Coop design question-rooftop garden?

[eggsfordinner]

I'm pretty proud of my little coop that my hubby and brother threw together in a day (without plans and using all recycled wood!). I'm still making modifications on it and one thing I was considering is a garden box over the run. It's been hot so I thought it would help with giving my girls some extra shade and allow me to grow some treats for them. Has anyone had any experience with doing this and is there anything I should know before I start constructing it? We plan on moving in a few months so I want to try to keep it modular too so I can take it with us.

 

[Naunnie]

Congratulations! That's a nice little coop!

How many girls do you have for it? What is the top of the run? My first thought was to plant and place some flats on that part.....

 

[eggsfordinner]

I have 4 chickens in it. The top of the run is hardware cloth with a couple of boards run across to support it. One of the design flaws I've encountered is accessing the run for feeding and watering. We had our first rain yesterday since the coop was built and their food got soaked. I was thinking a garden box on top would also help with keeping it dry since it's a tight squeeze to fit inside if I were to put the food in the back. And that way I could hang the feeder and water from it.

Here's a picture of my girls (at least I hope they all are....not sure about the lavender orp) enjoying an old ladder I found for them to perch on in the run. They love sliding down the sides of it.

 

[Naunnie]

Ah! Pretty girls! Yes, I think a garden box with a solid bottom would work as long as it's not too heavy. It's kind shiny in your picture, so I thought it might be something like plexiglass. Here's a thought.....maybe if the box was bigger than the run, you could support the 4 corners with legs, then use hooks with chain screwed into bottom of box to hang feed and water within your reach.

Your little coop is precious and has lots of potential. I can't wait to hear what others may suggest. ) I am always looking for ways to improve my coops too!

 

[pipemum]

I built a garden box on top of a section of run. It does have a solid bottom and keeps the section of the run shaded (and dry, though I live in the desert and rain is not a problem).

Your coop is really similar to this one: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/prod...planter/?pkey=cagrarian-garden-chicken-coops& A roof top garden box would be perfect for your coop!!

On the run part of my coop, I used beer caps as washers to attach the hardware cloth. The beer caps worked well to keep separation from the garden box and the run supports--there won't be any wood on wood rotting where the box sits. Be sure to seal your garden box, though if it's wood, it'll rot out eventually. I used leftover 2x4's for the walls of the garden box and leftover sheet wood for the bottom. It's been painted and sealed, but I'll probably only get 3-5 years out of the box before it starts to rot away.

 

[eggsfordinner]

Thanks for the suggestions, especially using bottle caps. If I get 3 years out of it, I'll be happy with that.