Hello.
I'm going to be building an outdoor coop for my quail this summer, and I'm basing it off the one my grandparents had for their chickens. I haven't seen any designs like this for recent coops and was wondering if anyone used it?
He built a rectangular box out of wood, elevated it on one end with a 2x4 so it sloped. Built the main roost house above it, used a wire floor. There was 1/2" hardware cloth about an inch off the floor of the box. Pea gravel was put on top of the hardware cloth. At the lowest end of the box, there was a metal rain gutter (later replaced with plastic drainpipe) that lead to a cedar slat compost box buried in the ground.
Every day in the summer, he'd go out and hose down the rocks. All the chicken poo and leftover food would wash through, drain down into the gutters, and run off into the compost box. He'd then throw cut grass or leaves or used straw on the compost box. In the winter, he'd throw wood shavings over the gravel for insulation/absorbency and flush them out with the hose in the spring. Every so often, the compost box was lifted out and upended into the main compost pile.
I like the design because, growing up, I never knew chickens smelled until we visited the poultry barn at the county fair.
I don't have pictures, unfortunately. Wanted to see if anyone else is using this method and if any improvements have come along since he built his. Or if there's any reason not to use it. (Can't see why there would be, but I raise quail, not chickens, and right now they live in cages in my livingroom.)
Thanks!
-Spooky
I'm going to be building an outdoor coop for my quail this summer, and I'm basing it off the one my grandparents had for their chickens. I haven't seen any designs like this for recent coops and was wondering if anyone used it?
He built a rectangular box out of wood, elevated it on one end with a 2x4 so it sloped. Built the main roost house above it, used a wire floor. There was 1/2" hardware cloth about an inch off the floor of the box. Pea gravel was put on top of the hardware cloth. At the lowest end of the box, there was a metal rain gutter (later replaced with plastic drainpipe) that lead to a cedar slat compost box buried in the ground.
Every day in the summer, he'd go out and hose down the rocks. All the chicken poo and leftover food would wash through, drain down into the gutters, and run off into the compost box. He'd then throw cut grass or leaves or used straw on the compost box. In the winter, he'd throw wood shavings over the gravel for insulation/absorbency and flush them out with the hose in the spring. Every so often, the compost box was lifted out and upended into the main compost pile.
I like the design because, growing up, I never knew chickens smelled until we visited the poultry barn at the county fair.
I don't have pictures, unfortunately. Wanted to see if anyone else is using this method and if any improvements have come along since he built his. Or if there's any reason not to use it. (Can't see why there would be, but I raise quail, not chickens, and right now they live in cages in my livingroom.)
Thanks!
-Spooky
