Coop Designs With a Living/Green Roof?

[Whitepines]

I would love to make my next coop one that has a living roof. I think it would be great for regulating temperature and could be a handy place to grow hen treats. I can't seem to find any plans for one, though. Has anyone tried building one?

 

[kittycooks]

What fun! The roof must be engineered to hold the weight and to provide drainage. A water proof membrane is covered with a layer of pea gravel and then an appropriate planting media for the plants.

The first thing I thought of when I read your post is chickens flying up onto their rooftop garden and you wouldn't be able to get them off!

 

[Arielle]

I think this is a very innovative idea! Have been trying to figure this out for years!
Have galvie roof so I'm not too worried about rot, but the weight can be much. Don't know what growing medium would be light weight. But it would sure help with cooling the building I would think (IMO). Just haven't found a practical way to make this work.

Wtering and keeping it moist I think would pose a watering problem; or rather it would dry out quickly and need frequent watering like a potted plant; but maybe using that "stuff" that holds xtimes it weight in water would be helpful.

Can you tell I have been thinking this over for some time????

Maybe we can get more people to chime in here! GL

 

[Kile]

I am now. Did you find what you were looking for? Do you still need help?

I tried searching for the blueprints i used but can't find them. Here's a 3d model of my coop:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=cdffbb5812387484ba57cf730bbccdf3&prevstart=0

What I did was make a frame. Then inside put a layer of glass, then rubber, drainage material, root screen, then soil. First I found the glass, which was from an old glass shower door. Then I built the frame around that size. After I built the bed frame/rooftop I jumped on it to make sure it wold hold the weight. The weight will be more evenly distributed than jumping on it. Not all the structure boards are in the 3d model.






http://roofgardens.wikispaces.com/What+it+takes+to+have+your+own+rooftop+garden

Here are some good plans.
http://thewoodprojectplans.com/2011/06/make-a-green-roof-chicken-coop-for-looped-ecosystem-and-self-sustainability/

These guys make a material for it and have some good ideas, but it's more costly:
http://www.bestmaterials.com/EPDM-Roofing.aspx#ROOF_TOP_GARDENS

 

[kaykaypw]

I tried one when I first started with chickens. Be very, very careful about drainage. Mine ended up rotting the roof of the coop.

K

 

[aggiemae]

Green roof info: http://www.greenroofs.org/index.php/about-green-roofs

 

[SunnyAlberta]

The roof of my rabbit hutch coop is the size of four boot trays I discovered today. I am thinking about using boot trays with succulents in them -- like Hen and Chick -- to make a green roof. They don't need much soil or water and so wouldn't add much weight. That said, I'd really rather grow food so maybe I'll need to use kitty litter boxes instead of boot trays. Vermiculite and perlite are lightweight, soil less growing mediums.

 

[Courts Clucks]

we have a section with lattice as a roof. It gives the girls some cover in the run. I have considered getting a vine to grow but haven't ironed out the details.

 

[animallover505]

I would say, have a sloping metal roof, then build like a planting box on it, fill it with seed starting medium, and plant Low-water-needing plants.

 

[kaykaypw]

I like the idea of a vine growing over the coop.

We are in Napa so grape vines would be an awesome way to provide shade and blend in to the surroundings. But, would the chickens pluck the vine of all it's leaves? I don't have vines at my current location and I'm not sure if they would even eat them.

~K