Helpful hints for building coops

[jvls1942]

food... the way to a chicken's heart is food.
when you feed them, before you put any food into a dish, make them eat a little out of your hand first.

I had arough afternoon. I spent a couple of hours mixing crete and taking breaks.
I got a 4 ft x 7 ft slab done.
I am not used to working that hard.
my knees ache . I lost count but I think I mixed 20 bags of crete.
It started to sprinkle just as I finished the brushing. so I grabbed a couple of tarps and tossed them over the slab. quickly covered the pile of crete bags and washed all the tools.
I am officially half done with the slab.
I am so looking forward to framing up the walls and roof.

your coop looks really nice. after I die, I want to come back as a chicken at your house.. LOL

speaking of chickens. today the dogs were nosing at something in the flower garden.
Annie went out to see, she thought it might be a cat. nope, it wasn't. it was a hen !!
I got rid of the rest of my chickens about a week ago. we have no idea where this one was hiding . nobody here saw her before today. she is thin, but looks healthy. Annie thinks she might have been sitting on a hidden nest of eggs.
I don't wanna have any chickens..

 

[CapricornFarm]

Thanks, i am really hoping to wrap this build up soon. I was going to put up some perches today but decided to wait until i got the rest of the items done so i don't have to work around perches.
Tomorrow i will hopefully finish the feeder and install it. I still have to wire over the ventilation areas at the roof line. And fill gaps near the ends of the skylight and windows. I would love to finish the skirt around the bottom of the coop tomorrow, but i don't know if i will have the energy. All that digging! Maybe the dog will help! At least i am not caulking the cabin tomorrow! I have been hoping husband will hang the front door. It is heavy and he is good at it. But i doubt it will happen because he hurt his back again cutting down and moving trees. He is building a ramp to launch the canoe from down by the river.
Time to call it a night. Lots of work waiting in the morning.

 

[BYCforlife]

You have no idea how many times I've cursed the fella I bought my house from for using those in all of his projects. They hold very well, but it is almost impossible to take apart anything that has been nailed with those without destroying it. I just use screws for everything.

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

 

[BYCforlife]

food... the way to a chicken's heart is food.
when you feed them, before you put any food into a dish, make them eat a little out of your hand first.

I had arough afternoon. I spent a couple of hours mixing crete and taking breaks.
I got a 4 ft x 7 ft slab done.
I am not used to working that hard.
my knees ache . I lost count but I think I mixed 20 bags of crete.
It started to sprinkle just as I finished the brushing. so I grabbed a couple of tarps and tossed them over the slab. quickly covered the pile of crete bags and washed all the tools.
I am officially half done with the slab.
I am so looking forward to framing up the walls and roof.

your coop looks really nice. after I die, I want to come back as a chicken at your house.. LOL

speaking of chickens. today the dogs were nosing at something in the flower garden.
Annie went out to see, she thought it might be a cat. nope, it wasn't. it was a hen !!
I got rid of the rest of my chickens about a week ago. we have no idea where this one was hiding . nobody here saw her before today. she is thin, but looks healthy. Annie thinks she might have been sitting on a hidden nest of eggs.
I don't wanna have any chickens..

Nice! Why don't you want chickens?

 

[BYCforlife]

Screws vs nails.
nails are made by basically cutting pieces of wire and welding a cap on top. Nails will bend and still remain strong. You can tie them in a knot.

Screws are made in a mould and hardened. Quality ones can be quite strong but when put to the test a screw will sheer when it fails. Bend one, it snaps.

This is why nails are used in structural framing construction. They do not sheer or break off.

Most coops and sheds are not big enough to matter, so screws work just fine. But if building something larger than a 4x8 size building, I would recommend using nails for the framing. At least put a few in there.

I have found the impact drivers to be better than a drill if you are putting in a lot of screws. A good one is under $100 and can use the same rechargeable batteries the drill does.
Use the torx head screws. Don't use Phillips head. The torx head ones almost never strip out like the Phillips.

Also, there are some screws called GRK structural screws, they have shear strength and are a good replacement for nails.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Nice! Why don't you want chickens?

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

 

[aart]

Sure, here is a picture of the divider. It has a panel on each side of the central door. You are seeing the door on the left and one panel on the right. I can' t get a picture of the whole thing because of the width of the front door hole. The open looking areas are covered with chicken wire.
View attachment 1121186View attachment 1121187 The skylight is 2 shower doors end to end on a wooden frame with lots of caulk and adhesive. I love the light it lets in.

Cool Beans!
Is divider for storage or separate groups of birds?
Which way does door open?

 

[CapricornFarm]

Cool Beans!
Is divider for storage or separate groups of birds?
Which way does door open?

The divider is for separate groups of birds. I have Speckled Sussex and Polish. The door pulls toward the front. I don't expect to use it a whole lot, but it is there if i need it. There are front and back doors. Each section had its own run, as soon as i assemble them and cover the tops to avert predators.
Thanks for asking! I have also used shower doors as walls in coops. In the winter it helps solar heat the coop. You can always put a tarp over in summer.

 

[aart]

The divider is for separate groups of birds. I have Speckled Sussex and Polish. The door pulls toward the front. I don't expect to use it a whole lot, but it is there if i need it. There are front and back doors. Each section had its own run, as soon as i assemble them and cover the tops to avert predators.
Thanks for asking! I have also used shower doors as walls in coops. In the winter it helps solar heat the coop. You can always put a tarp over in summer.

So you have door into each section from outside and one in between? Bravo!

Yeah, as long as you have a piece of roofing ready to cover skyshowerlight(haha!) if it leaks.

 

[jvls1942]

I don't want chickens in the winter anymore.
I went through last winter with over 40 chickens. they were a mis-matched bunch.
If/when I get chickens again, I will stick to the
Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington and Barred Rocks. no roosters..
I have two pred proof coops.
this shed I am building is a replacement for the lean to I tore down. going to use for storage for garden tools, riding lawn mower, rototiller and cement mixer. then will come anything and everything I will throw in there to really clutter it up.
actually it is big enough to park my full sized tractor in. but I would have to take the back blade off because it is the same width as the shed is wide.
in one of my coops I have a shower door as a wide window. it faces east, so not much for solar gain, but it does let in plenty of light.
I also repurposed the shower door track and rollers for sliding doors on my brooder in one of the coops.
last night I hoped I would not ache today.
well, that didn't happen, . my lower back does. but my knees aren't too bad.
I am taking the day off from manual labor.
we are shipping a puppy to Dubuque.
Our resident is taking it there. He is going there anyhow to visit his brother.
(we have a group home for slightly handicapped people).
On your coop, did you make the bottom of the doors high enough to clear the clutter on the floor ?
I modified my door and put a 3 1/2" high concrete sill across the door. I have a steel door, so I cut it off at the bottom to fit the new opening...

.......jiminwisc.....