What would you do differently if you started over?

[bawkbawkbawk]

Coop construction starts Friday.

Anyone have suggestions based on what you would do/not do/do differently if you were starting over?

Making it bigger doesn't count. I've read that EVERYONE decides they should have made it bigger.

Ours is going to be about 66 sq. ft
Our attached run is 10' x 24'
18' chicken door between the two.

How many standard chickens can I have?

 

[Zahboo]

16

 

[HennyPennies2007]

cement floor with a drain. No OSB.... Better roof research. Lots of paint....

 

[ivan3]

Only one thing (besides doubling the size of the runs

). Our roosts are about 18" from the floor (low leg stress fat standard ht.). We have a five foot 2"x4" that crosses a 6ft. 2"x4" in the back corner (of the eleven ft. our six survivors only use about 2ft.).

I replaced the shelf mounting arms that the roosts were originally attached with and replaced with brackets on the walls and some old cabinet mounting angles atttached to the ends of the 2"x4"s that would slip down through the brackets. For cleaning I can just lift the roosts out of their brackets and this makes maintenance and cleaning much easier.

 

[DarkWolf]

Stay away from OSB for flooring.. I'm brave, so I'm using it..

I'm also nuts though.. It's better to go buy plywood.. Pressure treated is fine.

 

[desertgirl]

OSB?

 

[Zahboo]

Quote:
oriented strand board. It's the 5 dollar plywood that shreds when wet or humid

 

[DarkWolf]

Actually.. Particle board is what self destructs when wet or damp.

OSB on the other hand is made up of slivers of wood pressed together with a polymer based glue. It stands up way better, but can not be constantly wet. So long as it's covered with sheet vinyl [NOT TILES] it's fine.

I'm taking a shot with it as flooring and using porch paint over it to seal it.

If the structure is built right and you have good husbandry you'll never have a problem with water on the floor anyway, so it's still fine.. Just not the first choice.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I did the vinyl over plywood, and love it. What I would/will do next time is insulate the floor. Don't know where you're located, though... or if that's an issue.

 

[DarkWolf]

For Alaska, I'd surely insulate the floors too... Did you chime in on the question that someone brought up about a coop in Alaska?