12 x 6 Coop - Cedar

[CIRCLE C]

DW and I started this coop Sunday afternoon, and have been working on it the last few evenings after work.

Size is 12 x 16 , 7' tall - there will be a run along the North and East sides.

Here are some pictures of our progress, I will update as we continue to work on the coop.

We drilled our first hole Sunday at 1:00pm, We called it a day at about 6:45 after having to make a second trip to Lowe's and TSC

Here is Monday evenings work

No pictures from Tuesday evening

Here is Wednesday evening work

We will install some type of top hinged "shutters" for the windows in the winter. However, we live near Houston, and have mild winters and HOT spring, summer, and fall so we feel like the more ventilation we get the better of we are.

I am interested in any feedback the BYC experts may have for me, as I can still make changes at this stage if need be.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[goldensunriseranch]

Oh this is cute. If I built that my kids would immediately steal it for a play cabin. Is the floor earth? Only thing I can think of is a skirting of wire mesh or something similar around the perimeter on the ground to help keep predators from digging under and into the coop. Very cool. And if it's not earth then I guess you don't have to worry about that.
Michelle

 

[CIRCLE C]

Michelle,

Thanks for the reply. We do have an earth floor, and our intent is to run wire on the floor for 12" then up the wall on the inside. 36" wire should get us 12" floor + 24" of wall protection.


Here are some pictures of our "starter coop" that was inside the barn.

 

[haymil]

I think that is a great coop. How much have you invested in it so far?? I will be starting to build mine this weekend. Your chicks are certainly living up town now.

 

[AllChookUp]

Looks great overall. My only concerns would be predator-proofing the ground around the walls so nothing can dig in, but from your second post, sounds like you're thinking of that already.

I'd also suggest building the nesting boxes so you can take the eggs out from the outside.

What are you thinking of for waterers and feeders?


Oh, and

.

 

[goldensunriseranch]

The inside looks great! I have something similar in a coop for my flighted birds. The only other thing I can think of is the pitch on the roof if it is pitched enough for runoff. It does looked pitched enough in the one pic in the first post, and definitely pitched in the inside photo, but thought I'd throw it out there. Too flat and you might get a bit of leaf buildup that you'd need to sweep off every once in a while in the fall but if you're not under many trees it won't matter. And down there no snow to worry about buckling it like we have here.
That sign on the door is great, love it!

 

[Cara]

It looks beautiful! My biggest concern would be the extensive use of cedar, as it can be quite toxic to birds.

 

[pkeeler]

It looks beautiful! My biggest concern would be the extensive use of cedar, as it can be quite toxic to birds.

There is probably a big difference between having weathered cedar as sheathing and having chickens on top of cedar shavings. The shavings are greener and would present much more surface area for gas to escape from.

The coop looks like it will be very ventilated, which would further mitigate any build up of cedar gases.​

 

[CIRCLE C]

haymil,

Out of pocket I have about $400.00 in lumber and concrete tied up. The cedar I used are scrap pieces from some other projects (my round pen) so I don't figure the cost of the cedar. The roof, I also have no cost in. I did a little trading and got about 1300' of the roofing material.

allchookup,

I have considered building the nest boxes that I can handle from the outside, however there are a few things that have kept me from that at this point. One of which, is that some of our girls lay in the boxes, others lay in completely random places, so we have to go inside daily to get the random eggs. One other thing, is we have a commercially made 8 hole nest box that we have been using, and I would have no use for it, if I built another box

Waterers - We plumbed a faucet to the inside of the coop. We intend to install an automatic waterer like you would see in a horse stall. Basically a shallow "cup" large enough for water, but small enough that the girls cannot drown in it.

Feeders - We are currently using a hanging self feeder. Might also build some of the PVC hangers that I have been reading about on BYC.

 

[aladatrot]

Hey guys, I'm glad you like our "Casa De Gallina" project!

So far, the floor is just earth, and we haven't yet built it up any. We were planning to use wood shavings for the litter like we do for the horses (and chickens) in the barn, and letting the litter build the floor up. Is there any reason not to do this? The shavings are pine, not cedar. I really did not think of cedar being toxic to birds, so will certainly make sure not to use cedar shavings.

M