that gives me an idea, If that hard nasty clay can build missions then it can build chicken coops. hmmm... Could get a pond at the same time. I so want a pond.
Nearby town of Petaluma was once the egg capital of the world, starting after the gold rush. Chicken farms all over, some with thousands and thousands of laying hens. Hatcheries and breeders and eggs shipped by rail and down the river to the big city (San Francisco). At least until they built the Golden Gate bridge. All chicken coops were made of redwood. Beautiful straight grained old growth redwood, that you can't find any more, used for coops that are mostly falling down now, the few that haven't already been torn down. In earthquake country, I'm afraid an adobe coop would be a hazard. That's also why you'd never catch me living in one of those multi-story mini-mansions.
Here's the barn where I grew up (well, I didn't grow up in the barn, although spent a lot of time there). It's over 100 yrs old now. The redwood boards and timbers are worth more than the barn itself. Dad still uses it for his workshop and to store all the extra furniture and stuff that we can't seem to part with.
