Coop design and build

[mclanea]

And... We are "functionally" finished. Still plent of trim work to do to tidy things up, installed the bucket waterer, all that.

Boom.

 

[mclanea]

Only real progress today was adding a little trim and trying to get the waterer installed... trim was a +1 and the waterer was a big fat fail! I mean, it all worked just as I had hoped. But the nipped leaked like crazy and I need to figured out a better way to seal off the bucket.

In other news, the chicks spent the day in the run, supervised every waking second by our 1 year old pup, Murray.

They are spending their first night in the coop... and I've got a timer to go check on them every hour because I'm a big wuss.

 

[mclanea]

A couple pics.

Here are my waterers... Leaking all over the place.

I had to help them find the inside of the coop.. They tried to huddle in the corner.

 

[TerryH]

Bummer on the nipples. Hopefully you'll get it worked out. The huddling in the corner is a normal reaction. The don't call them chicken for no reason. They'll get acclimated to their new surroundings soon.

 

[aart]

A couple pics.

Here are my waterers... Leaking all over the place.

Are those push in or threaded?
It's usually best to cut threads in PVC...or get 1/8" NPT threaded T fittings to glue into the main pipe.
PVC is too hard of a material for them to self-thread.
That's assuming it's the thread that's leaking and not just the nipple valve itself.
Nipples are great, I prefer the horizontal ones in my climate(they resist freezing better), but it can be tricky to get the threads set properly.

 

[mclanea]

Bummer on the nipples. Hopefully you'll get it worked out. The huddling in the corner is a normal reaction. The don't call them chicken for no reason. They'll get acclimated to their new surroundings soon.

They made it through the night just fine and are happily doing chicken things this morning under the watchful eye of our pup.

I need to add a couple more rings on their ladder but otherwise everything worked great.

Thanks!

 

[mclanea]

Are those push in or threaded?
It's usually best to cut threads in PVC...or get 1/8" NPT threaded T fittings to glue into the main pipe.
PVC is too hard of a material for them to self-thread.
That's assuming it's the thread that's leaking and not just the nipple valve itself.
Nipples are great, I prefer the horizontal ones in my climate(they resist freezing better), but it can be tricky to get the threads set properly.

I have plenty of PVC to keep trying. Yes, they are the threaded type. Even used tape on them but still leaked.

What if I just switched it to the 1" black tubing I use for drip irrigation? Seems like with a pilot hole those threads would take.

Also, is there a trick to sealing up the "tap" on a 5 gallon bucket? It's also leaking. Silicon work? Heck... Plumbers putty?

 

[FridayYet]

Just wanted to say hi. Your coop and run is similar to what I had when I lived in SoCal.

Only tip I have is that you are going to need way, way more ventilation for the summers. Like a framed hardware cloth window the size of your clean out door. You can always make a cover for it for during the occasional storm.

Where I lived was hotter and colder than San Diego, but my coop was fairly close to just having 3 enclosed sides and 6 inches of hardware cloth vent along the high side under the roof. Even in the winter they were never closed,

Good luck! Your build looks great!

 

[aart]

Quote: Irrigation tubing would probably work well, it's softer than PVC and fairly thin walled.
The thinner the wall of the pipe or vessel, the easier it is to self thread.

The keys to sealing chicken nipple threads (without any tape, putty, goop) is to:
-start with a smaller hole than the manufacturer usually suggests (I think this is the most common fail point).
-hole must be cleanly drilled so no 'boogers' remain to interfere with threads.
-knowing that they seal where the threads meets the hole and do not have to be threaded all the way in to seal.
-a fine but firm touch/feel when threading the nipple in, thread it in just until it's just tight enough to seal.

Here's links to a couple of posts of mine in a good thread about poultry nipples(Lots of good info and examples in that thread).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ing-loaded-watering-nipples/210#post_14202676
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ing-loaded-watering-nipples/330#post_14593735

 

[mclanea]

Irrigation tubing would probably work well, it's softer than PVC and fairly thin walled.
The thinner the wall of the pipe or vessel, the easier it is to self thread.

The keys to sealing chicken nipple threads (without any tape, putty, goop) is to:
-start with a smaller hole than the manufacturer usually suggests (I think this is the most common fail point).
-hole must be cleanly drilled so no 'boogers' remain to interfere with threads.
-knowing that they seal where the threads meets the hole and do not have to be threaded all the way in to seal.
-a fine but firm touch/feel when threading the nipple in, thread it in just until it's just tight enough to seal.

Here's links to a couple of posts of mine in a good thread about poultry nipples(Lots of good info and examples in that thread).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ing-loaded-watering-nipples/210#post_14202676
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ing-loaded-watering-nipples/330#post_14593735

Thanks for this! I think I'll try the irrigation tubing option, I'll keep the PVC for the "plumbing" part, just connect them like I do in the yard. I used these same nipples on a little 1-quart plastic bucket in the brooder and they worked brilliantly. I saw in the Amazon reviews that the PVC would be a challenge, just couldn't believe how poorly they fit.

I'll update when I've had a chance to work on it this afternoon.