I finally got DH talked into building me a coop

[KellyandKatie]

very helpful, thank you
I got DH talked up to making it 6 by 8 now
He would not do windows, but I did get him talked into the clear roof like in the garden coop recently posted, I liked that a lot.
I got him talked into a floor, I am researching if I want to put vinyl down, and if I need to glue that down
he wants to paint it for me in red and trimmed in white
I need to research what kind of chicken door I want to put in
and he is asking if I want electrical ran out there. It is not going to be insulated
thank you again

 

[The Sheriff]

Definitely run electric. I will make it so much easier.

 

[KellyandKatie]

he is going to make the floor removable so I can replace it without having to rebuild the entire coop- that is how he made my night box, it was a nice feature I think
I have to figure out roosts now. He has a bunch of 2 foot lengths left from the 2 by 4s- I am wondering what we can do with taht size for roosts

 

[alycoop]

We used a staple gun to install our vinyl flooring - it was easy and quick to use. I have a board just behind the roost that I also lined with vinyl. I use something with a straight edge to scrape the poop off the board. It comes off very easily. I also use a cat litter box scooper to lift out clumps of chicken poop to dispose them to the compost bin. Using a combination of sand and pine wood shavings makes cleaning up a breeze.

For a clear roof there are those corrugated plastic panels from Lowe's and Home Depot. They come 25" wide by 8' or 12" lengths. I wonder if you might find some plexiglass on Craigslist and if that would work for a clear roof.

Make sure to have a human size door - I don't have one and really wish I did. There are lots of free or cheap doors around on Freecycle or Craigslist.

Good luck and post photos when you build it!

 

[KellyandKatie]

tomorrow the roof goes on, the walls, floor and door are on, I am so excited
We are adding exterior lights

 

[Mahonri]

Have him make it so he can add on. You'll want more chickens.

 

[gsim]

I would do linoleum floor before framing walls. Easier to fit and long-term easier to clean/disinfect when litter is changed. From pics looks like could use more windows, and ventilation too. Poop-planks properly designed and scraped clean daily will make it odor-free and also will make it to where litter only need be changed once a year. It is working for me with 24 chooks in a coop that is 8x16 with four windows. I do have to scrape the poop planks every morning and they are also coated with linoleum like floor is. Poop that goes into the garden in cool weather and into compost in warm weather.

Nests should be lower than roosts or chooks will sleep and poop in nests. Also if a roof is made to cover nests (why?) it should be sloped 1:1 to discourage roosting on it and pooping all over it too. You will want to have as few poop places to clean as possible, so do not build attractive nuisances to multiply your work.

For egg production, go with buff/golden comets, red comets, production red. Good wintertime producers are Rhode Island Red and Black Australorpes. Barred Rock good for wintertime too, but a little under the others maybe.

For most eggs with lowest cost to feed it is Leghorn, hands down. Do not know anything about mixing chooks and ducks. Duck poop is especially greasy and foul according to what I have read. If I had them, I would allow to live free and only if I had natural water year-round.

 

[KKatknap]

I am very excited for you!

My DH is also working on a coop for me, so I know how the anticipation thing feels!

I do have one question...are you putting in vents? Would a clear roof make it pretty hot in there in summer without windows? Just checking...

 

[KellyandKatie]

we live in the pacific northwest, so mostly hot is not the issue, but it is in a shaded part of our yard, we are covered by cedars. In the summer, we talked about the possible green house affect it might have, so we added some more vents for airflow and discussed having a shading cover for that part of the year
All the vents are covered with a really fine, strong mesh. I forget what it is called, it is heavt duty no messing around stuff
We have had birds for three years now, I take raccoons seriously- I think city raccoons are worse than country ones. I country raccoon will run off when you yell at it, stupid city raccoons are not afraid of people at all, they know I can not shoot it ... grrr...

 

[KellyandKatie]

CRAP! I really like my see through roof- all that natural light- but stupid stupid me did not think about how dumb it is to put turkeys in there- they keep trying to fly out- I don't know why I did not think of this sooner

The coop is mostly done- it needs paint and a few more roosts, but the kids are all moved in and settled in for the night