think (can post link if anyone is interested).Japanese gazebo coop

Here is the coop my sweety and I are planning on building. It is the one design we both could agree on. Should go nicely with the koi pond. It is a bit of a rough sketch, as I am not a pro at sketchUp and it does not let me do an octogon... only a hexagon. The plans for an "easy gazebo" I have are octagonal I think (I can post a link if anyone is interested).

The yard will be hardware wire inside trellis fencing. The birds (leaning strongly toward Wellies) will be free-range most days as long as weather is good and I am home.

Under the laying coop will be a "sandbox" and feeder and waterer in good weather. The roosting box (gazebo) will have plexi on the outside of the windows in winter.

We will start building in February most likely... I will keep you posted!

It is wonderful!!! Where did you get the design? Now, I am a new one to chickens, don't even have any yet but plan on them hopefully by mid summer. . .we are going to have to build one, and I love the looks of yours. I hope other "old tyme" chicken people get on here and give you their opinion, so the boo-boo's will be addressed before you start!!!!

It is my own design. I am sure it has some flaws. I am already expecting the comments on the fence not being tall enough. LOL

What I want to know is why all my post titles get scrambled with my post content!

WOW! That is an amazing design!

Want some help building it?? That would be a blast to build!



Which CAD program are you using?

I really like your roof design, and I'd like to see your framing plan if you have one available. What size lumber is your framing?

What kind of roofing and siding are you going to use?? It's hard to tell what the material is for the roof but it looks very good.

What kind of floor??

Have you considered inside walls and insulation?

You are showing lattice on the windows in the main building, are they open or glazed?

Bravo my friend! Straight "A"s on originality of design in my book, and you have a number of design features that would be an enormous amount of fun to figure out and build. Press on and by all means keep us posted if you decide to build this masterpiece...

Quote:
The plans for the gazebo are here (if you passed elementary math and have some spacial logic you can resize them): http://www.buildeazy.com/fp_gazeboimp_0.html

The 3-D modeling software is free from Google and called SketchUp

Framing is most likely 4x4 posts under the nesting area and 2x4 for supporting beams and 2x2 for decorative type stuff. As we have a free "too good to trash" site for building materials at our local dump... it may depend on what they have. We would really like to build it out of as much "recycled" materials as possible.

The roof will hopefully be out of vinyl roofing... but may be metal.

The floor of the roosting box may be bare ground with pine pellet deep cover method (I think that was the rightish term... I am learning). The nesting box will be linoleum with pine pellets... easier for cleaning and disinfection if needed.

The insulation idea comes from my second choice plan. Hold on to your seat...
Wattle and daub!
My BF and I (and the kids in fact) are re-enactors at the Virginia Renaissance Faire. My second choice plan was a wattle and daub structure in historical Tudor fashion! Wattle and daub is not hard... but IS messy and can take some upkeep for the exterior when it will be subjected to harsh weather. On the inside and covered with a lime plaster... it should outlast the rest of the darn coop! LOL

Roosting perches will be free-standing PVC pipe wrapped with vetwrap. We use these for our parrots! They are able to be made in any configuration your mind can dream up, available in different diameters to give feet a workout, easy to disinfect, clean, remove, and change... and you just replace the vetwrap every 6 months to a year!

This coop will be used in conjunction with a large chicken tractor that will be housing the young birds while we build this monstrosity. While we work on the coop, the tractor will be clearing and preparing the ground where we hope to put our garden in late spring/early summer! With any luck, the youngsters will eat and kill off the vegetation where we want to plant (a layer of grass clippings will be tossed in regularly and the tractor will be moved every other day to cycle around the area... we want a BIG garden.) and will self till and fertilize the spot as well! They will of course have shelter at one end for nightime and a roof on a good portion of it for inclimate weather. They will not need the nesting boxes for a good few months after all!

After this, the tractor can be used for spot weeding and as a "poultry playpen" if we are gone for most of the day and they cannot free-range at all.

We hope to have about 6 Welsummers. Perhaps just a few Americaunas for egg fun. Also a few Silkies for my daughter for 4-H and brooding out any babies we may wish to raise. I am still looking for somewhere to get a quality Wellie Roo and nice silkies. No luck as yet. If I build it... willl they come do you think? LOL

The latice will be backed by hardware screen. In the winter, plexi will be used on the sheltered sides, 1/4" plywood on the less sheltered sides if needed. This "storm window" treatment will fit into brackets much like old fashioned screens used to on wooden casement windows. they are like mirror hanging brackets that turn a bit to allow for placing and removing the panels.

Nice adaptation from that Gazebo design, and that's an excellent way to get the framing right for your roof.

Looks like a solid plan to me, and I wish you all the luck in building it. Too bad I'm on the Left Coast or I'd be glad to come lend a hand on this project...

Press on!

Oh wow, that's beautiful! Come build one at my house when you're done with yours!

I am still waiting for someone to tell me what IS wrong with it. I have never kept chickens (but am becomming VERY well read)... so I am sure there is SOMETHING I have overlooked! I would rather know and anticipate and solve the problems NOW. LOL

I'll bite: what are you covering the run with, if at all?

Also, the swing out wall on for the nesting box room - will that gap be able to maneuver over the ramp? I imagine it would get stuck, but I'm sure you've already allowed for the extra space needed.

Other than that, fantastic design, I'm already jealous and you haven't even broken ground!