zinnia5117
Chirping
Hi everyone,
This is my very rough draft idea for the coop (although I still may just buy one).
I would love any constructive feedback. You can say it sucks, but then say how you would do it better. No commenting on my lame art skills, although asking for clarification is fine. Yes, I know my kindergartener can draw better. This will be for five standard sized chickens and they will also have access to our fenced backyard when we are around, probably in a smaller, temporarily fenced area plus I am planning to build a chicken tractor if possible.
I live in Oregon in the Portland Metro area, and the climate is similar to the Willamette Valley. The sketch is drawn facing west (you are looking at it from the west) and the coop is on the south end.
There would be some boards around the bottom to contain the litter in the deep litter method, and a board underneath everything to help keep moisture at bay from the ambient environment (it is wet anywhere on our property, but less so here). Obviously nothing is set in stone with a sketch in rejected computer paper, so have at it.
Here are at least a few questions I have:
1. Where would you put the human door? It could go on the front or back, probably around the middle.
2. I have two books on green roofs but they are not focused on chicken coops. Any advice from someone with experience with them? I am thinking extra support for weight bearing, but is there a rule of thumb for that? The green roof would be to filter the water a bit since it would be coming down via the deck.
3. Placement of the watering barrel is on the north so if there is spillover, the dirt is right there and the water is not running the length of the coop before draining. But I am open to other ideas or links to threads that address rainwater catchment systems. It could be on the south end (where the coop is) too. I would just need an idea for how to divert the water from the first flush diverted and excess spillover. South end could be nice to help warm the water and coop a little in the winter, the only thing is that we have very few days below freezing here, so it isn’t likely the whole barrel will freeze, and if it does, it would only be for a few days.
4. Are pressure treated posts okay to use as the four corners? We have some left from a fence redo and they seem pretty strong. They are 4x4s and we even have one 4x6. I feel like I read they can be toxic though, but what if I paint over them? Or am I worrying about nothing?
5. Do you have a favorite, easy-ish to build plan for the coop itself? How high off the ground should the coop be? I was thinking maybe three feet so it is easy to clean under, but if that makes it less stable, shorter (like 2 feet) could be okay. I would like the chickens to be able to roam under there. My arms are probably only 2.5 feet long though, for cleaning.
6. I saw someone’s setup with the watering nipples and am sold on that idea because I am sick of pine shavings and poop in the water dish. How do you do the food though? If it’s a suspended bucket, I am guessing it needs a strong rafter to hang from (more load bearing considerations), but other innovative ideas would be cool. And do you typically put the food in the run or coop? I feel like I’ve read run a lot on here but it’s hard to know if my sampling of posts is representative.
Context: where I am planning to put it. This has already been discussed so I don’t need additional feedback on this decision. Do I really have ten feet there? Hmm, better go measure..
Okay, that was a lot of questions. Thanks in advance to anyone who has ideas to share.
This is my very rough draft idea for the coop (although I still may just buy one).
I would love any constructive feedback. You can say it sucks, but then say how you would do it better. No commenting on my lame art skills, although asking for clarification is fine. Yes, I know my kindergartener can draw better. This will be for five standard sized chickens and they will also have access to our fenced backyard when we are around, probably in a smaller, temporarily fenced area plus I am planning to build a chicken tractor if possible.
I live in Oregon in the Portland Metro area, and the climate is similar to the Willamette Valley. The sketch is drawn facing west (you are looking at it from the west) and the coop is on the south end.
There would be some boards around the bottom to contain the litter in the deep litter method, and a board underneath everything to help keep moisture at bay from the ambient environment (it is wet anywhere on our property, but less so here). Obviously nothing is set in stone with a sketch in rejected computer paper, so have at it.
Here are at least a few questions I have:
1. Where would you put the human door? It could go on the front or back, probably around the middle.
2. I have two books on green roofs but they are not focused on chicken coops. Any advice from someone with experience with them? I am thinking extra support for weight bearing, but is there a rule of thumb for that? The green roof would be to filter the water a bit since it would be coming down via the deck.
3. Placement of the watering barrel is on the north so if there is spillover, the dirt is right there and the water is not running the length of the coop before draining. But I am open to other ideas or links to threads that address rainwater catchment systems. It could be on the south end (where the coop is) too. I would just need an idea for how to divert the water from the first flush diverted and excess spillover. South end could be nice to help warm the water and coop a little in the winter, the only thing is that we have very few days below freezing here, so it isn’t likely the whole barrel will freeze, and if it does, it would only be for a few days.
4. Are pressure treated posts okay to use as the four corners? We have some left from a fence redo and they seem pretty strong. They are 4x4s and we even have one 4x6. I feel like I read they can be toxic though, but what if I paint over them? Or am I worrying about nothing?
5. Do you have a favorite, easy-ish to build plan for the coop itself? How high off the ground should the coop be? I was thinking maybe three feet so it is easy to clean under, but if that makes it less stable, shorter (like 2 feet) could be okay. I would like the chickens to be able to roam under there. My arms are probably only 2.5 feet long though, for cleaning.
6. I saw someone’s setup with the watering nipples and am sold on that idea because I am sick of pine shavings and poop in the water dish. How do you do the food though? If it’s a suspended bucket, I am guessing it needs a strong rafter to hang from (more load bearing considerations), but other innovative ideas would be cool. And do you typically put the food in the run or coop? I feel like I’ve read run a lot on here but it’s hard to know if my sampling of posts is representative.
Context: where I am planning to put it. This has already been discussed so I don’t need additional feedback on this decision. Do I really have ten feet there? Hmm, better go measure..
Okay, that was a lot of questions. Thanks in advance to anyone who has ideas to share.
