Need Advice for a Living Roof Coop

[Hchung]

So, after my husband and I fatefully decided that we wanted to keep chickens, I scoured the internet for a nice coop. However, nothing seemed to meet my standards. For example, something that didn’t seem as if it would fall apart with a light tap or flip over with a soft breeze. (Amazon, you disappoint me.)

Other options were hideously expensive...

And then I thought, we can just build one, can’t we?
We didn’t want to pay for plans so we looked through some free ones. Some of them were cute, but nothing really hit all our checkboxes. Most notably, we wanted to put in a living roof.
So I thought, to hell with it! I’ll design my own! It can’t be too hard, right?
Right...

Please take note that neither my husband or I have built anything that didn’t have IKEA stamped on it somewhere. That is the extent of our experience.

After drawing inspiration from some free plans floating around the internet, here are the results of my messing around in the free version of sketch up. Yes, it is quite basic, I learned everything from scratch over a few days so pardon the noob. I have no idea what I’m doing.
Please help!
Right now, my main concern is whether the roof can actually hold up to the weight of the soil. The roof is tiered, which I think will help with the soil slippage and the weight distribution but as I’ve said before, I know absolutely NOTHING about construction or architecture.
Also, due to the topography of our backyard, the door in the floor of the coop is what makes most sense for us right now. Putting aside what a horrible design decision that is—given what I’ve read, I’m worried that the chickens won’t be able to actually get up there with the steepness of the ramp that ends in a wall given the fact that the hole is in the corner. Adjustments will likely be made.
We plan to line the inside of the coop with sand.
The open holes on the sides of the lowest flower box are where I plan to stick PVC pipe feeders into the run area, which will be surrounded by hardware cloth. Don’t know how to add textures in sketchup so just pretend it’s there. Two sides of the run will have doors for cleaning and letting the chickens out to free range.
Right now we plan to get 3 chickens. But everything I’ve read suggest that the number will only grow, so I’ve tried to keep the size of the coop to around 6 max. Given that we live in a suburban area, I highly doubt the number growing any more than that.
The run area is 6x6 feet and the coop area is 4x6. Hope the math holds up. I wish I could export the sketchup file but sadly... I’m cheap and didn’t pay for the pro version.
Anyway, please give me advice. Thank you for your time!

 

[droy1028]

I too looked into a PVC run. Honestly from what I've researched PVC runs are more expensive than people realize. The size of your projected run shouldn't be TO bad, but if you predict your flock will grow you'll probably need to expand. Remember bigger IS better when it comes to coop and runs. 4 sq feet MINIMUM per bird in coop and 10 sq feet MINIMUM per bird in run is what's "recommended". The biggest advantage for PVC is mobility because its light and the ability to make changes as needed quite easily. You should look into cheaper runs such as a wooden run made from pallets, which can often be obtained for free, especially if you plan on free ranging. If you commit to free ranging most of the day you won't necessarily need a HUGE run and you don't need a mobile run if they're truly free ranging anyways. If you dont commit to free range and want more protection you could build a chicken tractor for daytime expeditions and coop them at night in the main coop. Be aware of they truly free range, you may sustain losses from any predators. If they free range make sure they're is cover via little hidey-hole houses, trees, or bushes. The coop looks very nice though and it sounds like you have a good idea to start with! Good luck!

 

[Smuvers Farm]

First up!



Glad you're here !

A must have for your poultry is a FIRST AID KIT for any issues that would arise. (https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suggestions-for-a-first-aid-kit.1150128/) and (https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...essential-supplies-and-how-to-use-them.64830/)
It's definitely better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it.

Also, make sure your coop(s) have a proper amount of VENTILATION. (https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop.47774/) Your chickens will absolutely thank you for it!

One last thing, if you're into gardening, feel free to join this years SEED SWAP (https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/seed-swap.1220129/)


Your coop size is plenty for up to 6 chickens, at 4sq ft per chicken. Your run size is lacking a bit. You need at least 10 sq ft per chicken of run space. 6x6= 36, which would keep 3.6 chickens happy. SO, you'd really need to keep your chickens at 3... or make your run bigger to (possibly... PROBABLY) host 6 chickens.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

PS. Have you started to price out your coop costs? I'm curious.

 

[Hchung]

I think you misunderstand. I never mentioned a pvc run. I plan to make a pvc feeder and watered such as this —> https://www.google.com/amp/www.instructables.com/id/PVC-Chicken-Feeder/?amp_page=true

And stick it up in the open slots next to the flower box. I thought it would be nice to be able to refill it without opening the run and such.

As for the space in the run... I never planned to keep them in there all the time. I have a large slope behind my house that I plan to have them free range in once I have it fenced in properly. It’s too steep to build a coop on, I think like 40 degrees almost at some points, so I’m working with the narrow flat area I do have. For the time being, I plan to shut them up in the run, 6x6=36 which should be adequate for 3 chickens anyway? @_@ unless I’m missing something? As for predators, I do see hawks circling sometimes, but I have a lot of cover on that slope as well. There’s a huge pine tree covering half the hill on one side and a huge bush on the other. Hopefully the wild turkeys we have in the area will be a more tempting target.

 

[Hchung]

PS. Have you started to price out your coop costs? I'm curious.

Honestly, I’m a bit scared to at this point.

But I’m guesstimating it at around $500.
I’m trying to source some stuff from Freecycle. So far I got some free linoleum. Sigh. Pickings are kind of slim around here. The good stuff gets picked off really quick. The other day I saw a guy handing out a free table saw, miter saw, circular saw and some other stuff all for free. All the tools I would have needed to build the coop with. I replied as fast as I could but it was GONE.
I was devastated.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Are you sure you don't live in my town? Finding anything here is like finding a needle in a haystack. It took us close to 2 years to find out where we could source bales of hay!!! .... but sad too.

I love the idea of a living roof... however, how would it be predator proof?

(I'm a poet and didn't knowit! )

 

[Hchung]

Are you sure you don't live in my town? Finding anything here is like finding a needle in a haystack. It took us close to 2 years to find out where we could source bales of hay!!! .... but sad too.

I love the idea of a living roof... however, how would it be predator proof?

(I'm a poet and didn't knowit! )

Speaking of free stuff, I just learned that they give out free mulch around here. They will show up and dump it on your driveway if you ask for it, all for free! I thought it was an amazing deal until I realized that they dealt in a minimum of several cubic yards. Which is waaaaaay too much.

As for predator proofing a coop with a living roof, I imagine it’s the same as with a normal coop. It’s just a coop with what is essentially a flower box on top isn’t it? My biggest worry is that the underlying structure I have in place won’t be sturdy enough for all that dirt and it will collapse on top of my chickens.

 

[aggiemae]

You mentioned the worry about steepness. My chickens have a pretty steep ramp but it turns out that most of them just jump up and down into the coop door. Its about 3 feet off the floor. We have a living roof. I found some wet boot trays, they are about 4 inches deep. Deep enough for strawberries and lettuce, I later built-in deeper wooden trays. The south side of the roof gets to hot for plants.

 

[gallo pinto]

I wouldn't worry about things holding the weight of the soil. I'm not an engineer, but I've built things and I've stood on some of them, and I haven't fallen through yet. Given the height of those lips and the number of supports I wouldn't worry about it. I have no math or science to back me up, but if it were my coop I wouldn't think twice about it.