"SketchUp" a coop

[n3kms]

Okay, I don't remember who put up a link to Google's SketchUp that I saw on the forum but I love you and hate you

. I had seen some folks with nice computer generated sketches and did not know how they did them. I have a little computer skill but I am dimensionally challenged. Anyway, if I can figure out that program(with tons of trial and error) then you who haven't tried it can too. I couldn't seem to be able to put it down. I had been trying to figure my chicken coop plans two dimensionally and was having a hard time. This is my attempt at a 12'x12' coop that is 8ft H in front and 7ft high in back. It is far from perfect and the run couldn't be finished due to being not quite square on the left side. But it was great fun and gave me a better idea of how much room I will have if I build this coop. I made the walls see through and I labeled the nest boxes and the storage box for fun but that didn't turn out that great. When you do it on the program you can turn it in every direction and see how you like what you are making.

Lori

 

[n3kms]

Oh, I forgot to mention that you get to give everything the dimensions you want. The nest boxes are 14in cubes and the storage box is approximately 2x4x2h(little higher in the back). The roost are 5 ft wide. and I think 12 in apart. The roost was the hardest thing the make.

Lori

 

[Luke13:34]

Niiice! Is that a Viking Range and a butcher block island in there for the girls? Not sure about your 70's carpeting.. my folks had that years back.

 

[rancher hicks]

Looks like fun.

 

[Arcnadius]

I also downloaded Sketchup to design my coop and spent nearly 17 hours on it the first day! Who needs sleep?

How'd you make the walls see-through? I got so tired of "hiding" mine that I just deleted them until I finished the inside. Lining up objects does get tricky, but I usually made it work by changing the orientation with Orbit - just be careful you don't get motion sick like I almost did:/

 

[elmo]

Nice! I'm building something similar this fall.

It's a good feature to have the run on both sides of the coop; if you want, you could even close off one side and let the grass, etc., grow there while the chickens range in the other side, then swap.

However, in your design, runoff from the roof might make the area right behind the coop a mud pit in wet weather. What I'm thinking about doing is extending the roof on the back of the coop with polycarb panels so that this part of the run is covered. In the winter, I might even enclose it to make a sort of sunporch back there. I'll have a vent high on the back wall of the coop, so to the extent that heat builds up in this sunporch, it will be venting right into the coop to warm the air in there up during the day, too. That's the theory, anyway. We'll see...

 

[freelancer79d]

whats the link...lol. need to start planning a new coop for a friend

 

[freelancer79d]

PS. Nice design !!!

 

[freelancer79d]

nevermind on the link found it by doing a google search...lol

 

[Joz]

Sketchup drives me nuts.

I'm no good at it. The objects aren't manipulable in the way I want them to be. I want all objects to maintain their independence, not merge with others. I want to be able to edit objects by their own vertices. Bah!

I use drafting programs at work (AutoCAD, VectorWorks, and ArchiCAD). I expect Sketchup to work similarly, and it just doesn't behave the same way, so I just get frustrated.

I'm really glad that there's a (free!) simple modeling program that puts together a dimensionable plan out of a WYSIWYG "sketch". It's great. It's necessary. Nobody needs an architect to design a coop, but it sure is easier to work with a model like this in 3D so you can understand how what you've done on the front affects what happens on the sides/back.

Y'all have fun.