Coop foundation question

[macbow]

So you can't see it very well from my coop photos, but mine is set up like this. I had a shed company build and install mine and the owner said he does all of his sheds like this, to keep them elevated away from ground moisture and to make them moveable (people have moved and taken their sheds with them).

So it goes concrete block, then pressure treated skids, then the floor and the body of the coop goes on top of that. Bottom of coop sits about 5-6" off the ground.



This is why your very first egg will be a thousand dollar egg... CHickens are cheap. Everything else is expensive.

Thank you. Nice coop! Mine won't be that fancy. Seems like what I want to do will work.

 

[BigLar368]

We eat a LOT of eggs, so if these chickens only gave us 3 eggs a day after the money we put into them they wouldn't be too popular with me! Lol! I never thought I would have enjoyed chickens so much though. They really are cool little creatures.

I am looking forward to the eggs. I know we will be getting way more than three a day. I am more excited about the duck eggs. When I was a kid we would go to my grandfathers house in Louisiana and he would have me a couple dozen mallard eggs. I can still remember how they tasted. I love over easy eggs and we bake a lot so ducks eggs will be a warm welcome. Plus we have a garden and this year we have a bunch of bug invasions that absolutely ruined our tomatoes. Looking forward to turning them out in the garden next spring to see what they can do.

 

[macbow]

I am looking forward to the eggs. I know we will be getting way more than three a day. I am more excited about the duck eggs. When I was a kid we would go to my grandfathers house in Louisiana and he would have me a couple dozen mallard eggs. I can still remember how they tasted. I love over easy eggs and we bake a lot so ducks eggs will be a warm welcome. Plus we have a garden and this year we have a bunch of bug invasions that absolutely ruined our tomatoes. Looking forward to turning them out in the garden next spring to see what they can do.

I have never had duck eggs. What is the difference? Do they lay as much as chickens?

I have heard ducks are great at cleaning bugs off the garden without destroying it.

 

[BigLar368]

I heard someone explain the difference like this: If you have ever drank 1% milk as opposed to whole milk.....The chicken egg would be 1% and the duck eggs would be the whole milk. They are richer with clear whites and orange yellows.

 

[macbow]

I heard someone explain the difference like this: If you have ever drank 1% milk as opposed to whole milk.....The chicken egg would be 1% and the duck eggs would be the whole milk. They are richer with clear whites and orange yellows.

So how do you keep the ducks in the garden and the chickens out of it?

 

[BigLar368]

So how do you keep the ducks in the garden and the chickens out of it?

Keep the chickens in the run and let the ducks out daily. When growing season is over I will just let all of them out.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

If you should have wind concerns for the house (obviously, the hardware cloth covered run is not a concern), I recommend investing $30 in a tie down kit at your local big box store. 4 earth augurs, 100' of 1/8" steel cable you cut to length, and a handful of rope wire clamps. No thimbles though - which is a serious oversight. Spend the extra $5 in the hardware aisle and pick some up before you assemble.

 

[macbow]

If you should have wind concerns for the house (obviously, the hardware cloth covered run is not a concern), I recommend investing $30 in a tie down kit at your local big box store. 4 earth augurs, 100' of 1/8" steel cable you cut to length, and a handful of rope wire clamps. No thimbles though - which is a serious oversight. Spend the extra $5 in the hardware aisle and pick some up before you assemble.

Great idea. Thank you.

What is a thimble?

On thinking though, the coop is going to be down in a grove of trees where pretty much any big wind will get broken. I may get by without it, but will decide when I get it all put together.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

This

is a thimble. The wire rope goes around it where you make your loop to connect to the earth auger. It protects the inside edge of the rope from abrasion, and helps ensure the loop itself does not crease and strain under extreme load (that is, when tested by storm uplift, etc) Without a thimble, and enough force on the cable, the loop will pull as close to flat as the thickness of the auger will allow - dramatically increases stress on the outer strands of the wire rope, and makes the first wire clamp securing the rope more likely to fail.

Of course, if the storm is right on top of you, and you don't have thimbles, use what you've got. They can be installed later. But do install them.

 

[blackdog043]

I never made a coop build thread, but mine is up on cap blocks, here's a few pictures. The coop is 8 x 12. these are 4 x 4's