Haybale coop

[anniemary]

Quote:
That's what I've been wondering. Joel Salatin talks all the time about bugs in the coop being protein for the chickens.

Unfortunately, I think we will use hay because we have a ton of it which rotted in the field that needs to go somewhere. This is only a temporary structure for the winter until I can get my "egg-mobile" built in the spring, so I'm not worried about it's longevity. Couldn't we use plastic on the outside to protect against predators bigger than bugs?

I'm not sure what we'd do with the roof. Hey, I'll post pics when we're done!!

 

[laughaha]

I don't know if I'd use already rotting hay. Dry baled hay for a temporary coop is one thing, but you already have mold going throughout the hay? Sounds too much like a recipe for pneumonia (sp?). Correct me (please) if I'm wrong but if hay is too wet (even a little) when it is "put up" it can start a fire, right?

I don't mean to sound like a killjoy because I REALLY love the idea of this and want to see how it comes out. I wish I could do one of these but with 5+ springs running off our hill our property is probably too wet (for the above reasons).

 

[anniemary]

Well, I'll talk to my hubby, but he's trying to figure out something to do with this hay! hmm....I'll tell him about the pneumonia. maybe that will convince him that saving money is at the expense of the chix health.

 

[laughaha]

I would KILL for alot of rotting hay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I had it, it would go straight to the garden as mulch. Or you could compost it first and let the chooks eat any weeds that pop up out of it. Chooks will happily aerate it for you if you let them.

 

[Quillgirl]

One of my hens ate straw last winter from a bale near the coop. Ended up with a huge crop impaction that required surgery. I am never putting hay or straw within their reach again. Lesson learned.

I think one other issue I'd have with straw or hay in a coop is mites. There are just so many nooks and crannies for the little buggers to hide/breed in, that I think it would end up being full of pests. Wild birds abandon nests at the end of the season because they often end up mite infested. A big straw house would be a giant nest, but you would hate to push it down due to heavy mite infestation.

 

[chickboss]

I also read about hay/straw coops and built a small one. It was surrounded by elec. netting just as the book recomended. We lost twenty chickens in one night when a small predator slipped the fence and dug through the bales to the inside of the coop. So, my advice is to either plan on using, like a PP suggested, cob or other material to protect the outside, or wrap the whole building in hardware cloth (don't even want to know what that would cost). I really love the idea of this, but I won't try it again for obvious reasons. I do hope you have better luck if you go ahead. It is such a fun idea. Mine looked like an adorable little hobbit cottage.

 

[Mahonri]

Straw bale coops work well if they are reinforced... Great insulating properties.

 

[wildeflowers]

It would make more sense, imo, to build a "cob house." Google it, they are really awesome. It would be cleaner, sustainable, and honestly, really cheap.

 

[PoultryPedia]

MOLD IS TERRIBLE for chickens!!!!

It easily causes internal fungal infections for chickens, particularly if they eat anything that has gotten mold on it.

I had 3 hens slowly starve to death over several months because they had gotten internal fungus infections from eating just a couple meals with some mold & possibly having a little mold on the floor in one corner of the coop.

The condition is VERY hard to treat.

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
Yes! I love Cob. I completely agree! Cob is beautiful, will last forever, and there is no way a predator could dig through that! I plan on building with cob in future!