Space Chicken Spaceship Chicken Coop
Introduction: Space Chicken Spaceship Chicken Coop
(Opening song; Rocky Horror Picture Show, first stanza) (open this link in another tab and sing along!)
<PERSON> was ill the day the earth stood still
But he told us where we stand
And <PERSON> was there in silver underwear
<PERSON> was the invisible man
Then something went wrong for <PERSON> and <PERSON>
They got caught in a celluloid jam
Then at a deadly pace they came from outer space
And this is how the story began:
Space Chickens in Space! 2
In the beginning three chickens accidently enroll in a diplomacy school where they had to face unthinkable challenges of technology, school and sibling relationships in outer space. All goes well for 26 episodes, and then things go from bad to worse when our intrepid Space Chickens pick up an intergalactic hitchhiker! Without considering the improper weight-and-balance distribution that their newest cast member would cause to their spaceship, they are forced to crash-land on planet Earth (in my backyard) and were subsequently dropped from syndication! But their problems didn’t end there.
Once they were exposed to our sun they did not become super beings (with strange and awesome powers), nor did they keep their intelligence; instead they reverted back to normal chickens [albeit extremely friendly ones at that]!
This is where I come in; I needed to get them back into thinking (and acting) like the Space Chickens they are, so I built them a new chicken coop to remind them of where they come from. But being the poor chicken farmer I am, I had to build it entirely broken, discarded, obsolete or used material. (I also needed to build a new chicken coop because the one that they are currently roosting in was built in a hurry and designed to be temporary at best.)
Disclaimer: I am a packrat for all defunct gadgets, broken appliances, knobs, covers, antenna and removable paraphernalia [from all things my wife wants me to pitch]. For me, this project was a no-brainer.
The following is a pictorial chronology of my efforts to return these wayward space travelers back from whence they came (or at least make them feel at home).
1. Science Fiction – Double Feature by <PERSON>2. Animated television series created by <PERSON> and <PERSON>
Supplies
I didn't need to buy any of the components for this spaceship; I had most of this stuff stashed away in one bin or another. Some of them are just cool packaging trays, some are just extra stuff from things I bought, some I fished out of friend's garbage and others are actual defective/discarded hardware that I made in my previous professional life. I did have to buy a few things however...
Bill of new material used:
3 Piano hinges
3 Strap hinges
1 Box of screws; 100 count
2 Cans of grey spray paint
Step 1: Find the Right Fuselage.
I knew that I couldn’t build a standard coop and hope to fool the chickens (unless of course I fashioned a TARDIS) so I started looking for a suitable spaceship vestibule. 820
A fellow farmer had a busted 3,000 liter water tank. (The foot had a nasty crack and would no longer hold water). It was a little bigger than I wanted (or needed) but beggars can’t be choosers so I took it off his hands. Besides, he was only too happy to see me cart it away!
I used a cordless circular saw and cut it half along the seem. It was too big to bring home in one piece so I had to bring it home one half at a time.
Step 2: Construct the Interior.
I had about a ½ dozen rough-cut 8’ 1x6’s left over from pouring concrete to make the interior framework from (since I had used them as forms they weren’t good for much else). Using about 3 of them I built a support frame [that nested in the bottom half of the tank] and another 4 of them to fashion a removable tray. I used a couple spare feet of chicken wire to line the bottom of the tray. Then I used a couple of metal framing brackets as temporary tabs to line up the top and bottom.
Step 3: Reassembly.
After I got the top back on the base I used a piano hinge to line up, and secure the top to the base. I then relocated the metal tabs from the inside to the outside. This would make it a rigid structure and easier to move around. 787