sn0wwhite's Wichita Coop for the Twin Cities

[sn0wwhite]

Here are my 2 finished windows. Going to hang the wide one above the nest box tonight.

 

[Sam3 Abq]

Looking good !

 

[Bogtown Chick]

snOwwhite! How did I not see this fun thread earlier on your beautiful blue coop?! It's fantastic.

Fun Fall project for you. Been tinkering with mine this fall too.

For cutting my tin roof I used a skill saw with the wood blade turned backwards (use ear plugs--super loud!) But works slicker than slick.
Was scared the first time I did though...that's for sure.

I used to have high roosts for my chickens....they loved it...but in the winter it's no good. Broken toes frostbite and fall off in the spring. It's a mess you don't want to deal with. Trust me. Especially for your standard breeds you have there. They are just heavy enough that if they land wrong or catch the door jam of the pop door they will break a toe. They're also more predisposed to bumble foot too. 18" is recommended for good reasons...I found out.

Bog

 

[sn0wwhite]

Looking good !

Thank you!

snOwwhite!  How did I not see this fun thread earlier on your beautiful blue coop?!  It's fantastic.

Fun Fall project for you.  Been tinkering with mine this fall too.

For cutting my tin roof I used a skill saw with the wood blade turned backwards (use ear plugs--super loud!)  But works slicker  than slick.
Was scared the first time I did though...that's for sure.

I used to have high roosts for my chickens....they loved it...but in the winter it's no good.  Broken toes frostbite and fall off in the spring.  It's a mess you don't want to deal with.  Trust me.  Especially for your standard breeds you have there.  They are just heavy enough that if they land wrong or catch the door jam of the pop door they will break a toe.  They're also more predisposed to bumble foot too.  18"  is recommended for good reasons...I found out.

Bog

Thanks, Bog. And that is great information about the roost height. I'm definitely going to move it. Would you put a floor to ceiling 2x4 in to attach it to?

 

[aart]

......I read in another thread that hens tend to lay in the northern most nest .....

What if the nest boxes run east and west??

 

[sn0wwhite]

Mine do run east and west! Maybe that will keep them from sleeping in them. They're in a floor pile tonight and not terribly happy we worked on the coop after bedtime tonight. Here is the first finished window. I have the chain on a hook so I can adjust the openness for closed to wide open. I hope this idea works.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

snOw: My roosts are removable for cleaning. Please ignore the height at which they are at in this picture as that has been rectified...LOL. But anyways I wasn't sure I was following you on "attaching them to a 2x4" so I thought I would just show you what I did here. Those are 1x1 brackets I made and attached to the coop walls and the roosts just lay there in the bracket and come out at cleaning time. I hope that's helpful....

 

[sn0wwhite]

Yes, I definitely want to make a cradle like that so the 2x4 roost is removable. On the window side I have the 2x4 that frames the window to attach it to. On the opposite side the coop wall is just 1" thick ship lap siding. I don't know if it will support a cradle and roost without some kind of reinforcement on the wall.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I understand that predicament on the "thinner" wall material. Mabe you want to put an 18 inch or what have you 2x4 on end from the floor to the desired spot on the wall so it acts like a table leg of sorts. Screw it from the outside of that wall into the 2x4 in two spots and then set your bracket on that end. That should give the roost plenty of support....? I don't know how clean of lines you want inside the coop though either. Sometimes we have to suffer a bit on the tidiness to make things function though. I've caught myself fretting about how the roosts were set up vs. how it looked and had to just forgo the "looks" part and know it worked for the birds. LOL. I hate it when asthetics suffer though...LOL.

 

[aart]

You can attach a cradle to the 1x siding...just like the 2" x 2" cradles shown in bogtowns post....or just cut a notch out of an 8 inch long piece of 2" x 4"

Just screw them on from the outside, so the screw goes thru the siding from the outside into the cradle material on the inside, use 2 1/2" long deck screws.
This will take two people to accomplish probably, unless, oh never mind.
Locate your cradle on the inside and drill small thru holes from the inside, that will show you where to insert the screws from the outside.

Does this help: