.

Here's the Coop Carpenter on the tractor.