Coop and Run Build for 50 Chickens

[waddles99]

Would putting some ACV in the water help keep it clean?

I have always heard that but never knew if it was true or not. I also heard the chickens dont like the taste?

 

[MeepBeep]

Do you ever have any problems with algae or any type of buildup with this waterer? It looks like it would be hard to clean. 

It's inside my coop so not in the sunlight, it's been up and running for over a year with no need for cleaning, not a sign of algae inside or any smell, just some iron stains on the inside from my hard water... If and when I do clean it, it's easy enough to put the wand from my pressure sprayer in there and spray it out...

Would putting some ACV in the water help keep it clean?

People like to claim ACV does a lot, but it really doesn't do nearly as much as many claim... There are really no scientific studies that back up most of the ACV claimed benefits, most everything you hear is wives' tales... ACV will lower the PH some but depending on the starting PH of your water it might make it more or less hospitable to algae...

I personally don't use it, I tried it a few times in my brooders and it made my water slimy and stinky overnight, never again...

 

[MeepBeep]

Yours will have a wire mesh floor? How do you manage the poop that falls through the wire on large coops? Do you hose it out or rake it up?

Wire mesh increases the odds of foot problems and poop doesn't really fall through it, it will cake, stick and build up unless power sprayed or scrubbed regularly...

 

[Dlmillion]

Everything looks awesome to me so far!

I am just curious...I should say first I know absolutely NOTHING about framing.
My question:
What do you have the wood going different ways/directions on the floor?
Why not just lay them all the same way from one side to the other?

(oh gosh I hope that makes sense)

The longer 2x6's in the middle section will be covered with boards as a walkway that'll support human foot traffic just to make matinence and cleaning easier. The wood going the other way is 2x4's that provide plenty of strength to hold chickens but not so much for humans. I did it this way primarily to keep costs down while knowing that it's still structurally sound. The ends on the front and back of coop with the 2x4's going in the other direction will also be covered with wood as a sort of stage for chickens entering and exiting the coop.
Typically for floors, you don't want a 2x6 to span more than 6' but I'm thinking that the four I've got in that center aisle will hold up just fine to the occasional use by me.

Looks like you are going to be quite busy for a while. Big project. I have a large coop but mine has a dirt floor. Yours will have a wire mesh floor? How do you manage the poop that falls through the wire on large coops? Do you hose it out or rake it up?

This is more of a trial for me using the mesh floor. Just going try and find what works best! If I don't like it, it's plenty easy for me to change the floor to whatever else I please. Heck, I could potentially add some more support and pour concrete in there with radiant heating in the floor!
Haha, probably WON'T do that but I thought I'd give the mesh a shot because it sure sounds nice having a coop that needs minimal cleaning!

Some input on food and water...

I have roughly 100 birds in my coop, I have a 55 gallon barrel with 9 nipples that actually services them all just fine, rarely if ever a line to get water... They consume between 5 and 10 gallons a day of water on average depending on temp, so it will last 4-5 days sometimes an entire week if not refilled, but I have a float valve in the barrel so I can keep it hooked to a hose and let it auto top off at will, so it can go unattended indefinitely when hooked up to a hose...

This is my feeder, again it services about 100 birds, but I honestly could probably use a 2nd as they do sometimes fight over a place in line... This holds 150 pounds of food and will last 3-4 days for my 100ish birds, but they do also get a lot of 'treats' so consumption rates can vary depending on the weekly amount of treats or supplements... For example this week, I filled a kiddie swimming pool in the coop with about 32 gallons (full 32 gallon garbage can) of spent grains, so this drastically cut down on this weeks feed as they have had the spent grains to nipple on as well...

Thanks for the info!! Good to know 50 gallons lasts that long, I think I'll just use 50 gallons instead of the 100 I was intending.
That feeder is great! Looks so simple. Is it just a bin with holes cut and pipe put in? So the chickens just have to stick their heads in to eat and can't waste as much? Very nice

 

[MeepBeep]

That feeder is great! Looks so simple. Is it just a bin with holes cut and pipe put in? So the chickens just have to stick their heads in to eat and can't waste as much? Very nice

They are elbows, it nearly eliminates all waste... And yes it's just a regular plastic bin, picked it up at Goodwill for $3 I believe...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...te-5-gallon-25-feed-bucket-feeder-for-about-3

