has anybody bought this book ??

.is it a help ??

I don't have that one, but did buy a couple of coop ideas and building books before getting my flock. And honestly found the coop sections on BYC to be more useful.

Don't have that book, but regardless of the books I've downloaded, they have never been a patch on the resources and members here at BYC. I'd put the money for the book into buying a prefab wooden shed personally, but thats just my opinion.

All the best
CT

Unless it would hurt to pay for the book and shipping, only to find it a waste, it won't hurt to get the book. You will likely spend much more than that on materials for your coop, and certainly will if you buy one that is already made. The book may give you some construction ideas and tips you were not aware of and a chance to see if the authors know their stuff.

One word of caution......the science (parameters) of what constitutes a good "modern era" shelter for chickens is not new.....it was pretty much figured out well over 100 years ago and mankind has somehow managed to keep and shelter chickens for a few thousand years before that. What is new is the trend for folks like us to want to do it, and do it with small flocks in tight quarters. As such, there has been a whole lot of reinventing the wheel going on by a whole lot of people who have no background raising chickens and no idea what their needs are. You will struggle to find a modern era commercial made coop that gets it even close to right in terms of space requirements, layout and materials. Worst case so far was the coop built by the guys on "This Old House"........

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20988389,00.html

The guys who built this did a great job constructing what may be one of the worst designs of all time. The birds placed in that house may not have survived the first night in it. They built a really nice looking death trap......with 6 nest boxes and not a roost in sight.

But as with a lot of these modern era coops, it looks like what someone thought a chicken coop ought to look like, or worse......is cute. No harm in taking what works and dolling it up to make it "cute", but only after basic needs of the birds are met. Nothing about a bunch of dead birds is cute!

For reference, biggest mistakes people make are wasting space on too many nest boxes and not allowing for the moisture buildup created by the birds themselves, meaning not enough openings for light and ventilation. Birds are pretty tough and will keep themselves warm if they are allowed to. For them dry is warm, and to keep dry, they need fresh air and lots of it and they need light to keep their biological clocks ticking in the winter and to cut down the parasites and vermin they bring into the house with them. Most small flock commercial houses are also built way too small for the number of birds the builders claim they will house. Crowding creates problems (in the crowded commercial houses they clip beaks to keep the birds from pecking each other), plus all the problems of keeping the coop clean and sanitary.

But I digress. Back to your original question........do get the book. With a few tweaks, a lot of them can be made to work....even the cute ones!. If you find one you like and want to build, bring it up here for advice on what is good and not so good on the design so you will know if you want to build it or how to tweak it.

I've never read that book, but you can always see if your local library has it and check it out. That way you can read it and see if it's helpful, but not have to actually buy it.