Cornerstone Coop

[orchidcrazy]

After purchasing the Wichita Coop plans, we started our build on August 14th.

Day 1 - It took the whole day to move this rock which became the name sake of our coop.....

Day 2 - We leveled the area, dropped wire for the area and a perimeter and set our foundation. We were lucky to get rain that evening, really set it up well. Required a bit of alteration the day after and then we got a second rain where nothing moved so we figured it was well set. I did most of this since I am a perfectionist - I have never laid a foundation before but the foundation and coop are both level and square so I am pleased with myself!

Day 3 - we have to take 4 days off to shop, address some household issues, pick up some free stuff we located for it, but got back at it building the base and surrounding the area with stone.

Day 4 - we have boards up and built the frame for the roof.

Day 6 - Roof frame went up after staining it.

Day 7 - Hardware cloth install started, plywood went up on the roof and the base of the coop got started. Doesn't look a whole lot different than the day before, but it was a long day for that little progress...

Day 8 - Doesn't look like much change, but it was another long day of work. The rest of the hardware cloth went in and boards were cut, stained and installed over the hardware cloth - a second framing so to speak. Boards were cut, stained installed along the top of the structure. Those little boards with the door holes cut in were time consuming to cut, stain, attached hardware cloth to and then install were they belonged.

Day 9 - We start to see some changes today! The metal roof was purchased, laid on the plywood but not yet installed, Shiplap was started along the back, I framed out the window on the side. i have never framed - this took me a long time to figure out those 3 pieces of 2 x 4 for the window! I got frustrated at one point, built the egg box, went back to the window and got it done, then installed the box and continued on with shiplap on that side. Hubby was busy working but took breaks to trim some trees around the area.

Day 10 -
Hubby built the two doors, we partially stained parts thats we would not have access to once the door went up, got the hardware cloth put on the run door while I framed for the indoor window and got the flooring (Free!) installed.

Day 11 - Wednesday I did not-noticeable work when I spent the day stripping, sanding, caulking and painting 2 of the three windows (I still have the window into the run to refinish). Hubby got the run door installed and the roofing on. Need a 2 foot section on the front trim - it'll wait for now.

Day 12 - The coop door was built in our basement, ended up not quite square, so I took it mostly apart, squared it up, mounted it and mounted the two windows. Shiplap went in on the run side.

Day 13 - We took Friday off to go have dinner with our son. Saturday, hubby put all hardware on, finished trimming out the run window which still is not installed as it needs sanding and painting. I ran around getting feed, picked up our girls, came home and introduced them to the run. Together we built our coop roosts. I wanted to have food in AND out of the coop which presented an issue with where to put the roosts and poop board. I did NOT want to cut a hole in the back of the coop for poop board access - we worked hard to build a coop to protect our girls from the many predators we have here (bobcat, fisher cats, raccoon, bear, coyote, etc.). I also did not want to give up the space near the door where I wanted to mount PVC feeders I made. And I REALLY did not want to have to crawl into the coop to clean off the poop board.

I am SO pleased with our end result! Our resolution was to build two roosts that are equal in size so not fighting over who gets top roost. We attached them to the oversized poop board we made so that we did not damaged the side of the coop, but so that we can changed them out at a future date if they get gross, we want to change the height as the girls mature. The poop board is on runners mounted on each side - one is enclosed and one is open so we can lift the whole contraption out if we can to alter it. I can easily pull it to the front in the morning to sift poo and clean.

The exterior coop trims got installed and coop door, back and side with nesting box got stained, all locks, latches, etc were installed and I built a waterer for the run and the girls spent their first night in the coop.

Day 14 - I built the ramp, stained it, installed it and install the Ador1 coop door. Hubby built a swing we still need to install and installed 2 roosts. He put a small piece of roofing over the nesting box.

We have 2 Barnevelders, a Delaware, a RIR, and a Barred Rock.

Questions..... 1) We are in CT - We have ventilation but just those 20 holes along the top isn't much - do we need more? 2) We do have the three windows. Do we close windows up at night? Of course, that run window is open because I haven't put it in yet, but at what temps would we want things shut down? And as we shut stuff, do we do one at a time? All shut for the night? 3) I have hemp in the coop, PDZ on the poop board, the run is a mix of pine shavings, dirt under, fine and medium pin bark. Should I add some sand? Clear all out and have only sand? Add some fill dirt?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Ideally you want a minimum of 1 sq ft of ventilation per chicken open at all times - winter too, as you need humid air to escape to cut down on risk of frostbite. If you're closing the windows due to drafts coming through, then you need to add more vents elsewhere to make up for it. But since they're top hinged and hardware clothed over, they really should be left propped open for ventilation.

