Building My First Coop

[adirondak5]

I have the same nipples and heated bucket wishlisted on Amazon! I'm also thinking of getting the same chicken cam. Your thread has been very useful, thank you again!

Thanks , glad my thread is useful . So far the heated bucket has performed great , no freeze ups when we did have below 30's temps . I have the other bucket I installed those horizontal nipples into out in the run on days above 30 so the girls don't have to go back inside for a drink and they've worked as they should with no issues .

Here is todays rent from the #1 pullet

 

[adirondak5]

At approx. 2 PM it looks like she's gonna lay another , she has a distinctive whine I've noticed she starts about 30 minutes before she lays .

Here's the head chicken keeper with today's rent

 

[adirondak5]

Two of the Red Stars started laying this morning , along with the Olive Egger got 3 eggs this morn , one after the other the three used the same nest box to lay in as soon as they came off the roost this morn . The Olive Egger has been pretty consistent , this is her 6th egg since the first one back on the Feb 4 .

 

[K0k0shka]

I'm starting to plan out my run and looking at your build for inspiration I was hoping to avoid digging holes for footings, but it looks like I'll have to. How deep did you dig yours? And how wide? What did you use to dig them with? And how has the run held up over its first winter?

 

[adirondak5]

I'm starting to plan out my run and looking at your build for inspiration I was hoping to avoid digging holes for footings, but it looks like I'll have to. How deep did you dig yours? And how wide? What did you use to dig them with? And how has the run held up over its first winter?

All of the corner posts (4x4's) on my coop/run are in concrete 24" deep , the center support 2 x 4 's on both sides of the run I dug and poured 24" depth concrete under them and the 2x4 's sit on that concrete . I just dug with post hole diggers , where I just have those center 2 x 4 's of the run sitting on the concrete I would say I went about 12" diameter with the hole for the concrete .

 

[K0k0shka]

All of the corner posts (4x4's) on my coop/run are in concrete 24" deep , the center support 2 x 4 's on both sides of the run I dug and poured 24" depth concrete under them and the 2x4 's sit on that concrete . I just dug with post hole diggers , where I just have those center 2 x 4 's of the run sitting on the concrete I would say I went about 12" diameter with the hole for the concrete .

Thanks! Have you noticed any sinking/heaving over the first winter? Technically 24" is still above the frost line. I'm torn between doing it "by the book" just to be safe (below the frost line), and doing what's probably "good enough" to avoid extra back-breaking work...

 

[aart]

Have you noticed any sinking/heaving over the first winter?

Not sure the ground fully froze this winter.....it sure didn't here.

 

[K0k0shka]

Not sure the ground fully froze this winter.....it sure didn't here.

Yeah, it's been a very warm winter, and will keep getting warmer, which makes planning so annoying. We barely got any snow this year, or last year, but I have to plan for that one storm that may or may not come once in 10 years and collapse my run We did have a few cold spells that froze everything over here though, for days at a time. Not sure how far down that goes or how soon you'll see signs of trouble with shallower footings though. I'm just looking for confirmation that it is at all possible to get away with less digging, without seriously jeopardizing the structural stability of the run...

 

[adirondak5]

Thanks! Have you noticed any sinking/heaving over the first winter? Technically 24" is still above the frost line. I'm torn between doing it "by the book" just to be safe (below the frost line), and doing what's probably "good enough" to avoid extra back-breaking work...

No sinking / heaving and this year there has not been any frost to worry about . It would have to be an extremely cold winter to get frost down 2' here but I do recall winter's where the frost was down around 4' . I have a 10' x 12' shed I built here 25 years ago on a surface slab with no footers at all and it hasn't moved at all . Ground conditions differ by area , we have very fast draining sandy ground here so frost heave is minimal even in the coldest years , muddy clay/loam rocky type soil would tend to cause more heaving . Your area may be better suited to going 3' deep but 2' would probably still give you a good solid base for a covered run .

 

[K0k0shka]

No sinking / heaving and this year there has not been any frost to worry about . It would have to be an extremely cold winter to get frost down 2' here but I do recall winter's where the frost was down around 4' . I have a 10' x 12' shed I built here 25 years ago on a surface slab with no footers at all and it hasn't moved at all . Ground conditions differ by area , we have very fast draining sandy ground here so frost heave is minimal even in the coldest years , muddy clay/loam rocky type soil would tend to cause more heaving . Your area may be better suited to going 3' deep but 2' would probably still give you a good solid base for a covered run .

Thanks! This gives me hope! Our soil is very rocky and hard to dig through, so if I can get away with 2 feet instead of 4 or 3, that's really something. Also, I imagine it has better drainage with all the rocks in it. And yeah, winters used to be way colder and snowier, so maybe I'll be okay with just 2 feet, as they'll keep getting warmer. It's pretty much above freezing all winter with the occasional "cold spell" that will drop it below freezing for a few days, not sure how far down it goes but given how quickly the temperature goes back up again, I doubt it's very deep...