I use the 4" 'SEWER' street elbows, these are different from your regular 4" PVC elbows... I cut them the same as can be found on the first page of that thread I linked above... They can be found in the lawn and garden area (sometimes outside) of most hardware stores in the floor and sewer drainage plumbing section, not the regular PVC isle...

http://www.lowes.com/pd/4-in-Dia-90-Degree-PVC-Sewer-Drain-Street-Elbow/3609606

I drilled the holes with a cheap hole saw kit from Harbor Freight, slightly smaller than needed and then used a heat gun to soften up around the holes edge and forced the elbow in while the plastic was hot and soft, once cooled it's rock solid, no need for caulk or glue or whatever, nice clean hole and nice clean fit...

http://www.harborfreight.com/34-in-5-in-carbon-steel-hole-saw-set-18-pc-68115.html

The above is cheaper than many single hole saws at other hardware stores, nothing to brag about in quality but it cuts wood and plastic just fine...

 

[Dlmillion]

Just picked up another load of materials today! If I figured correctly, I have everything that I'll need to finish besides the siding. I've spent about $600 so far and I think my total will be nearly $1000 when its all said and done. Really not too bad for such a large coop.

Once the coop is done I'll be able to divert my attention to the run which will most likely be another $600 or so. It'll be approximately 400sq ft.

@MeepBeep I definitely love the simplicity and the waste reduction factor. I've got a couple ideas so far based off of your feeder. Not exactly sure how I'll do it but It'll definitely show up on this thread at some point or another! Thanks for the awesome ideas!

 

[tmarsh83]

i did a coop build this spring and had some of the same thoughts in mind. Before I was fired, I travelled a lot, and the chickens are more my thing than the wife's so I wanted to keep chores to a minimum of egg collection if possible, for as long as possible.

I used cup waterers to create a rain catch waterer outside, and a tub fed inside. I'm hoping to be able to keep the interior one from freezing up in the winter, without heating the entire coop. We will see. The outside waterer, being rain replenished has been great. I used a salvaged water softener reservoir. Even being outside I haven't had algae problems, the top is covered with a fine wire mesh. I'm running 14 birds on about 40 gallons, and even with 16 days of zero rain they didn't empty it.



While I plan to have multiple feeding stations available most of the time, I wanted a reliable bulk feeder that could serve as a reserve in the absence of keepers. I made the human access door to the chicken area of the interior a swinging bunk feeder. I was somewhat nervous about it, but worst case, I could cover it and not use it that way after hearing horror stories of it getting dirty, etc. I haven't had that experience at all. It fills from the human side, and should be able to hold about 200 pounds of feed if it needed to, but I never fill it that far.

You can also see the nest boxes in this picture. I have four for 13 layers currently, and they all get some use almost every day. They aren't married to one box either, I've seen all four have "heavy days". They are rollout boxes that can be collected from the human side, without interfering with the chicken side of the coop. It is 8x12 overall, with 8x8 for the birds, and 4x8 for human/storage.







For what it's worth.

 

[Dmontgomery]

Wire mesh increases the odds of foot problems and poop doesn't really fall through it, it will cake, stick and build up unless power sprayed or scrubbed regularly...

That was my experience with our first coop a few years ago. We actually had 2 very small coops that held 3 birds each. The coops were elevated about 3' off the ground and there was wire under the roosting bars. Poop piled up on the wire instead of falling through and I had to spray it down with a hose every couple days. Then that made a nasty mess in the small run area under the coop. I was wondering if there was a better way I should have handled the situation back then. I thought maybe Darrel had some ideas about it. Not that I would ever go back to that setup. My coop is 16x16 with dirt floors now.

 

[MeepBeep]

Poop piled up on the wire instead of falling through and I had to spray it down with a hose every couple days. Then that made a nasty mess in the small run area under the coop. I was wondering if there was a better way I should have handled the situation back then.

Not much you could have done, water and poop simply don't work well and will almost always create a stinky, unsanitary situation and problem...

 

[Dlmillion]

UPDATE:
sorry its been a little while since my last update, my internet connection has been in and out (mostly out) but i have some more pictures now! I work weekends so im only able to work on the coop two-three days a week at the most so its going a bit slower than i had hoped but it is still coming along! Slow and steady wins the race i suppose!