White's plan ended up costing ~$200 in 2017 for lumber and hardware. I'm in the process of building out a new coop and proper run with easier access for feeding, gathering eggs, and cleaning. I added a metal, W-shaped roofing edge (called a 'valley' at Menards) along the top seam to channel the water off and shield the door seams. I've had to move the hinges twice to keep the door from falling off.ħ) There's huge leaks on the top of the side doors.
#CHICKEN COOP DIY PLUS#
There's just not enough room for roosting, ladder, and scat-free food and water and nutrients, plus cleaning.Ħ) The heavy side doors put too much strain on the small hinges. A rectangular design perpendicular to the ground with smaller compartmentalized nesting boxes would make this process a *lot* easier.Ĥ) The A-frame design makes it difficult to clean up scat, making our chickens vulnerable to worms.ĥ) The design lacks a roosting bar. The A-frame design means one has to awkwardly lean forward into the coop.
This means that one can't easily reach all the eggs through the egg door, and one has to lower/raise the side door to access the eggs. that way.ģ) Chicken use the entire upper compartment as a nesting box. Ultimately, I added an exterior run and provide food etc. This was particularly challenging in the winter when the water would freeze. I tried several different ways to hang or put in food, water, and nutrients to keep the birds from knocking them over or defecating in them, while still making them easy to swap out. One has to awkwardly lean over and lower in a 30-40 lb water jug, setting it in inside on the floor, on a cinder box (or similar), or suspend it on a heavy-duty chain. However, its design makes it difficult to feed and water the chickens, as well as provide grit and shell for their health and digestion. Your birds will dig from the inside, even as predators dig from the outside After losing 3 birds to predators, I fortified it inside and out with a trench filled with hardware cloth.Ģ) The A-frame design is compact, which is why I picked it. If you are dedicated to moving the coop, your yard must be especially flat and even to deter predators from sneaking in under gaps between the ground and frame. Yes, there are "handles" at either end of the coop that two humans can use to lift and shift the coop, but my wife and I found this quite awkward due to the weight.
Rolling out the wheels splintered the bottom of the frame when trying this, due to the weight. Here's my reasons:ġ) Though advertised as a "chicken tractor," this design with its numerous 2x4s and thick plywood is far too heavy (> 150 lbs) to mount wheels on a pivot on the bottom. After using this coop design to house a flock of 4 chickens for 2 years, I highly recommend NOT building this coop. I am still grateful to this website for that service I've built my son's loft bed with a plan from this site. At the time, I was grateful for Ana providing a free, step-by-step template to build it.
0 kommentar(er)
