fibreglass chicken coop?

[blu-struck]

Hi all this is my first post. I am doing a bit of research into chicken coops and I am thinking of building a fibreglass one. As thats my occupation and I am better at working with fibreglass than any other material really. If successful I may put a few up for sale. I am designing one similar to the eglu but bigger and what I want to know really is do you think fibreglass would be suitable? pro's and con's that kind of thing. And would selling them be feasible I mean would you personally be interested in buying one? what kind of price? and so on. the actual design I have in mind would be easy to take apart for cleaning purposes. I would also appreciate any design tips/ recommendations.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Ray

 

[patandchickens]

I guess the main consideration I'd suggest is to design LOTS OF VENTILATION (not little holes, actual large openings, that can be closed off as needed), which most commercial coops of any material are sorely lacking in. And will be especially important for fiberglass as opposed to wood.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[HenPen]

Can't wait to see how it turns out...

 

[Schroeder]

Blu-struck: Welcome to the site. You'll be impressed by the family atmosphere here. Keep on sharing your design options as you progress. We all like to "help" in this type endeavor.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have a dog igloo for my ducks. It does have a temperature sensitive vent at the top but it could use more ventilation. That is something to think about.

Plus it would be nice to not have to lift the darn thing up to get the eggs every day

 

[kagedgoddess]

i m curious to see what it lookslike. i can say that the egglo is WAY too much$$$$

 

[eggdicted]

If It Were Me I Would Build Them As A Medium Size Coop That Is Specificly For Inside City Limit Applications Make It Sound Dampening And Very Easy To Maintain I Personaly Wouldnt Buy One Because I Like Cheap (wood) And Nastalgic Wich I Think Most Rural Chicken Coops Are Not That You Couldnt Make A Great Coop Just Dont Think It Would Be Marketable Outside Of Small Applications 10 Birds Max Just My Opinion Let Me Know When You Get It Done I Would Love To See It

 

[blu-struck]

The design is similar in appearance to a round house with a chimney on the top and a cowl over it to stop the rain getting in. I am going to have a hatch section so it's easy to reach in for the eggs and the door is going to double up as a ramp for the chickens. It is going to have a 4" flange around the base to peg it down but I'm not sure whether or not to have a fibreglass bottom or just leave it open at the bottom? Do you think I could incorporate steel mesh inside or just have a perch that spans the width? I was going to bolt fibreglass nesting boxes onto the inside as well but i mayput them external yet I'm not sure because then I wouldn't need the hatch section. I'm also unsure of the best colour to make it.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
It sounds like you also need some window(s) for ventilation on the sides -- just a chimney-style vent on top isn't enough for good air quality and temperature control. Chickens really put out a REMARKABLE quantity of water vapor, ammonia fumes and body heat, and are not at all tolerant of any of the three building up in the coop.

If the bottom is open, you'd want an extended wire mesh apron to prevent predators digging in and eating the chickens; I wonder whether you could build it so that the buyer had the option of a mesh floor (that lies directly on the ground, mind, not raised at all) or removing it to just have the chickens directly on the ground, depending on their predatorproofing situation?

The problem with a mesh floor is that it's hard on chickens' feet, collects poo which then has to be hosed or brushed or scraped through, and while some chicken owners like mesh ok, a number of chciken owners will not buy a coop that contains it.

No matter whether you have mesh or not, you need a roost bar, made of wood, at least 2" wide and 4" is better. Plan on at least 10" length per chicken.

Even if you have external nestboxes, wouldn't you still need a hatch for getting in to clean (!) and to catch/inspect chickens and to retrieve any eggs that are laid on the floor?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[NancyDz]

Not sure where you live but i would think fiberglass would be either very cold in cold weather or very hot in hot weather.. maybe even like a greenhouse. So definitely as stated before LOTS of ventilation. I don't know much about fiberglass though so maybe i'm wrong. I cant wait to see the finished product. I would put the nestboxes on the outside so you have more floor space if you have the option. also add a window or two to help with ventilation. I use
vinyl flooring as it's so easy to clean and you can hose it out if necessary.