Critique my Supercool Coop (finaly completed with pictures)

[k2chickens]

Thanks for the extra info! I love the idea of the 5 gallon buckets as nesting boxes! That sounds like a very cheap affordable way of going about that! Plus it looks cool and unique!

This might sound like a stupid question but what is "Hardware cloth"?

 

[hoog]

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Thanks but the nesting boxes are not my idea, I got it from somewhere on this forum.

 

[k2chickens]

lol well good way of using a great idea!

Can you please let me know what the hardware cloth is?

 

[hoog]

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Hardware cloth is 1/4" x 1/4" square wire. Its a lot like chicken wire often used for flooring in rabbit hutches.

The droppings should fall right through the hardware cloth to the ground and anything that sticks can get sprayed though once a week with a garden hose.

 

[emilyweck]

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Hardware cloth is welded wire....comes in different sizes. It's pretty strong. If installed correctly, it should deter most predators... raccoons, possums, skunks, etc.

 

[k2chickens]

Oh the more i hear about this coop the more I want to build it for my 12 chicks! I think it would be very spacious and have a lot of advantages to be self cleaning and easily accessible! Have you came up with an estimate of what it might cost?

 

[DarkWolf]

You're running at light speed working out these details.. Kudos.

Cornish X are meat birds, so expect to process them for the freezer at 9 or 10 weeks old.. They eat tons and do not lay eggs.. Or at least no one keeps them long enough. They're a mutant who could kill us all, if it wasn't for their short life span due to their huge size and ungodly growth rate. The likelihood of keeping Cornish X or eggs is slim.

Far as the roosts go with the hardware cloth, expect mas buildup under the roost area. It will need sprayed once a day, if not more often.

Also, the nest box wall would benefit from a smaller door that could be removed as apposed to having to remove the whole wall just to gather eggs.

 

[hoog]

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Yeah, I did the math on the estimated cost as follows:
16 – 2” x 4”x 8’ @ $3.29 = $52.64
4 – 4” x 4” x 6’ @ $5.98 = $23.92
6 – 4’ x 8’ plywood $18.00 = $108.00
2 – 4 x 8 ¼” hardware cloth @ $15 = $30.00
2 – White Vinyl Roofing Panel @ $11.98 = 23.96
8 hinges @ $2.00 = $16.00
2 boxes of screws @ $7.00 = $14.00
Total = 268.52 + Tax
I have some of this stuff already that I am going to cannibalize from the shed the chicks are in now but to create it from scratch just under $300.00.



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That really sucks. I guess I’ll see how they turn out. Maybe I can breed them with a skinny rooster breed known for egg laying like Leghorn or something and end up with a cross?

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I was hoping to just rake it out once a month when I move the coop. Sounds like it will be more labor intensive.

I was thinking it would be easier to clean and access the coop with two full drop down walls but you might be right that a smaller door is better. It will definitly add stability to the structure.

 

[IDIOT HUSBAND]

If you hinge the roof you would be able to access the coop easier come cleaning and collecting time.

 

[danielbrown]

The CornishX, don't get attached to them, the only thing they are good for is meat. They are hybrids so they don't breed true if they live that long. You're better off processing them at 8wks and getting layers.

Did you size the pop door for the turkeys?

The big ugly white turkey is likely a broad breasted white. Also a meat bird when full grown gets 50+ lbs. They get processed at 16-24wks.

The bronze turkeys may be broad breasted or heritage breed.

I wish i could get a bunch of meaties for free.
Good luck with them.