Improving an Ebay Coop!

[Animalian]

This is what I have

This is what I'm planning to do, just need it to stop raining here!

The "private bedroom" is for my Faverolle, I shorten her days to stop her laying because she prolapses. I could also use it as a broody coop in the future and attach a small run from the door to raise the chicks in.

I have bought some cup drinkers and am still working out where to put them! Remebering one will have to reach the 'private bedroom' any suggestions are welcome!

I'm so excited

 

[motochick]

Nice improvements, and of course the cup drinkers sound convenient.

I presume the "private bedroom" has a manual door for the one hen in winter?

I have an ebay coop too, just about the same model as yours. I'm getting my first chicks next week and I'm already thinking of improvements as well, specifically to add hinges to allow the roof to open up, and to make the short wire side a full hinged door so I can rake out the inside a bit easier. Still pondering sand or deep bedding in the floor area.

I can't tell from your photo, do you have yours on a concreate slab, or is that a filled in cinderblock foundation?

 

[Animalian]

Yeah I would open the "bedroom" door manually, I get her up at 8am and put her to sleep at 5:30

I hate the tiny door, it drives me crazy, that's why I have designed the 'bedroom' door to be really wide for scooping out.

I use sand because it's so quick and easy. It floods around here so sand also drains well too. The hens go to sleep, the coop can flood and drain before they even wake up! I don't need the extra heat that comes with the deep litter. I do find the sand great for cooling the girls down in summer though, I just spray it with water and the temp drops as it evaporates (I have a thermometer in there)

That is a concrete slab. Again because of the flooding her. Raises them higher and stops the sand mixing with dirt or washing away. Also keeps rodents and snake out!

 

[wava1vaughn]

Hi from Ga.

 

[wahmommy]

I have this coop. If I could do it again I would have bought (or better yet built) something else. It only big enough for 2 hens (the roosts are not 24" and the general rule is 1 foot of roost per hen) but worse the roost is the same height as the nest boxes so I have to clean poop out of the nest boxes because they like to sleep in them (the roosts should be higher). So the one flaw in the redesign is that the roost isn't higher than the upper next box. However if you are planning on having all of them use the private bedroom then its no problem. The other thing I don't like is after having it a year it is warping so make sure to water seal it or whatever you need to do to protect the wood from the elements, the finish it comes with is not good enough. Also make sure if you have predators to add washers to the coop to keep something like a coon from pushing in - the hardware cloth is just stapled, you need to reinforce it with washers.

So that's my two cents. I go back and forth on trying to redesign the coop vs. just keeping it for a quarantine coop and building something that I can walk into..if it wasn't warping I think I would try to redesign it but the fact that its warping just reminds me that its just not very well built to begin with. It's a real shame, I love the way it looks.

 

[wyododge]

Quote:
You can install them on pvc pipe. just run the pipe where ever you ned it to go. 1/2 in would be fine. Just be sure to have a threaded cap on the end of every run so you can flush it out if need be.

You can also do the same with poultry nipples.

You could even have you water supply bucket on your side of the fence, or connect them to a garden hose with a pressure regulator I think they are 5 psi max (drip irrigation suppliers have pressure regulators in many different ratings).

The possibilities are nearly endless.

 

[Animalian]

Quote:
I was thinking of putting a smallish water tank and attaching it to the fence or side of the coop. I would need to angle the pipe downwards toward the cup right? To make sure water enters the whole pipe? How much of and angle would work?

Hopefully the guys at the hardware store will help me with all the pieces I'll need, I've never made anything with pipes before

 

[Animalian]

@wahmommy
It only big enough for 2 hens Luckily I have bantams and they get to free range all day with my dog to protect them. Which makes it a little better. I only just increased my flock to four hens which has inspired the renovation. I will be making the bigger run better so the entire coop will just be for food and sleeping.

the one flaw in the redesign is that the roost isn't higher than the upper next box. My girls use the low roost in there already, they slept in the boxes when they were young but grew out of it. I'm also a little concerned that if it were too high they would not be able to get on it because the coop is so narrow. I also clip their wings because I lost a hen to the dogs next door when she escaped the other week.

However if you are planning on having all of them use the private bedroom then its no problem. nope just the faverolle in there, chicks or whoever is broody at the time

protect the wood from the elements Mine is two years old in that pic, I oil it twice a year, have painted the inside and it has a sheet of tin roofing over the actual roof as I noticed it leaking around the hinges of the nest box. I'm planning on attaching the sheets of wood to the outside of the frame to protect it more also, replace the actual roof with some board then attach the tin roof (it just sitting on there now) then use gap filler and paint the entire thing with weathershield. I'm also thinking of putting some brackets in the corners for extra strength.

The only predators we get in australia are cats, foxes, snakes and birds of prey, which don't like my dog so stay away or are kept out by the wire.

Thank you for your constructive criticism though

 

[wyododge]

Quote:
I was thinking of putting a smallish water tank and attaching it to the fence or side of the coop. A five gallon bucket will work

I would need to angle the pipe downwards toward the cup right? yes

To make sure water enters the whole pipe? How much of and angle would work? water seeks its own level, so any angle below 'level' will send water running down hill

Hopefully the guys at the hardware store will help me with all the pieces I'll need, I've never made anything with pipes before

You could actually use garden hoses. they make caps for the end of the hose that just screw on. just put your cap in that. A bunghole in the five gallon bucket, with a pipe thread to male hose thread fitting, screw your hose on tho that, then run your hose along your fence with twist ties down to where you want the cups to be. You can put a 'Y' off the bucket, or after a short run of hose to feed as many cups as you like. Hose fittings are cheap, clean, and you don't need more that a pair of pliers to put them together.

Just thinking out loud here, but that may be much easier for you than learning how to cut, prime, and glue pvc. It can be a hassle.

 

[wahmommy]

@Animalian -


way to go - you have it all sorted

I wasn't actually constructively criticizing *you* just the ebay coop - like you I have considered remodeling, but I have large fowl so I think I have to start over!

I was a newbie chicken owner (still pretty much am a newbie I've only had chickens a year) when I bought this coop so I wanted to help you with the info I'd thought about when I was considering remodeling mine. My best friend lives in Alabama and they don't have raccoons either... that's my biggest concern, that and red tail hawks.