My first coop build

[GlitterBug]

You definitely have some great skills! What else have you built before this?

 

[bird_is_the_word]

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I got all my inspiration from all of you guys. I just went to the coop construction pages and checked everything out

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nothing honestly. I've always worked with metal. If you cut too much or grind too much you can always fill it back in with a weld. Wood has always seemed too difficult for me.

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yeah, I've already thought of that. we figure it's gonna take a crane at some point to get it out from under the carport

 

[TheWaddler]

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Your coop looks great. I'm a carpenter and I love to look at coop designs, coming up with a final plan and all the details took me forever. I would rather someone else design it and just hand me a picture of what they want then build one myself, I can be a little indecisive

. The birdsmouths look very well done, couldn't tell you aren't a carpenter, little tip....the birdsmouths don't have to be as deep, can get by with ones much more shallow but they look great and 2x4 is perfect for what you have going on. For ventilation, I think you will be doing just fine with 2 gable vents and the hole in the floor. Almost forgot you will have a window as well. I have built many homes with nothing more than gable vents for circulation, if its enough for a 5,000 sf home if will suffice in your coop. The soffit/ridgevent ventilation is nice but it can be alot more work for minimal improvement on small designs. A quick and easy way is to put in the birds blocking (just what it sounds like, 2x4's nailed between rafters to keep birds/coons out) but before you do drill an inch and a half whole thru middle of block and tack screen over the holes. You can buy little circular vents at Home Depot for this that look very clean and are pre-painted but we are talking the cheap route here not the Taj Mahal. I will be doing this on my coop but its more for aesthetics in the front to look like little eye holes....that and I can get them free the next time we build a house that has some.

I made the same mistakes when designing mine. We named our coop "The Hen Hole" so I made a round door and a couple of round windows to provide light and ventilation. It was later that I read about the "Deep Litter Method" and realized I did not put a lip on the coop door and only a minimal lip on the next boxes to keep the hay in.....next one will have at least a 3" lip all around for more litter inside. I could add some blocking in but would look funny with a little siding patch and it would bother me to no end, I'm a perfectionist but not in that good way....seems to slow me down more than anything

I have to agree with you as well, I think the paint will be a sufficient vapor barrier for the cedar plywood you lined the walls with.

I also wanted to say that your basement looks awesome, are they rock walls all the way around and real or is it a veneer stone for looks? Either way it looks really cool and I'm envious....not many basements here in Texas where I live at least in the southern/central parts.

This was from another poster in thread:

All are great birds with generous cloaca.

What exactly does that mean?!?​

 

[WaterAye]

A Generous Cloaca

I was wishing for him; hens which lay prolifically. The cloaca is a one hole does it all, kind of deal.

Instead of separate openings (urinary, reproductive and digestive) some animals like chickens, turtles, sharks and platypus have a cloaca.

 

[TheWaddler]

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Hehe, yea I looked it up but not sure what is implied by a generous one?

 

[Duramaxgirl]

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We painted our coops as well... wouldn't go any other way! White for brightness so I can see. I have poo on my ceiling as well! Amazing creatures!
On another note I use ceder in my coops not very much but ceder shavings do smell good and are a natural bug repellent. So far everybodys healthy and happy... don't think id use it for walls though.
That's a good looking coop! I think your gonna love that linoleum!

 

[Captain Carrot]

great job. It looks fantastic.
I've been following this thread since your first post with interest. Nice work, I'm sure your birds will love it.

 

[bird_is_the_word]

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Your coop looks great. I'm a carpenter and I love to look at coop designs, coming up with a final plan and all the details took me forever. I would rather someone else design it and just hand me a picture of what they want then build one myself, I can be a little indecisive

. The birdsmouths look very well done, couldn't tell you aren't a carpenter, little tip....the birdsmouths don't have to be as deep, can get by with ones much more shallow but they look great and 2x4 is perfect for what you have going on. For ventilation, I think you will be doing just fine with 2 gable vents and the hole in the floor. Almost forgot you will have a window as well. I have built many homes with nothing more than gable vents for circulation, if its enough for a 5,000 sf home if will suffice in your coop. The soffit/ridgevent ventilation is nice but it can be alot more work for minimal improvement on small designs. A quick and easy way is to put in the birds blocking (just what it sounds like, 2x4's nailed between rafters to keep birds/coons out) but before you do drill an inch and a half whole thru middle of block and tack screen over the holes. You can buy little circular vents at Home Depot for this that look very clean and are pre-painted but we are talking the cheap route here not the Taj Mahal. I will be doing this on my coop but its more for aesthetics in the front to look like little eye holes....that and I can get them free the next time we build a house that has some.

I made the same mistakes when designing mine. We named our coop "The Hen Hole" so I made a round door and a couple of round windows to provide light and ventilation. It was later that I read about the "Deep Litter Method" and realized I did not put a lip on the coop door and only a minimal lip on the next boxes to keep the hay in.....next one will have at least a 3" lip all around for more litter inside. I could add some blocking in but would look funny with a little siding patch and it would bother me to no end, I'm a perfectionist but not in that good way....seems to slow me down more than anything

I have to agree with you as well, I think the paint will be a sufficient vapor barrier for the cedar plywood you lined the walls with.

I also wanted to say that your basement looks awesome, are they rock walls all the way around and real or is it a veneer stone for looks? Either way it looks really cool and I'm envious....not many basements here in Texas where I live at least in the southern/central parts.

This was from another poster in thread:

All are great birds with generous cloaca.

What exactly does that mean?!?​

Thanks for the compliments. I can't take all the credit. I've asked a lot of questions and received some good advice. We started putting the siding on today and working on the gable vents. The vents will be 8"x16". I think that's sufficient. I know exactly where you're talking about around the soffit. We ran the siding all the way up and blocked that off. I may have to put a small amount of silicone to seal it.

The basement is all rock. The whole house is. Our house was built in 1928. It's definitely old school. As cool as it is, it has its drawbacks. When it rains heavy for a few days we get water coming through the walls. Christmas day last year we had to pile old towels in a couple spots

eh, I plan to dig down this spring and repair it.

Anyways, I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow of the progress.

 

[Azriel]

Everything looks great to me, wish I could build that well, but where are the roosts?

 

[bird_is_the_word]

the roosts aren't in there yet. I'm still figuring where the best place to put them. i know they need to be higher than the nest boxes but I have a hole in the floor on the opposite wall. I'm thinking about putting it in the corner / angled.