Helpful hints for building coops

[aart]

but it took longer to make
the jig than it did to drill the holes.

Ain't that the truth!
But sometimes building the fixture/jig is almost as much fun as what it's built to build,
and makes makes for a much better operation in the long run.

 

[jvls1942]

sometimes there is no getting around making a jig. and when it actually works, well there is satisfaction in that, too..
jig makers are guys who spend 5 hours to save ten minutes..
but hey, as long as I have to live through those 5 hours anyway, I might as well be doing something..
.......jiminwisc......

 

[aart]

sometimes there is no getting around making a jig. and when it actually works, well there is satisfaction in that, too..
jig makers are guys who spend 5 hours to save ten minutes..
but hey, as long as I have to live through those 5 hours anyway, I might as well be doing something..
.......jiminwisc......

We had to substitute the word 'fixture' for 'jig' at work 25 years ago,
some of the black employees on the factory floor thought we were being derogatory,
an interesting clash of culture and context and I still hesitate to use the word 'jig'.

 

[jvls1942]

I am a politically correct resistor .
I am not about to type him/her .
The term jig was not invented to insult anybody when it was invented, so with me it stays as "jig".. if certain people want to identify themselves as jigs, that is their option..
I never used the term..

 

[jvls1942]

Now for some really bad photography.
I didn't realize I had so much shadow in the pictures.
this is a bearing in place in the end of one of the rollers. the "before" picture was a total disaster.
the shaft picture is too far away to show any detail.
there are no retakes because it is all put together.

+

this is what I meant by disaster.
this is the before picture of the roller with the bushings.
ETA: no it's not. (wrong picture)

shaft

the idler roller with new roller bearings,
and my hand..

the cast iron table as it once was with the idler roller at the left.

tadaaa!! all put back together,
have to buy a sanding belt for it.

 

[jvls1942]

as long as I am doing pictures.
here are some more bad photography of my nests/brooders.
As I might have mentioned, I do not like any obstacles in my way, so I hang everything off of the walls.
my coop is 16ft x 12ft.
the nests run the full 16ft .
above the nests is a 4 inch space and then above the space are the brooder coops.
the hood above everything is 45 degrees.
the chickens cannot roost up there.
the four recessed lights are in the hood.
each light has it's own switch.
I can partition off the brooder coops into any combination of 4ft sections .

the roosts are also wall mounted. the drop into slots so I can just lift them out of the way .. the span 16 feet. they are 2x6's with stiffeners in the middle. they do not sag.
even with a half dozen turkeys added to the full roost of chickens and guineas..

each 4ft section of brooder has a sliding door. and the plywood can be removed to expose the wire mesh . the plywood is installed when I need more heat.

there is a large window in the south wall at the right side of this picture.
the bottom roost is a foot away from that wall.. the top roost is a foot higher and another foot away from the wall.
this way the birds can all enjoy the winter sun without being in the shadows.
and I can shovel under the coop all the way to the wall without crawling under the roosts.
the birds can manipulate these roosts just fine.

BTW, the floor is concrete, two courses of concrete block and then a studded wall.
walls and ceiling are fully insulated and sheathed off. the ceiling is a suspended tile system.. picked up a big pile of 2x2 tiles free..

 

[aart]

each 4ft section of brooder has a sliding door. and the plywood can be removed to expose the wire mesh . the plywood is installed when I need more heat.

Are those rabbit waterers hanging outside the brooder? Do they work for chicks?

 

[jvls1942]

yes , rabbit waterers.
don't work real well for chicks.
I guess you can get a ball type for chicks.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Um, yeah... having a flood!
16 feet higher than usual in 2 days!

 

[aart]

Um, yeah... having a flood!View attachment 1357258 View attachment 1357260
16 feet higher than usual in 2 days!

Yikes!!
Is your land being affected?