What was your plan for the run litter? Sounds like you sort of started dipping your toes into deep litter but now you want to change that to sand? Either can work depending on how you want to maintain it. Sand favors being kept dry and scooped frequently to keep it clean. I prefer less maintenance so I do deep litter to control mud and let poops compost into the litter.

 

[Ted Brown]

I think you have accomplished a lot in the time you have spent and have a very good result. I am coming up one year since building mine and still tinker to improve or accommodate more birds (started with 7 now have 30).

 

[orchidcrazy]

Ideally you want a minimum of 1 sq ft of ventilation per chicken open at all times - winter too, as you need humid air to escape to cut down on risk of frostbite. If you're closing the windows due to drafts coming through, then you need to add more vents elsewhere to make up for it. But since they're top hinged and hardware clothed over, they really should be left propped open for ventilation.

What was your plan for the run litter? Sounds like you sort of started dipping your toes into deep litter but now you want to change that to sand? Either can work depending on how you want to maintain it. Sand favors being kept dry and scooped frequently to keep it clean. I prefer less maintenance so I do deep litter to control mud and let poops compost into the litter.

Yes, we were headed to deep litter, but then I read about sand... so far we have some dirt (not much) in there, some pine shavings, some fine pine mulch and some medium pine mulch. We clipped some pine branches from a tree that fell down and put that in there. What all should I be adding and should I add some clean fill dirt to it or what? In a deep litter method, where do they get a 'dust bath'?

With ventilation, I think I will pick up a cheap hygrometer to mount inside the coop.

Thank you very much for your response!!!!

 

[orchidcrazy]

I am coming up one year since building mine

I checked out your coop - it's beautiful!!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes, we were headed to deep litter, but then I read about sand... so far we have some dirt (not much) in there, some pine shavings, some fine pine mulch and some medium pine mulch. We clipped some pine branches from a tree that fell down and put that in there. What all should I be adding and should I add some clean fill dirt to it or what? In a deep litter method, where do they get a 'dust bath'?

Add more plant matter. Chunkier chips will help with drainage if rain puddling becomes an issue. I like to mix in dried grass and dried fall leaves to give the chickens stuff to scratch through, and they break down nicely with the poop.

For a dust bath, they technically can dust bathe in the litter when it's drier or you can provide a separate tub with a dust bath mix, which they may or may not use (I have a covered plastic sandbox with peat moss for that).

 

[orchidcrazy]

I have a covered plastic sandbox with peat moss for that

Today I threw in some of the hemp bedding I bought for the coop. (doing hemp in coop with PDZ on the poop board) Here in NE, hard to get dried anything right now - leaves, grass are all full of moisture, humidity. I did check out your coop page and saw your sand bath. LOVE that you repurposed something and will look into a smaller version for our gals. What purpose does the peat moss serve? I thought it was sand, ash, etc?

Yesterday, hubby added a swing from a branch he took down, but no one has tried it out yet. I added PVC feeders in the run same as those I put in the coop (large = food, middle = grit, small = oyster shell calcium eventually). I had bought all the stuff to make Art's self feeder but for now they are too small for such a big amount of food to be available. We did add an upside down metal pan for the littlest one to be able to stand on to get food from. We saw everyone but her check out the new feeders; threw some food in the run for her; she seems most fascinated by the watermelon hubby hung from a rope.

Hubby cut up peaches, pears, and added grapes and some vegies from our garden. Caught him serving the girls on our dishes!!!! Funny to watch them grab a grape and run off with their 'treasure'.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I did check out your coop page and saw your sand bath. LOVE that you repurposed something and will look into a smaller version for our gals. What purpose does the peat moss serve? I thought it was sand, ash, etc?

You could try a shallow storage container, like an underbed sized plastic tub, in lieu of the sandbox. The sandbox has worked well for me, keeping out rain and snow, though yes it does eat up quite a bit of space, so not practical in smaller set ups.

I use peat moss since it's easily accessible (a big bag's like $10) and if kept dry, it has a nice loose texture that the girls enjoy. Plain old topsoil would be fine too as long as it's not too rocky . Wood ash is a great mix in because it's super fine and really can get in feathers to help smother pests, but I don't have a wood fireplace or firepit to get ash from.

 

[BleuSaphir]

Great job!