Coop design and build

aart said:

Quote:

I need to draw up something else but My Cad system was lost in a computer rebuild.

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Deb, have you tried out Sketch Up?
With your cad experience you should be able to master it fairly quick.

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I have it... I keep comparing it to autocad and it falls flat... I know I know.... the original design was in SolidWorks... I need to buy a student copy which is about 300. good for two years.

drawig by hand is just as rewarding. did it for twenty years before CAD....

for those who dont know the acronym CAD = Computer Aided Drafting/Design

deb

perchie.girl said:

Quote:

I need to draw up something else but My Cad system was lost in a computer rebuild.

Click to expand...

Deb, have you tried out Sketch Up?
With your cad experience you should be able to master it fairly quick.

Click to expand...

I have it... I keep comparing it to autocad and it falls flat... I know I know.... the original design was in SolidWorks... I need to buy a student copy which is about 300. good for two years.

drawig by hand is just as rewarding. did it for twenty years before CAD....

for those who dont know the acronym CAD = Computer Aided Drafting/Design

deb
I know, I had the same problem.
I own Inventor and Mechanical.
Good thing too, cause I never was much good with a pencil. haha!

So my GF and I built this coop in our garage. We have 5 chickens

A couple months in and I'm really pleased with the coop/run.

- The biggest problem we've had this summer was just the heat in general. They spend all day in the run (with a bit of free ranging here and there) so I've added some material that creates more shade when they get direct sunlight in the morning. (Until about 11)

- I'm also playing with the idea of rigging a solar panel on top to power a daylight fan.

- Earlier someone said my coop needed more ventilation. I've been monitoring the temps when they are in there at night, heat hasn't been a problem whatsoever. I'll keep an eye on that though.

- My one "negative" with this build has been cleaning out the run. Each week I go in the run with a rake and shovel and pull out the poop, toss more bedding on the ground, etc. In retrospect I wish I'd put down sand or DG and made the roof slope less so that I could stand up more.

- I need to finish up trimming out the nesting boxes as the girls are 16 weeks. Hoping they'll start cranking up egg production in the next month!

- Also need to circle back to Home Depot to buy more trim, paint it, and finish with that trim. Summer got crazy and I moved on to other projects... like vacation!

- I've got on my fall list of projects to add a little fence around the outside just to pretty up the area, landscape it a bit. I'll post pics of that when I'm done.

Over all, we're really enjoying the chickens! So glad we finally did it.

I used mason sand in my coop..got it at home depot 1000lbs for $25. Best choice so far. Easy clean up. I clean it every morning with a cat pooper scooper. Super easy. The coop is always spotless... no flys. Happy Hens!

Great thread on your build @mclanea , really nice job and especially love that you kept the stump! Did you end up using sand in the run for a base? I am currently using wood mulch from a friend who took down some trees. Seems to break down easily, (i compost) no smell, but i am worried about the dampness and considered sand. I know our climates are different, but id like to hear your thoughts if you are using sand.

Lynnski said:

Great thread on your build @mclanea , really nice job and especially love that you kept the stump! Did you end up using sand in the run for a base? I am currently using wood mulch from a friend who took down some trees. Seems to break down easily, (i compost) no smell, but i am worried about the dampness and considered sand. I know our climates are different, but id like to hear your thoughts if you are using sand.

Click to expand...

Thanks! The girls really love the stump. It's not uncommon to see all three out there on it. Sour, top of the pecking order, likes to get on there to keep an eye on me. When she sees me move in the house or even in my office she starts calling for me... the girls love to free range.

Regarding the base, it's so dry in San Diego... like hasn't rained since probably March. So right now there's the dirt that we started with and when I've been clearing out the coop I'll throw a few fist fulls of pine shavings in the run just to keep the dust down, seems to also keep the flies down for some reason, too.

I probably will add some sand as we get closer to the rainy season. (Nov-Mar) I'm starting to wonder if it'll be a big mess in there when things get wet for a couple days. Truth is that I finished the coop/run and swore off projects for the summer! We just redid our front yard over the past couple of weekends so I now need to make my way to the back and finish up this project. We've decided to add a little half fence around the outside of the coop just to kind of dress up the chicken area of our tiny little yard.