Cob chicken coop???

[socks]

Oops! Sorry Puck-puck....my brain is on poultry and I read that as Duck-duck

and this is weird but now the emoticons seem to be working even though I have tried all configurations before

so I will just assume the emoticon god has smiled on me.

and leave it at that. Thanks.
I do have to admit I've never used them before this forum but because i think it is easy to be misunderstood on the net they can be a kind of useful.

Um....Saltspring that hussy of an Island? (oops!) now I'm in trouble and not an emoticon to the rescue. Don't mind me, I have a bit of a love hate relationship with SS as there are lots of really great people there doing great things but it is also basically the victim of its own popularity. I'm on Gabriola population 5,000 and thankfully no major celebs have taken up residence.

 

[Sammimom]

I love cob buildings, but it seems that it would be hard to clean and perhaps not as safe from predators as other structures. You might consider cord wood building (I think Mother Earth News has some articles on that subject) or a more traditional coop with a green (planted) roof.

 

[DarkWolf]

Oooohhhh... Cord wood is so much fun, too... And blast me for not remembering it.. I could have built a house out of all the free wood people were giving away after the ice storm that knocked KY through a loop.

 

[TeaLady]

I'm intrigued with the cob coop idea. It seems like if you coat it with a true lime plaster inside & out you'd have a great setup. Lime plaster cures essentially back into limestone. It inhibits mold and buffers moisture. And there are wax sealants you can use with a lime plaster to give it a bit more waterproofing. But, lime plaster is not especially cheap even if you do it yourself.

Having 2 coops is not a bad thing... There are lots of reasons to separate groups of chickens from time to time.

Where was the cob workshop?

 

[LauraM]

What a cool idea! My husband helped build a straw bale house in Spokane and we thought it was fantastic. I can say this, though. We live in a very wet area, on a sloped lot ( used to be skid row for the Snohomish river - it is that sloped) and we built a tractor to house up to 6 birds (4 right now). I have absolutely no problem moving around the yard by myself. The real plus is it hardly cost anything, scrap wood and some screws, hardware cloth, and paint. It is an A frame, it was quick to build.

 

[socks]

Back again, and um....for the time being it looks like I will be using a rabbit hutch... and actually putting up a post about that. I have not given up on cob but do think I need to research it more to be sure and also since I am a complete newbie I won't know where I would want a permanent coop until I've done this a bit.

the cob workshop I mentioned was on Gabriola but there are ongoing ones out of Mayne Island, Our EcoVillage near Victoria B.C. and Mudgirls are doing one in Nanaimo B.C. soon.

 

[Cheep a'lil Talk a'lil]

They did an episode of Dirty Jobs out in Joyce, WA (out on the Olympic Peninsula). The host Mike, got to help them build it. They had a whole team of family and friends show up to help out. Looked like a lot of fun and very exausting!

I think a cob would be very cool. And you wouldn't even have to make it that big for 6 chickens. As long as you can get in there to keep it clean inside. Or you could even make a couple of small ones that would fit 2-3 chickens each, and then have a removeable roof to gain access for cleaning and gathering. They could all share the same run, just separate houses.

Well good luck on what ever you choose!

 

[socks]

I think a cob would be very cool. And you wouldn't even have to make it that big for 6 chickens. As long as you can get in there to keep it clean inside. Or you could even make a couple of small ones that would fit 2-3 chickens each, and then have a removeable roof to gain access for cleaning and gathering. They could all share the same run, just separate houses.

Yes, Cheep a 'lil, I think it would be beautiful and while I kind of have eglu envy
you could make this great little cob coop that would give that overpriced doghouse (o.k. a little sour grapes here) some serious eco/economic competition.

 

[ladygish]

I'm also planning for my first chickens and considering a cob coop. I know I'm late arriving to this thread, but did the original poster end up using cob? I could only find one example of a cob coop on Google so it can't be impossible, but it's definitely not common. It seems that mites and other nasties wouldn't be able to nest in the walls so long as they are completely sealed in lime. My only hang up is I don't understand how is cob cleaned. I couldn't find anything online but surely the people who form entire homes (and built-in furniture) must have to clean these surfaces from time to time? Does anyone have any insight on this? Basically, in the months since anyone has posted, are there any new developments in the cob coop ideas?

As for the coop I did find it's in Arcosanti, a planned 5,000 person self sustainable city.:
http://www.walkerphotographix.com/AZ08/arcosanti/pictures/_dsc9053.html

And one from the inside:
http://www.walkerphotographix.com/AZ08/arcosanti/pictures/_dsc9051.html

 

[babyblue]

the lime plaster over the stone and dirt walls in the basement of our home lasted from the early 1800's untill around 1980. when the basement flooded and no one did any patching or repainting of the lime then it finaly started to come apart. if you did a good coat of it and then kept it plastered and painted, just upkeep wouldnt be as expensive then.