Helpful hints for building coops

[jvls1942]

Yes! Sadly those are code in rafters.... we made a mistake on a rafter.

I must have missed something.
what are you referring to ?
the black drywall screws are taboo for framing in a house. they are too brittle and can break, thus eliminating any holding power whatsoever.

I switched to square drive decking screws many years ago.
and within the past few years, I quit the square drives and went with the torque drive decking screws.
they have a * in the head.
I use #10 if I can get them, #9's are OK, but the #8's strip out very easily.
I have yet to break one of these screws.
and yes, they are more expen$ive.
I like the gold colored ones more than the green.
when I was in Mechanical Design school we went on a tour to a nail factory.
the nails are clipped to length and then the head is "upset", not welded.
If you can imagine a room with 200 machine guns running at the same time, that is about the noise level of that nail manufacturing room.

 

[jvls1942]

I have messed up a few times in building.
my most embarassing one was on a deck job.
the owner had purchased all the material.
I was to the point of building the stairs off the deck to the ground.
I cut out all three stringers, of course the owner was there watching me.
when I went to install them, I had cut them one riser not enough. no way to splice that.

 

[BYCforlife]

I must have missed something.
what are you referring to ?
the black drywall screws are taboo for framing in a house. they are too brittle and can break, thus eliminating any holding power whatsoever.

I switched to square drive decking screws many years ago.
and within the past few years, I quit the square drives and went with the torque drive decking screws.
they have a * in the head.
I use #10 if I can get them, #9's are OK, but the #8's strip out very easily.
I have yet to break one of these screws.
and yes, they are more expen$ive.
I like the gold colored ones more than the green.
when I was in Mechanical Design school we went on a tour to a nail factory.
the nails are clipped to length and then the head is "upset", not welded.
If you can imagine a room with 200 machine guns running at the same time, that is about the noise level of that nail manufacturing room.

I was referring to Spiral Ardox Nails.

 

[BYCforlife]

I think he wants to wait until he builds the coop?

Ah. I see!

 

[Bek]

How to use plywood to attach perches. I sometimes peel my sticks to help discourage mites. Right now i am more worried about racoons since one popped open a latch last night on the brooder! Good thing i had two latches on it since the snake episode.
I cut two pieces of plywood and run two parallel screws into the middle so the tip of the screw just pokes out of the plywood. The plywood goes on the outside of the wire, the stick on the inside, then drill the screw into the stick. If you use larger mesh, you might want to use a big enough piece of plywood to shield the chickens from predators while on the perch. View attachment 1101413

I love your way of attaching the perches! And thank you for providing the picture, looks great!
I'd like to use this in my current coop modification, but curious how much weight those perches could withstand being attached through the hardware cloth? I suppose I could use your method but using a piece of wood that extends all the way to the ground to provide more strength/stability... thoughts?

 

[CapricornFarm]

I love your way of attaching the perches! And thank you for providing the picture, looks great!
I'd like to use this in my current coop modification, but curious how much weight those perches could withstand being attached through the hardware cloth? I suppose I could use your method but using a piece of wood that extends all the way to the ground to provide more strength/stability... thoughts?

Yes , when i build wooden runs i put supports parallel to the ground. Still use the plywood bits to protect the chickens but attach to the supports. I would show you a picture but those runs are still in TN.
In the tractor i have all young birds, but they don't weigh much. Never had the hardware cloth fail. But they do keep making it lighter!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Today i attached the sliding door holder to the coop. I am also building a feeder.

 

[jvls1942]

In the many years of chickens, I have used and or built many different kinds of feeders.
the best one by far is the one I am using now.
I built it out of a 5 gal plastic pail and a plastic feed pan.
I drilled six 1 1/4" holes evenly spaced around the bottom edge. then in between those holes and on the bottom side of the pail, I drilled six 1 1/4" holes.
I screwed a piece of 2x6 block inside the center of the feed pan. then I screwed the bucket to the block being careful not to block any holes..
..........jiminwisc......

 

[aart]

In the many years of chickens, I have used and or built many different kinds of feeders.
the best one by far is the one I am using now.
I built it out of a 5 gal plastic pail and a plastic feed pan.
I drilled six 1 1/4" holes evenly spaced around the bottom edge. then in between those holes and on the bottom side of the pail, I drilled six 1 1/4" holes.
I screwed a piece of 2x6 block inside the center of the feed pan. then I screwed the bucket to the block being careful not to block any holes..
..........jiminwisc......

Pics Please?

 

[CapricornFarm]

In the many years of chickens, I have used and or built many different kinds of feeders.
the best one by far is the one I am using now.
I built it out of a 5 gal plastic pail and a plastic feed pan.
I drilled six 1 1/4" holes evenly spaced around the bottom edge. then in between those holes and on the bottom side of the pail, I drilled six 1 1/4" holes.
I screwed a piece of 2x6 block inside the center of the feed pan. then I screwed the bucket to the block being careful not to block any holes..
..........jiminwisc......

Sounds interesting, could you post a picture for us please, Jim?