Straw Bale coop?

[prncssprplfrog]

The straw is essentially the insulation & semi-structure, not the WHOLE thing. Straw bale houses & barns done well do not mold, mildew or have vermin.

The straw bales are sealed within lyme and or adobe walls. While I personally don't think they are practical where I live (unless a lot of modifications & precautions are made), in an arid region, I think it would work.

I have researched Straw-bale houses for a few years. It is my dream to build (or have built) a self sustaining straw-bale home in NY.

 

[j.luetkemeyer]

I have done a straw bale chicken house. If done properly you wouldn't have problems with mold. You will have mice problems if you live in the country. There a solutions to that as well. The only real problem I had is dust. I thought I had the house well vented. I had some birds die and after some thoughts came to the conclusion straw holds dust. This dust just stirs around during stronger winds and can cause respiratory problems in the birds. You can solve this by using sheet plastic on the inside; however, you want to make sure you do not cover the outside of the bales and also make sure the roof extends out over the straw bales enough to keep water from getting on the top of the bales. Most water just runs down the outside of the bales and dries quickly after the rain/snow is over. You can also use block or something to get the bales off the ground. This will keep the bottom of the bales from soaking up water. If you would like more ideas please let me know. I went ahead and built a coop and stack straw bales around it for insulation. Since I use straw for mulch in my garden I can just replace the old bales with new ones and use the older bales for mulch. I get straw very cheap in my area so this is feasible.

 

[prncssprplfrog]

I wish straw was cheap in MY area. I really want to build a SB house. I find the straw bale boards that some are experimenting with an exciting invention as well. All of the positives of sb, in a drywall type form. I can't remember where I read about them though.

 

[sevenchickens]

I would like to use the same type of construction for the coop that you do a house. I would need to figure our a foundation that would be a little more cost effective than what you would use for a house I was thinking of pallets set off the ground with cinder blocks. I was even considering a green roof but I don't know if that would be too heavy for a bale building. Thank you everyone for the links and personal experiences.

 

[j.luetkemeyer]

There is a website dedicated to strawbale building. I believe it is strawbale dot com. This guy has videos showing a step by step process.

I just used concrete block, the 8 x 8 x 16, and did two rows so it would be wide enough for the bales. I then filled them with rock. If you are going to use a stucco type material for sealing you want to make sure to do it right. I would suggest getting the videos from the website above. He has been building strawbale structures for a long time.

 

[patandchickens]

Omran, people have built LOTS of strawbale coops

There are two kinds:

1) bales of straw stacked to form walls over whcih a roof is placed, and there ya go. My impression from what people say is that they aren't really any less predatorproof than a lot of other basically-weebly coops people build with lumber etc. MOLD however is a real problem in many climates; also it is very important to have things structured so the bales cannot fall or blow over and squish chickens. I would not personally recommend doing it this way, but some people do and at least as a temporary measure there are certainly other things that it's no worse than.

2) Actual Strawbale Construction, where you put it on a foundation and skewer it all together with rebar and then add wire and stucco, the way strawbale houses are constructed. This is a GOOD construction method, for a coop as well as for a house, but kidn of overkill for a chicken coop unless a person a) enjoys digging/pouring foundations and b) is looking for a Fun Project. (I would LOVE to do a strawbale coop, but do not fall into either category at the present time LOL)

You really do need a foundation -- like, a deep poured-or-block foundation same as you would have for a house -- if you are going to do actual strawbale-and-stucco construction, because otherwise a) it will shift and crack the stucco and the straw will wet and mold and get buggy, and b) the straw has to be well up off the ground so that moisture cannot wick into the stucco-->straw even when in floody or wet-snow-y weather.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[mommainpa]

Great discussion on straw bale coops!

Philadelphia Phlock---thanks for posting the link to my blog. I couldn't figure out why my counter had jumped so much in two days. Now I know it was thanks to the BYC community!

We've had our coop up & running since November, and I am quite pleased with how it's worked out. I agree wholeheartedly with posters that have emphasized ventilation. Straw bale walls have to be kept dry---inside and out. No exceptions. Inside moisture is taken care of through proper ventilation. Outside moisture is taken care of with a deep overhang on your roof.

Pat did a great job describing the differences between a straw bale structure that is meant to be taken apart and composted every other year or so---like in Andy Lee's Chicken Tractor books---and a straw bale structure that is meant to pass the test of time---which is the construction we used for our home and chicken coop. And she's also totally correct in asserting that a proper foundation is needed. If you want them to last more than a few years, those bales have to be off the earth. A proper foundation also eliminates problems of shift due to freeze and thaw.

Thanks again to all who visited over at Life Under a Blue Roof!
Great discussion.

 

[sevenchickens]

Aside from pouring a cement foundation are there any other options? I can do heavy lifting, assembly and basic construction but when it comes to serious building I'm completely clueless!! DH just doesn't have the time to help like he would like so I'm on my own.

 

[prncssprplfrog]

I know of MANY SB houses that have pounded earth floors. I don't think it's necessarily the foundation, but footing the straw bails to keep them dry at every angle that you can't do without.

 

[sevenchickens]

Pardon my ignorance but "footing"? What does that mean?