The building of Pea Palace(Pic Heavy)

frenchblackcopper

Crowing
12 Years
Jul 14, 2009
2,787
213
301
East central Illinois
Okay,since I'm a little sore from hand digging post holes,thought this might eat up some bandwidth here so I decided to take some pics of the new Pea Palace.I always,and I mean ALWAYS buy first and then build later.I bought my first peafowl eggs 2 years ago,and as luck would have it wasn't prepared building wise for them back then.I have built one building with an outside enclosed pen for all of them but as spring is fast approaching,and this being the first year for eggs I find myself behind the gun again in having to quickly build facilities for them.
I had GREAT intentions 2 years ago when I drew up plans for the building,we even set the posts and rafters 2 years ago,the framework has been there just waiting to be completed.Now with the breeding season close I find myself to get out of the chair and get to work.Here is the first picture showing the general layout.The new building is a 24' wide x 30' long addition built on the side of an old corn crib that is still in pretty good shape.
 
Here is another picture facing west.You will notice I'm still needed to put on the last 3 sheets of steel on the roof but the winds here have been terrible the past few days and today is no exception.Please look at the posts next to the new addition.Although I still need to put in 2 more posts,the outside pens will each be 10'x30' long.I'm going to use one avairy net that is 50'x50' to cover this entire area.My actual overall pen dimension is 48'x48' giving me a foot on every side to secure the netting.the post closest in the picture already set has 5 more posts set behind it,,hows that for straight when you cannot see any other posts behind the first one? I'm no carpenter but I am meticulous at some things and setting posts is one of them.
 
Here is another view looking straight west.I have delibrately left 2 side sheets off the outside wall next to the corn crib wall so it's still possible to get thru the building and carry in plywood and boards.Inside the Pea Palace it will be split in 2.There will be 4 pens on each 30' wall,3 being 8' wide and one will be 6' wide each being 10' long leaving a 4' wide alley thru the middle.

Because the netting is 50'x50' instead of not using it all I've decided to at least set all the posts needed for the 48'x48' outer pen dimension.From the new building 4 pens will be 10' wide and one will be 8' wide.They are only coming out 30' so this leaves me 18'x48' area east of the building attached pens.Here I am adding 4 other pens but will need to build a small building-open fronted shed for the peas to get out of the wind and rain.I will have a total of 8 seperate pens one this side with 300 sq ft.I've read here peas needs 80 sq ft per bird so this size should easily handle 3-4 birds each.
 
These 2 pictures shows the WEST side of Pea Palace.This area will be built next year when I'm behind the gun again probably.It cost me a small fortune for the treated posts and 2x4" lumber for the east side and that wiped out the 2012 budget.You may notice the red sheet metal looks dirty,,this is because it has sat,unmolested stacked outside for the past two years.The top sheets had dirt ect. on them but will wash off when we get a good rain,same with some of the roof metal.From the second picture you can see I have enough room back here for 4 large sized pens or I can build exactly as I am doing on the east side and get 8 pens.
 
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Here are 2 pictures taken of the inside.Not nearly completed but hopefully by the end of this coming week we can move the peas inside and get them seperated until I have the outside pens completed.
 
And last here is a view of work in progress.The wind here has been so bad all week it is impossible to stretch a tape measure for post setting.I spent 2 hours Tuesday attempting this by myself and decided the wind wasn't going to put a halt on progress.I still lay out my straight-level line but for exact post locations I finally decided to use 2'x4"s each marked with a black magic marker where each post should go.I then lay these boards next to my straight-level string so I know exactly where each posthole should go.I have done all of this work in the past 2 weeks.I had a carpenter friend of mine come out for 3 hours who helped me nail-measure the rafters on the roof,but other than that I have put all the sheet metal up myself and now I'm working on the posts.I figure 2 more days on the posts and 1-2 days to finish the inside and then I can begin seperating the birds and moving them here from the pen they are all in now.
 
nice, going to be huge. i just came inside from building my second aviary. Im getting good now.
 
Wow, that looks like the beginnings of something really awesome!

Oh, and pardon me for being addicted to roses, but have you thought about planting anything along the outside of the pens? If you're looking for predator deterrents, nothing says "ouch!" like a swath of thorny rose canes spreading over the roof of an aviary. I could make some recommendations for varieties.

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Wow, that looks like the beginnings of something really awesome!

Oh, and pardon me for being addicted to roses, but have you thought about planting anything along the outside of the pens? If you're looking for predator deterrents, nothing says "ouch!" like a swath of thorny rose canes spreading over the roof of an aviary. I could make some recommendations for varieties.

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What type of roses do you suggest?
 

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