Why is it that few people build coops big enough to stand in?
Building our dream coop...
- Thread starter Sunshine
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Mine will be big enough to stand in.
Because I didn't know better, lol.
At the time (BC = Before Chickens) I was going with advice I'd read about keeping the coop off the ground to prevent snakes from getting in (and maybe a few other things, too - I don't remember at this point). So I built it about 2.5 ft off the ground on basically a 4x8 platform. And it has worked out well for us, and the spot under the coop has been a great shaded/dry area for the girls on hot/wet days.
But the next coop will be big enough to stand in - 1. to allow for easier cleaning, and 2. because I want a bigger coop and more girls.
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You have stand up in them when you are working in there, cleaning and other needs. My grandmothers had roosts that were several boards that went up quite high.
I don't understand making them low so you have to bend over to work on and in them.
Well....guess this is not the best spot for our coop.
Today will be spent moving blocks to higher ground and trying to salvage as much gravel and pea rock as possible if it dries out.
Over 24 hours of rain has taught is a few things about this place. I'm so glad we hadn't dragged the floor out there yet.
Silver lining: I may have DH talked into some sort of small water feature here. Why fight it right?
Think we could grow our own fish for eating in a smallish pond?
Today will be spent moving blocks to higher ground and trying to salvage as much gravel and pea rock as possible if it dries out.
Over 24 hours of rain has taught is a few things about this place. I'm so glad we hadn't dragged the floor out there yet.
Silver lining: I may have DH talked into some sort of small water feature here. Why fight it right?
Lol! Probably not big enough for fish unless you dig it out more. Live and learn!!
Well that's what I meant like dig it out a bit more around and deeper
Is that adjacent tree (left) a dead ash from the emerald ash borer? If so, the roots wouldn't be too bad to cut through.
Pretty area!
My grandfather said it's a cherry tree and my dad said the first few years he lived here it had smallish fruit but not since then. It still grows leaves. And has lots of shoots off the main trilunknat the bottom and at the base of that y. Wonder if we could revive it somehow.
It may need another cherry to pollinate with. I had a sweet (Bartlett) pear tree planted for maybe 10 years and it never blossomed . When I planted a winter (keifer) pear, they both blossomed like crazy after 2 or 3 years. Both of them have the best pears I have ever eaten. They are both 25 to 30+ years old now.
The tree is probably a Black Cherry (Prunus serotine), a medicine tree and native to the eastern US. It has small fruit. If you go to the USDA website for Black Cherry (here is the link)
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=prse2
on the left side of the page under “General Information” you will see “Plant Guide”. You can select it in either pdf or doc format. In the plant guide you find great information about the tree. (you can do this with any plant, shrub, tree etc at the usda website)
I can’t see the bark of the tree well enough to tell but the tree probably has the fungal disease “black knot” which is common in black cherry trees. Someone at the county extension office might help you solve the issue.
Ok guys, haven't reported much lately. Here's an update.
So it has just been awful weather on our days off the past few weeks. So hubs has been working indoors .
We moved and leveled the foundation to higher ground.
We finally got a good day and took the floor out to there. By we I mean Hubs and my dad. Lol
And here's pretty much everything else that just needs to be taken out there and put together. The only thing we are missing is the metal roof sheets...still deciding if I want to order to match the color of our metal roof or just do the silver they have at home Depot. Probably just go the cheap route.
So it has just been awful weather on our days off the past few weeks. So hubs has been working indoors .
We moved and leveled the foundation to higher ground.
We finally got a good day and took the floor out to there. By we I mean Hubs and my dad. Lol
And here's pretty much everything else that just needs to be taken out there and put together. The only thing we are missing is the metal roof sheets...still deciding if I want to order to match the color of our metal roof or just do the silver they have at home Depot. Probably just go the cheap route.
Looks good.
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Sunshine, you mentioned the water pooling...
On a property we had, we mentioned channeling the ground so the water could drain off away from the house and we mentioned it to our neighbor (who is a builder) and he said that if we start doing things like that and the county sees it........that we couldn't change the lay of the land without a permit and all that caca...I hope you can just do whatever you want and it works out. And remember mosquitoes like still water too. lol
On a property we had, we mentioned channeling the ground so the water could drain off away from the house and we mentioned it to our neighbor (who is a builder) and he said that if we start doing things like that and the county sees it........that we couldn't change the lay of the land without a permit and all that caca...I hope you can just do whatever you want and it works out. And remember mosquitoes like still water too. lol
Interesting, so what we were thinking was we could divert water from other areas of the yard where it pools with french drains type trenches , into a smallish pond. We figured if we built up the sides a bit it could handle the swell and contain it . IDK we have 0 knowledge of any of this stuff.
Would a little bubbler or fountain in the pond keep water circulated enough to keep mosquitoes at Bay? We don't have issues with buga at all here .
We are in the process of putting up a 6 ft privacy fence. Around here the county doesn't really care what you do as long as they don't see it lol
The cheap route on the roof material is also the cooler route since it reflects heat.
What are you concerned about with the water collection? If it's from running off the roof you can do homemade gutters to divert it away. Hubs did that with my Guinea coop, when it rained the water ended up entering the coop. With the gutter extended a few inches out from the ends of the roof that stopped it. All he used was 1X4's to build it.
What are you concerned about with the water collection? If it's from running off the roof you can do homemade gutters to divert it away. Hubs did that with my Guinea coop, when it rained the water ended up entering the coop. With the gutter extended a few inches out from the ends of the roof that stopped it. All he used was 1X4's to build it.
Look on her Jan 29, I think that picture is what she's talking about.
Going up pretty fast
My main concern is other areas of my yard that pool up with water when it rains heavily. If you see the original spot I wanted to put the coop that is where it get deepest and most pond-like..
So if we channeled water to drain to that area and put a small pond there anyways....that's what I was thinking would be less like fighting the land and more like working with it.
Ok so hubs is taking a break and has to finish the one back wall that has the big door in it. Don't know if he will get to roof or not today.
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Sun, Nice ours looks like the ghetto compared to that one. We just need to do soem makeup on it.
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Those are things to keep in mind but I have like zero experience.
Putting in a little creek type thing that also incorporates your drainage and runoff, that goes into the pond; the pond having a pump in it that recirculates the water up to the creek. That's what I've seen done. But watch the electric usage, some set ups like that use solar power.
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Sun, looks like it is coming right along . :thumbs up:
Looking good
