Menu
What's new

Coop de Ville, Mark 2

"Look Girls he getting done, I wish he'd hurry up"

attachment.php
 
Ken, will you put shavings down in the coop? I was thinking the shavings would absorb the "liquids" and could be changed out and added to the compost pile. I have the same concerns as Larry with the poo prematurely rotting the floor.

If/when I build mine I was thinking about also using advantech and putting several coats of paint.

When I was little my Grandmother was old school. She had chickens/pigs and would put out a HUGE garden. She lived next door to my aunt and uncle and they grew/slaughtered probably 80% plus of what they ate. I always remember her coop having a slab floor with about a 1/2" gap between the boards. I don't remember them ever having to replace any of the boards.
 
Last edited:
Larry, Stephen is right, that's advantech. I was at the lumber yard, and their CDX ply was awful. I called my contractor friend and asked about the advantech, and he recommended it highly. I thought of just using the pine boards for the floor, but the pine is still pretty wet and I didn't want gaps that would permit cold air in. Rather than paint, I'm thinking of getting a vinyl flooring remnant - only need 4 x 5 1/2 feet, and putting that on the floor. From the chicken forum I lurk at, seems many folks do just that.

I'm still undecided about insulating it.
 
I'm not certain, but I think the floor in my shop is the advantech... when the guys were building it, they poured water on it to show that it's not water absorbent... it just beaded up and brushed right off. I didn't paint it or cover it with anything and it's still holding up after almost 5 years.... I have spilled some paint and stain on the floor and it took that well. Also spill naptha on it regularly.... I use that as a wipe down on some of my turnings... also DNA sloshed on it... seems to handle all of my sloppiness well.

When I was younger, my dad never put a floor in the chicken house... he left it dirt and threw straw over it as a cover... then periodically, he'd change the straw.... fortunately, by the time I got old enough to change the straw, we had moved into town and didn't keep chickens any more.
 
nice Coop, Ken.

But I do have to say it is your fault that Meatloaf "two out of three ain't bad" is now running through my head. :doh:
(the line about "no coop de ville lying at the bottom of a cracker jack box" did it.)
 
UPDATE

Sorry about that Art. You remind me, I have to put that disc on my iTunes....

Anyway, it's been raining alot in Central NY. Finally managed to get some work done, and here is the result. Almost all the framing is done, just a little left on the nest box [the low area in the front with the sloping sides]. I've decided after going back and forth a lot to insulate it with 1 1/2" foam. Keep the ladies more snug.

The two window like areas on the front are for windows. The rear has a hardware cloth screen, and will have a drop down wooden door, to close up in the winter and ventilate the rest of the year. Going to put a metal roof on.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6008.jpg
    IMG_6008.jpg
    49.8 KB · Views: 176
  • IMG_6009.jpg
    IMG_6009.jpg
    50.9 KB · Views: 35
never thought i wanted to be a chicken but at your place i think i could handle it:) lookun good ken..and yu need a rooster so you can have babys and then yu can have some young ones to eat. save the older ones for the eggs and hatchun.
 
No Sir Larry, we are a rooster free zone. We just want them for the eggs. For chicken eating we go to the store. I think you'd be a little cramped in the coop though Larry. I bonked my head for the first [certainly not last] time today on the low doorway.

Oh I forgot to mention. When I had the sides standing up, LOML looked at it a while and told me it was a little too tall. So I took them down and cut 6" off the bottom of both sides. Had to agree with her too, the proportions look better now.
 
That's turning out really nice Ken... How many chickens can it handle?


How many eggs do you get per week from your 4 hens?
 
Boy those chickens are living the life. Protected game.:rofl::rofl:

Nice coop Ken. following along.:thumb: The picture of Larry as a chicken well now i would have thought more like a turkey with that beared.:rofl::rofl:
 
Rob, scary thoughts about the Ambassador.

Brent, it will be spacious for my 4, and house 6 easily, maybe a few more. Figure 4 square feet per full sized bird. The coop depending on how you think of it is either 4 x 6 or 5 x 6. The extra foot is for some nest boxes in that front area with the downward framing.

Young healthy layers put out about an egg every 25 hours. Another way of estimating is 2 eggs every 3 days per bird. In any case, eggs have received a bum rap, in my opinion, in that they have low saturated fat, and lots of good things, as well as cholesterol. I eat them freely, and my cholesterol numbers are ok. So how many eggs a week? Well I don't keep track really. We typically get 2 - 4 eggs a day. We have 2 dozen in the fridge right now, and eat all we like, and give the occasional surplus to our friends. When we got started, I thought we should get 6 birds, but LOML thought 4 would give us all the eggs we need. She was right [again.] Hens lay well for about 3 years. After that, numbers and quality goes down. Our hens have been laying since September, so we have a while to go before they retire. Brent, if you're thinking you'd like chickens, chances are good you will. It really is fun. Heck, even building the coop is fun.
 
Allen, we haven't reached that point yet. But for now, our thought is that once they lay no more, we'll feed them and provide them a nice retirement, after all they've done to feed us. I may have a different answer in 2 years, if we run out of room for egg producers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top