MY NEW COOP IS FINALLY DONE!

[hoosierhen]

I have coop envy! I'm glad my chickies can't see how "the other half" lives, or they would pack up and move away! Well, when I win the lottery...
Speckledhen, I love your coop. After I clean out my deep litter in the spring, I think vinyl flooring is in order! Plus a sand box under the perches. Where did I see that wonderful sandbox??

 

[MissPrissy]

That is one good lookin' coop! Excellent job!

 

[lurky]

Hi Brian. I had tree branches in my coop that i thought would be better than a board. As you said....i was trying to make it like real for them and it looked good too. I recently asked my husband to take them out and put in a 2X4 because they would fall off the perches too easy. I am no expert, but it does seem that the wide flat surface does make it more stable when they roost. And Becky is right, i have my coop divided do i have my standard and bantams seperate. It really is difficult, but what i have done to make cleaning easier, i switched to shavings because the hay would hang off the shovel and get caught on the door fram and drag 1/2 the stuff off it

So i use shavings.........then i got a kids sized winter snow shovel so it fits through the door better. I just thought this might help too. Good luck with your spring chicks

 

[halo]

I dont know if you mentioned this; if so I missed it. Will you have some kind of door to close off the chicken doorway at night to keep bad guys from getting in?

 

[coopist]

A fine job. I'm going to dissent from the others' opinions on the roost. I think it's fine the way it is. I have always (for years) used thick, heavy tree branches for roosts, and I've never had foot problems or trouble with birds not holding on. It is natural for the birds, and I've seen several old-timers' coops with roosts like mine and also like yours, Brian. I've never read about the tendon issues on flat boards, but it definitely sounds like sense to me. So, imo, carry on, you're doing fine.

 

[thechickenfarmer]

Beautiful, I want one!

 

[Brian]

Man...I'm overwhelmed with all the kind words and helpful suggestions. Thank you all for the compliments!

Firstly, I really think I was being absent-minded about the lowest rung of my roost. I think I will need to put a crate down, or something else to make the winged hop up easier. Thank you for reminding me of that. I didn't want to carry the existing one further down, as it would create poop underneath it where the ingress/egress for their small door is. I figured they could make the jump. Maybe not! And yes, that little door will be closed at night. I'm just going to hinge a 1x10" piece of siding over it with an i-hook on the inside. As for the poop door. Having one would make it a lot easier for removing poop. All I'd have to do it just open it, and start pushing it out. No doubt. So why didn't I put one in? Well, I thought it would be easy enough with a wheel-barrel from within the shed. Also, with windows and doors everywhere already, it just would have made it that much more work when siding (board and bat with framing around each opening) the structure. If I hate the wheel-barrel, I'll put one in on the backside later.

Straw vs. shavings. You know, when I was at the guys home where the lumber was milled (he has a portable saw mill), I asked him, what do you do with all this saw dust/shavings? He then pleaded with me to take it. But, it is acidic, and I want to compost the poo-straw/poo-shavings. So, I thought I might try it some time, and just ad some agricultural lime to it to bring down the pH. For now, I'm just starting with straw. I wonder if any of you have experience with using shavings, and how fine they can be before they might become problematic?

Yes, the windows that are openable within the coop are covered in hardware cloth (mesh). Thank you though! I once lived in the Sierra Foothills. When our daughter was 14, I built a modest coop. The areas of mesh were in chicken wire. Isn't that what you're suppose to use, after all? Well, we had seven hens, and some predator actually chewed through the wire and killed three hens one night. So now I use the heavier welded stuff.

Yesterday I bought a feeder and water fount. I'll install those sometime before the chicks arrive.

Cost? Yeah, I know. It cost a pretty penny. But, BUT...it was a labor of love, and it looks good on our 2.5 acres. I was willing to spend the dough, and I'm happy with how it turned out. And yes, in the Summer when the wood is thoroughly dry, I will put a semi-transparent red stain on it.

Thanks again to all who made suggestions and compliments.

Brian

 

[Heidi]

Wow that is beautiful. I definitely will be showing my DH when he gets home today. He's going to be building me a bigger one this spring. Thanks for all the ideas.

 

[speckledhen]

Personally, I hate to use straw. I also hate sawdust. I like good quality pine shavings. They absorb best, smell the best (cedar as the sole bedding is toxic to chickens). I tried straw and I hated the smell, the poop could not be removed and it matted down something awful. I removed it and just put down shavings.

It is a beautiful coop, Brian! I love board and batten.

 

[mdbucks]

Love the look of your coop, only suggestion I would pass on is to close up the wall between coop and people side, I have the screen and everything get covered in dust, I left mine opened so I could see from people side of the coop, but seriuosly considering closing it up, then again everything out there is for thE BIRDS.