So i've decided to build a coop

[Gridguru]

Got a lot done today on the coop. I basically completed the rest of the principal framing.

First i did the wall that will have the nesting boxes off of it. The long rectangular opening at the bottom will be where the nesting boxes connect to the coop. There will eventually be three boxes. At this point i'm just binding the walls together at the corner, not really connecting them. They'll all be sitting on the base of course and not on the ground.



Next i started working on the wall that will face the run and have the pop-door. Man, having the base to use as a worksurface for laying out the framing has been awesome.



Here's basically how the pop door will fit on the inside of the coop. The steel door will slide up and down on these rails.



Here's the wall in place. Again, all of these walls will be sitting on the base eventually of course.



And what the pop door will look like from the outside.




And then i did the window wall This will house the big ol'e barn window. The window jamb/frame isn't connected. Like the door, it will be floated and shimmed when I assemble things to make sure it's level.



So, next up are the top plates, Roof joists, building the nesting boxes, and building the door.

 

[21hens-incharge]

NICE progress! You got a lot done. I also like having a good work surface. That base is just right for that!

 

[aart]

Hmmm....darn, hate to tell you this now that everything's framed but...
...keep in mind to leave room for bedding on floor near nests, pop door, and people door.
Usually those components are about 8" from coop floor to keep bedding from ending up outside the coop.

Solution at this point, frame up a 'knee wall' to place between wall framing and floor base?

 

[Gridguru]

Hmmm....darn, hate to tell you this now that everything's framed but...
...keep in mind to leave room for bedding on floor near nests, pop door, and people door.
Usually those components are about 8" from coop floor to keep bedding from ending up outside the coop.

Solution at this point, frame up a 'knee wall' to place between wall framing and floor base?

Good suggestion. Thanks.

I was going to have one on the nesting boxes, which would be 5 inches from the floor. I can put one by the human door easy enough i think. Not sure if i can add one to the pop-door as is, but i can raise the area where the pop-door will be by simply moving the cross bracing and adding a footer board. Nothing i can do about the window, but it will be screened with HW cloth, so not a lot will get out on that side.

Think that would work? How deep is the bedding usually? I guess i figured 1 1/2" was about normal. Apparently i was wrong.

 

[aart]

Yes, you could do a removable board across the people door...and 4-5" on nest front would work.
Moving up framing for pop door would be great.
You could make the window 'shorter' and move it up, they can kick stuff thru 1/2" HC.

Depends on how you'll finish the floor, what you use for bedding, and how you plan to manage manure.
I use poop boards with sand/PDZ under roosts, sifting out poops every other day to go to compost.
Baled dry pine shavings on floor(heavy vinyl sheet flooring) about 4-6" deep, totally changing them out once a year to go to compost.

What are your plans for ventilation?

Your climate can make a difference in lots of aspects of coop building....
....putting your location in your profile can help folks give better answers/suggestions.

 

[Gridguru]

I feel better, as i am planning to do a lot of the things you just mentioned.

Vinyl flooring, wrapped up the sides.

Removable poop board and roosts. Poop board will also be vinyl covered with a lip around the sides. I thought about using the construction sand in the poop board, but am not sure. I heard mites can be an issue with sand. Thoughts? Roosts will rest on joist hangers.

Pine shavings on the floor.

I'm in the Dallas area (will update profile), so hot summers, pretty moderate winters. Excellent shade for the run.

I may be going overboard on ventilation, but we'll see. The roof will be a slant roof. You can kinda see how this will go in some of the earlier pictures. Basically the area about the base framing will be ventilation (HW cloth). So the rectangle in the front (8" x 60") and the two triangles, one on either side. I'll have covers for the sides if we have a particularly bad winter. So about 6.7 sqft of ventilation at the top.

In the summer, the window will be open, and i'll have a removable screen that covers the area of the door, which could also be open. This should let a nice cross breeze in the hot months. In the winter of course, door and window will be closed.

 

[aart]

I've got vinyl in my poop board too I use a mix of kiln dried sand and the PDZ to save on volume of PDZ.
The PDZ really helps with ammonia odor, mix is only 1/2" deep in boards.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...raphic-gross-poop-pictures/1100#post_13179595
I don't know if sand offers habitat to mites or not, the red mites live in any crack or crevice they can during day and come out to feed at night.

My vinyl flooring goes up the wall 8" on ends and just a couple inches on sides, my coop walls are HC, inside a larger shed.
I put up feed bags to keep them from kicking the shavings thru the HC.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I use plain old barn lime on my poop board, it's cheap.

 

[Gridguru]

I raised the pop-door framing, so it's now 6 inches off the floor. I also put together my poop-board tonight.

It's not as big as would have liked (only 19" wide), but space demands are what they are, so i'll have to make due. If needed, i can make a bigger one later on after i see how much room the chickens really have/need in there.

 

[Gridguru]

I got a lot done today (yay for President's Day or whatever!).

I started out by cutting the hole in the feeder plate and then mounted it to the frame of the coop. The feeder will be in the coop, but we will be able to load the feeder from the outside.



Next I worked on the feeder itself. It's 4" PVC with 2 1/2" holes cut out. The feeder will be a little less than neck high to the chickens. They will be able to get their heads in there, but wont be able to jump up and scratch out the feed.



The PVC will extend out of the coop and up along the side. My wife didn't like the idea of a bright white PVC tube running up the side, so im trying to make it look like wood. I sanded it and scratched the hell outta it with a file, and then stained it. Seems to be working so far.



Then i did the big door that we will use to access the coop. That worked great. Very square and exactly 1/8" of gap all the way around.



Finally i worked on the nesting boxes. This was a tricky one to figure out as i wanted to build it separate and then slide it into the space i made for it in the coop wall framing. Worked pretty well. Just a few small tweaks. That's the door hinged and hanging below the back of the nesting boxes.



Next up, putting a roof on the nesting boxes and starting the roof joists.