Wednesday

Log End Chicken Coop

     Thirty miles northwest of Green Bay, (Go Pack) we missed the snow, but the wind is something else!  This is when I am glad I have a log end chicken coop.  I built it myself over a period of 2 1/2 years, though the back wall still needs some finishing.  I made it with 18" Box Elder (a soft wood) logs and clay.  So, the walls are 18 inches thick and I never worry about it getting too cold in the chicken coop.  I worry more about making sure I have ventilation for moisture control.  The clay is made with our soil, that has a lot of clay with just the right amount of sand in it, 1 inch snips of wild oat grass, and water.

     It was such an experiment, I don't think anyone, including me, thought it might last long.  But, here we are on year 6 and it is solid.  I do a wheelbarrow load full of mud repairs each year, as the rain does a bit of erosion, but it is really nothing.  I've been very happy with it.

     The book Cordwood Building by Rob Roy is what got me interested in it.  I had never built anything.  I learned a lot --- like don't use a crooked 2x4 for the roof!!!  But every time I look at it there is a sense of satisfaction.  I built it by myself :-)
That snow drift is 2 1/2 ft. high, but my chickens are warm :-)

2 comments:

Roxey Lucey said...

inside pics please!

dr momi said...

lol, the inside looks pretty much like the outside except for a perch that goes across from wall to wall (built right into the walls) No pics till my flash works on my camera and it's way clean :-)