LDSmama
Songster
I'm working on the design for my coop. My needs are:
Wheelchair access for egg gathering & food/water replenishing
Minimal cleaning necessary
Reasonable cost
Large enough for 15+ chickens
Light enough to be moved around using my power wheelchair, or my husband, or some other able adult.
We have a 3/4 acre lot, with half of that a large, flat, grass field. My desired plan is to have a 13' 2v geodesic silo dome (from ziptiedomes.com) as the coop/run. I made a model of my idea:
The floor would just be the grass - I only put the white stuff in there to stabilize the model. I also have moved the nesting boxes (those things made from amber pill bottles - will be 5-gallon buckets) under the boards instead of above them. The nesting boxes are modified to be rollout boxes, with access to the eggs from outside the dome. The entire structure will be covered with hardware cloth, including a skirt about 3-4 feet out, all the way around. It will also be anchored down between moving it, with steel spikes. From spring until fall, we would just move the coop around the yard, essentially letting the chickens free range. We would cover about 1/3 of the coop (the area over the roosts, and behind the nest boxes) with heavy tarps, providing shade and cover from rain. During this time, we will build our compost pile next to the shed on our garden area. We'll start with a foundational ring of concrete block the same size and shape as the base of the dome. Center of that ring will be dug out about 8-12" deep. All our compostible materials will go in that pit. Once it becomes too cold to continue moving the coop, we will park it right on the compost pit, anchoring it down, and cover the dome with a winter cover.
The height of the dome is nearly 10 feet, and with the boards laying across the top of the first level, total square footage is nearly 200sf. We will not be clipping the wings of any of the birds, and will be putting a variety of chicken toys at various levels, along with various ways to access them - smaller perches, ramps, walkways, etc.
My biggest concern is whether an open dome (albeit with tarps over part of it) will be problematic as far as sleeping. Will they be ok, or should I figure out a way to make a more enclosed coop space for nighttime? And if I need to do that, could I just close in some the area under the 1st level boards, and put some wide roosting boards there? Would it be a problem if they are not higher than the nest boxes? Climate wise, I am in extreme northern Utah - we get snow, and it does get cold, although temps normally stay at least above zero most of the time. The winter cover I'm planning will be heavy, dark-colored tarps, sewn (and seams sealed) to fit the dome, with some sections made from clear greenhouse plastic instead of the tarp. The entire dome would likely not be covered, as we would still leave openings for venting purposes.
Am I totally nuts for even considering this setup?
Wheelchair access for egg gathering & food/water replenishing
Minimal cleaning necessary
Reasonable cost
Large enough for 15+ chickens
Light enough to be moved around using my power wheelchair, or my husband, or some other able adult.
We have a 3/4 acre lot, with half of that a large, flat, grass field. My desired plan is to have a 13' 2v geodesic silo dome (from ziptiedomes.com) as the coop/run. I made a model of my idea:
The floor would just be the grass - I only put the white stuff in there to stabilize the model. I also have moved the nesting boxes (those things made from amber pill bottles - will be 5-gallon buckets) under the boards instead of above them. The nesting boxes are modified to be rollout boxes, with access to the eggs from outside the dome. The entire structure will be covered with hardware cloth, including a skirt about 3-4 feet out, all the way around. It will also be anchored down between moving it, with steel spikes. From spring until fall, we would just move the coop around the yard, essentially letting the chickens free range. We would cover about 1/3 of the coop (the area over the roosts, and behind the nest boxes) with heavy tarps, providing shade and cover from rain. During this time, we will build our compost pile next to the shed on our garden area. We'll start with a foundational ring of concrete block the same size and shape as the base of the dome. Center of that ring will be dug out about 8-12" deep. All our compostible materials will go in that pit. Once it becomes too cold to continue moving the coop, we will park it right on the compost pit, anchoring it down, and cover the dome with a winter cover.
The height of the dome is nearly 10 feet, and with the boards laying across the top of the first level, total square footage is nearly 200sf. We will not be clipping the wings of any of the birds, and will be putting a variety of chicken toys at various levels, along with various ways to access them - smaller perches, ramps, walkways, etc.
My biggest concern is whether an open dome (albeit with tarps over part of it) will be problematic as far as sleeping. Will they be ok, or should I figure out a way to make a more enclosed coop space for nighttime? And if I need to do that, could I just close in some the area under the 1st level boards, and put some wide roosting boards there? Would it be a problem if they are not higher than the nest boxes? Climate wise, I am in extreme northern Utah - we get snow, and it does get cold, although temps normally stay at least above zero most of the time. The winter cover I'm planning will be heavy, dark-colored tarps, sewn (and seams sealed) to fit the dome, with some sections made from clear greenhouse plastic instead of the tarp. The entire dome would likely not be covered, as we would still leave openings for venting purposes.
Am I totally nuts for even considering this setup?
