# Coop D'Ville



## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Well I decided late last year to get some chickens, I figured they would probably like a place to live!!  

Here is the, as my brother calls it, Coop D'Ville! I tend to get a bit carried away. I took pics throughout the whole build. Turned out quite nice if I say so myself!! If anyone has any questions about what I did feel free to ask!!


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

continued...


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

continued more...


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Had some high winds, this convinced my to anchor it down with nearly 500lbs of concrete.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

more............


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

coming along!!! The one pic here is the anchor, it got 3 80lb bags of concrete in the hole, there is another anchor just like it on the other side of the coop.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Lookin like something now


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

and on it goes.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Gots us some birds!! 6 Buff Orps and 6 RIRs, one of the Orps didn't make it. Gotta get this thing done!!


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Last of the pics thatI have. I will take a couple more and put them up later.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

The walls, floor and ceiling are all insulated, there is a light inside as well as an outlet. there are three roosts inside the coop, funny they all try to squeeze in on the highest one, they don't all fit!! I used vinyl coated hex netting for the run sides and top. Got a deal, the wireclothman.com had defect rolls of 6' x 150' for $99.00. had to drive a couple hours to get it but save a lot on shipping. The defects weren't that bad. The coop is 4' x 8', the run is 16' x 20'. The birds seem to be pretty content! Hell, I was thinking about living it the thing!!

Hope yall enjoy!!


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## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

I could live in that myself. Very cool! Great job!!


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## MsSage (Mar 3, 2012)

Very nice.


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

You're gonna have happy chickens.
Great looking! Are the boxes beneath the windows the nesting area? And do they open so that you can gather eggs without going inside? 
I have a shed that I've slowly been turning into a chicken house. Think I'll add something to the side like that.


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## HomegrownGal (Feb 11, 2013)

Fantastic job! Very well built and functional! Your chickens should thrive in their new resort! It's obvious you put a lot of research and planning into this project and it will pay off for years to come!


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

I can see only one thing that I'd have done differently, the location. I'd have preferred that you had built it on MY property. That is very well thought out and nicely done!


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

jeff47041 said:


> You're gonna have happy chickens.
> Great looking! Are the boxes beneath the windows the nesting area? And do they open so that you can gather eggs without going inside?
> I have a shed that I've slowly been turning into a chicken house. Think I'll add something to the side like that.


Yes, they are the nest boxes, and they do open from outside, there are 2 nests in each of the boxes. more than enough for 11 birds.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

I said earlier that when I bought the chicks I got 6 Buff Orpingtons and 6 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Orp didn't make it. as it turns out, another one of the Orps isn't an Orp!!! Not sure of the breed, she is BIG, bigger than the rest, has greenish legs and darker brown eyes than the other birds. Can anyone help me identify? I am thinking she is a White Jersey Giant. Here are a couple of pics of her.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

WOW! that's a nice coop!


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Very nice!

(My chickens are so deprived ... )


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

I thought my chickens were spoiled... they are roughing it compared to yours


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

pandamonium said:


> Yes, they are the nest boxes, and they do open from outside, there are 2 nests in each of the boxes. more than enough for 11 birds.


Looks like I've got more reading to do. 4 nests are enough for 11 birds? I thought I would need a nest for each hen to lay eggs for me. They share?


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

pandamonium, I think your guess is probably right on the white one's breed. There are white Orpington's so that would have been my first guess, then Cornish giants but from the pictures Jersey giant would be a likely guess.

jeff47041, they definitely share boxes, having more won't hurt but they don't all lay at the same time so not a problem. If you were to let all the hens go broody you might have trouble but that doesn't happen.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

How much chicken excretion happens in coops and how deeply does it soak into the plywood floors, and insulation, after it works its way through the shavings and such on the floor?


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Bobbb said:


> How much chicken excretion happens in coops and how deeply does it soak into the plywood floors, and insulation, after it works its way through the shavings and such on the floor?


A lot  Chickens aren't like a lot of animals, they go whenever and wherever, the more time they spend outside the less manure in the coop. If they have good roosts and use them, that will be where most droppings are concentrated because they will spend most of the night there.
Without seams that floor should be fine for a long time, things get damp if you don't use a lot of bedding, though the deep litter method can reduce this in many cases.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

cowboyhermit said:


> A lot  Chickens aren't like a lot of animals, they go whenever and wherever, the more time they spend outside the less manure in the coop. If they have good roosts and use them, that will be where most droppings are concentrated because they will spend most of the night there.
> Without seams that floor should be fine for a long time, things get damp if you don't use a lot of bedding, though the deep litter method can reduce this in many cases.


Soggy fiberglass insulation doesn't insulate well. I'm wondering how permeable that plywood is? Is this an imaginary problem that I'm concocting or have people had to address soggy plywood floors?

I see in a photo in post #5 that pandamonium has the floor covered with something (paint?) - what is that?


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

I can see how it could potentially be a problem but with chickens in my experience it wouldn't be. I have used plywood as a floor even osb (without insulation) and it wasn't wet underneath. A vapour barrier would work but that could cause problems as well. We are a relatively dry climate though.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Bobbb said:


> Soggy fiberglass insulation doesn't insulate well. I'm wondering how permeable that plywood is? Is this an imaginary problem that I'm concocting or have people had to address soggy plywood floors?
> 
> I see in a photo in post #5 that pandamonium has the floor covered with something (paint?) - what is that?


Bobb. I put a one piece vinyl sheet floor. then I caulked the perimeter, I then ran the plywood down to the floor, overlapping the vinyl, which extended up 1 inch, then i put a bead of caulk along the bottom where the plywood meets the floor. The 1/4 plywood got two coats of exterior paint, i rolled on a third coat near the floor. the plywood should be sealed pretty well. While the weather is nice they don't spend that much time inside.The manure hasn't been building up inside too bad so far. :2thumb:

The inside of the coop is quite dry, not too much odor, when the manure builds up I just throw in some more pine shavings, when it get too much I will pull it all out and replace with fresh bedding. There are two large doors, one on either side, allowing easy access for cleaning. I figure with the vinyl floor and everything sealed up well, I could hose out the interior if i wanted to.

The birds have been in the coop/run for about 6 weeks now, I have not yet have to add shavings, pretty soon though.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

cowboyhermit said:


> pandamonium, I think your guess is probably right on the white one's breed. There are white Orpington's so that would have been my first guess, then Cornish giants but from the pictures Jersey giant would be a likely guess.
> 
> jeff47041, they definitely share boxes, having more won't hurt but they don't all lay at the same time so not a problem. If you were to let all the hens go broody you might have trouble but that doesn't happen.


 Thanks Cowboyhermit, appreciate it.

My birds aren't laying yet but they do chill out in the nest boxes sometimes. And everything I have read confirms what you said about the number of boxes needed.


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