Mac Daddy Coop

[COOPster]

New coop under construction

10 x 8 x 8
12 nesting boxes with outside access Boxes are plastic tubs easy cleaning
vented soffits all way around for insulation
windows which work
smoked panel roof for natural light (UV filtering)
Auto door
Dirt floor for deep litter method
Electric
Water

What am I missing

And of course my Turken (just found out what it was, thought it was a alien)

 

[HelenB]

That's a ton of nest boxes for a coop that size! If they don't all get used, they'll work for storage!?! I'm just being picky, it looks great, I'm just jealous because I don't have nest boxes being built into mine.

Also, as I've perused this forum, you may need more ventilation than you have, see what the summer time temps do once you get it all enclosed.

That's one lucky turken!

 

[SparksNV]

great start, looks huge!

I thought my pugs look alienish (think Frank from Men In Black) but your turken has them beat!! You sure he's not from Area 51? My dh swear's we have Area 51-1/2 in our backyard - LOL!

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Looks beautiful!

I use the deep litter method, too. But we still have a solid plywood floor beneath the litter. I was afraid that otherwise rats and coons might be able to dig their way in.

Are you going to skirt the whole building with wire? Or have you another idea to keep the varmits out?

 

[newchicksnducks]

Coop looks great! We also use the deep litter method, but have a painted plywood floor. For our 13 girls, we have 4 nest boxes. They all like to lay in the same boxes...when one lays an egg, the next bird thinks, "well, this must be a safe place to lay" and places her egg in the same box. Often we'll have 6+ eggs in one box and one or two boxes empty!

As you'll want your roost to be higher than your nest boxes, maybe you can use your upper boxes for storage of extra feed, de, oyster shell, etc. I recently added an old kitchen wall cupboard in my coop that I use for this - love it! If you are going to stay with the dirt floor, you will want to add hardware cloth around the building to deter predators from digging into your coop. This will save a lot of heartache later.

Your well on your way to a lovely coop! (and your turken is delightful!)

 

[COOPster]

Yea I bounced back and forth on wood versus dirt floor. One of my existing coops is wood. With dirt I don't have to worry about water damage and I see better results with deep litter using dirt, it is almost like the dirt absorbs odors and aids in composting as I recycle all my coop waste.

I keep the predators at bay by digging1 foot deep by 1 foot wide trench around the whole inside and laying hardware cloth down, stapling it to the foundation boards and then bending it out across the trench. I have seen where critters have tried to dig in but hit the wire and give up.

Doors and windows go in this evening. New girls are growing quick need to get them in their new digs.