Coop in progress...bad planning?

[rosemarythyme]

Might as well give my 2 cents on the topic of cedar.

I have cedar in my wood chip pile, mixed with other woods. Since I age the chips before use, they lose most of the aroma. I feel that as long as you are smart about using it - aging it, mixing with other materials, and have good ventilation in the coop, it's ok to use in moderation around chickens.

 

[Compost King]

Might as well give my 2 cents on the topic of cedar.

I have cedar in my wood chip pile, mixed with other woods. Since I age the chips before use, they lose most of the aroma. I feel that as long as you are smart about using it - aging it, mixing with other materials, and have good ventilation in the coop, it's ok to use in moderation around chickens.

This is why I started coming to BYC, I knew there was some sort of issue with Cedar and I avoided using it. Then there are people with experience and knowledge about it and I get to learn.

 

[Kris5902]

Thanks. I didn't think of doing it that way, but now it's almost finished, and probably way too heavy to turn. But will remember for next time.

Yeah, there are beams running down the inside of the pallets. They were screwed together with lag bolts, and on the long side they are screwed into a beam with more lag bolts, if that makes sense.

Will there be too much draft if I don't cover the pallet holes?

Lag bolts are even better for securing it... if you’re thinking of doing a deep bedding inside, I would use pallet boards to fill in the gaps in the pallets so you have a solid floor and walls for windbreaks and put the ventilation up higher.

You’re doing a good job so far by the sounds of it! Use what you have, and remember-done is better than perfect! Updated pictures coming soon? I love seeing what people are building, it gives me so many ideas as to what can be done.

 

[SomeChickinTN]

Lag bolts are even better for securing it... if you’re thinking of doing a deep bedding inside, I would use pallet boards to fill in the gaps in the pallets so you have a solid floor and walls for windbreaks and put the ventilation up higher.

You’re doing a good job so far by the sounds of it! Use what you have, and remember-done is better than perfect! Updated pictures coming soon? I love seeing what people are building, it gives me so many ideas as to what can be done.

All that's left is to cover the pallet holes, frame the doors, put on the roof, and build the ramp and run. Hoping to have all the run materials this weekend. We don't get a lot of time to work on it.

 

[Kris5902]

Hoping to have all the run materials this weekend. We don't get a lot of time to work on it.

I know that feeling... my “two day” chicken tractor build was delayed by material gathering for over two months to start... I’ve been working on it for five days and still have a few days to go, sometimes I can only put an hour a day into it. And I’m missing parts- I forgot about the axels fo my wheels and the tarp for roofing the run- hoping my husband can fetch them for me tomorrow in town!

 

[Kris5902]

I also noticed that you seem to have a lot of large and fairly flat rocks, you could consider building a dry stack rock retaining wall and backfilling to create a more level surface if you want to do a dirt floor for a future coop. No need to go out and spend a fortune on landscaping blocks... I built several retaining walls of three feet or less on my previous city property with flatish sandstone rocks, also you can use cheap cinderblocks and re-bar to the exact same effect!

 

[SomeChickinTN]

I also noticed that you seem to have a lot of large and fairly flat rocks, you could consider building a dry stack rock retaining wall and backfilling to create a more level surface if you want to do a dirt floor for a future coop. No need to go out and spend a fortune on landscaping blocks... I built several retaining walls of three feet or less on my previous city property with flatish sandstone rocks, also you can use cheap cinderblocks and re-bar to the exact same effect!

Yeah, I wanted a dirt floor, but we couldn't quite figure out how to do it. We've never tried to build anything on such an incline.

We had to clear the rocks out by hand in the heat of the summer to seed the yard. That's why there's no grass in the backyard....We haven't gotten all those rocks out yet. But there are piles and piles in the edges of the yard. I'm going to use some to bury run wire.

 

[Kris5902]

Rocks are a pain in the back, but they can be useful! I would sort out the nice big flat ones to keep for future landscaping and building projects, and bury your run wire with the more irregular ones.

A drystack wall doesn’t use mortar, you overlap the stones like bricks, put some drain rock under it in the form of basically a trench of smaller rocks to direct water down and away. For retaining purposes it can’t be too high, and you basically build it so it staggers back into the slope you’re trying to level, then backfill and pack the dirt down.

 

[thecreekhouse]

One of the better tractors I have seen, provided it moves easily.

It moves really easily. It’s not light but it’s so well designed ergonomically that I can move it myself (5’3” female). If you’re interested in a coop like mine, google “Smoky Mountain Chicken Tractors” and visit the website of my builder.

 

[Cryss]

One thing to keep in the back of your head about compost/deep litter/deep bedding and slopes, the chickens will feel obligated to move everything to the bottom of the slope. In fact it's a game we play, I pitchfork everything to the top of the slope they scratch it all down... over and over because it's so much fun.

JT

Yup. My yard is a slope so chosing a spot for my coop and run was fun. I use wood chips in the run itself. It takes no time at all for them to move those chips downhill. I've decided to stop playing the game because I think my chickens have been trying to do some landscaping and I've been frustrating their efforts. As the chips get deeper at the bottom of the slope they decompose and, according to my avian landscapers, eventually the ground will be level.
Hey, it sounds good. So we shall see.