Building Coop out of scrap concrete

[Sunnyspot]

My Dad has huge piles of scrap concrete and has already built a wall around his landscape and still has a bunch left. We are going in 50/50 on chickens and he would like to build the coop with the scrap concrete. He has both cinder blocks and random shaped similar sized pieces and we plan on pouring a cement foundation. The coop will be 8x8 in size. He has masonary books that I will have to pull out and the person who built the wall is around for questions but I have a few that you guys would be better at answering.

I know stone can be cold but we live in central Florida so I am hoping it is not much of a concern with proper temp adjusting devices when needed in extreme cold and hot days. I am mostly concerned with leaving the cement exposed inside or putting up insulation and walls...hit me with your thoughts.

 

[Toshi]

well...my main thought is ventlation. They will need vents, and i also think it can get very hot in a cement box. Maybe an open coop would be better?

 

[4 the Birds]

I would use your scrap conc for some other project. Attaching doors, roof, roosting bars, etc.... all seems like alot of big headaches with big chunks of concrete. For a few hundred dollars in wood and a weekend of work you can built a BIG roomy coop. Alot of people get wood pallets for free and use that wood if they are on a tight budget. I would save yourself some time and headaches and make a simple pole construction coop out of wood. The below picture is not of a coop but of a hay shed that I built in one weekend and cost under 200 bucks. With wood you can cut vent openings, attach nest boxes, cut window openings, etc....

8 ft x 16 ft hay shed. I later made and added a horse fence mesh door in the opening to keep the goats out.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I hope every thing goes well for you. There is a lot of information on this site that hopefully will aid you in your project.

Will be waiting to see further developments. A concrete build is an ambitious project. However it worked out well for one of the three little pigs.

Good luck Sunnyspot!.

 

[debid]

A thick wall on three sides with a full wall of wire for ventilation would be brilliant and talk about hurricane resistant! Or, make the lower part of the walls concrete like a basement foundation with a wood & wire top part. Think outside the wooden box!

 

[Sunnyspot]

Well I guess I was not complete in my construction explaination. It would most certainly have windows for venting, my Dad has various scrap windows as well. It would be like a stone cottage, windows with wood frames and screen attached to the frame if the window was without. It would have wood roosts attached to the walls with concrete screws. Wooden nesting boxes would be off the ground onto a wooden structure and attached to the wall for safety. Door would be on a wood frame. So I hope you all can picture it a bit better.

I guess more like a stone cottage repurposed for a coop. My father got the idea from a gorgeous coop we saw a picture of that is how I described and the run's posts are of old wood logs. It truly is beautiful but the labor involved to recreate it will be difficult I am well aware.
I think I have made my father more aware of how much work the concrete will be and how much time we have until out 2 week old pullets will be wanting more room. He has suggested we build the coop from wood then we can put up the stone wall around it, that way it's not rushed and will be built right.

 

[catsbully]

go for it! you have a vision and with some planning regarding the windows doors and vents you will be able to make a gorgeous coop! anything can be done with a little thought and planning!
take lots of pics and post them I would love to see what you come up with!

 

[4 the Birds]

Well I guess I was not complete in my construction explaination. It would most certainly have windows for venting, my Dad has various scrap windows as well. It would be like a stone cottage, windows with wood frames and screen attached to the frame if the window was without. It would have wood roosts attached to the walls with concrete screws. Wooden nesting boxes would be off the ground onto a wooden structure and attached to the wall for safety. Door would be on a wood frame. So I hope you all can picture it a bit better.

I guess more like a stone cottage repurposed for a coop. My father got the idea from a gorgeous coop we saw a picture of that is how I described and the run's posts are of old wood logs. It truly is beautiful but the labor involved to recreate it will be difficult I am well aware.
I think I have made my father more aware of how much work the concrete will be and how much time we have until out 2 week old pullets will be wanting more room. He has suggested we build the coop from wood then we can put up the stone wall around it, that way it's not rushed and will be built right.

Ah.... Than sounds better. I was picturing just conc construction!

A wood coop with stone exterior walls would be COOL and actually add value to your place. It would for sure be a sturdy son-of-a-gun!