Green Roof Coop

I built this tractor/coop for liz. Its roof is actually a garden! You can plant herbs, or other shallow rooted veggies or flowers ontop! I really want to make a few for myself. These would fit in with anyones backyard! I think they would be wonderful for in-town chicken owners. From over the fence it sure would just look like a raised garden!


Middle of construction
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Just attached the deer netting. Works very good, and looks nice. Not to mention ligher than wire. Quite strong too.
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Liz had a request to have the roof removable, so she could put it in her garage in the winter, and let the light in thru the top. I acheived this by just screwing the roof portion on with a couple screws in key spots. Will be easily removed/attached. This is the veiw from the top with the roof off.
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Just the cutest little door ever!
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Laying box area. Lid lifts off.
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Cute little ramp and the sliding door
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Roof before the plastic covering
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Roof after putting on the pond liner to line the garden bed so the wood doesnt rot
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The completed coop!
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Anyone interested in something like this, PM me. Would be glad to chat.

Great job DSSR!

WOW.....

So that is what has kept you busy.

AMAZING work DSSR!

Thanks Jon and Kyle! I am quite proud of it

Wow, that coop looks fantastic. Nice job!

You are a super talented builder DSSR. Your work always looks very well designed and functional. Maybe we will have to talk, I could certainly use a couple more tractors. I have a few ideas for what I would want but none of them major modifications. I might like to order a couple.

Very nice indeed ! Like the idea of a roof garden , although I would wonder how much the weight would be with the soil , being moist ? The deer wire ? is that a plastic netting ? Never seen it before so I'm courious ? Is this your own design ? And last but not least ......how many chickens can it support ? I like it !!

Congrats, DSSR on another beautiful and functional design!
You are such a talented and imaginative carpenter.

(I might be tempted to use potted plants on the top, if the frame is able to support that weight. That way you could easily remove them and reduce the weight when you want to move the tractor to a new patch of ground.) Great work!

THAT is really clever!! And so good looking.
Beautiful work, nicely thoughtout, carefully built.
Brilliant!

THAT is really clever!! And so good looking.
Beautiful work, nicely thoughtout, carefully built.
Brilliant!

Thanks all!


To answer some questions.

I built this from plans that I got from Liz that she ordered off the internet. I couldnt really follow them too much, as the folks that made the plans sure could make a pretty picture with a drafting program, but they had never actually BUILT something before. Some of their 'steps' were so far outlandsih... Not much is done exactly to their plans.

It is designed to hold the soil ontop. It is only a 1X4 lip on the roof, so there is only going to be 3-4 inches of soil. Not really alot of weight. And as for moving it, its not a 'tractor', so the idea of it being to heavy to move wasnt a consideration. But if you put some good strong wheels on it (casters), it would move quite easily, even with the garden on the roof I would imagine If I can push a truck I think I could push a small tractor

The deer netting Liz supplies for me to use. IT is great stuff. Its black plstic, but STRONG. I couldnt break it by pulling on it. Unlike chicken wire where if I yank on it, it usually pops apart. She tells me its $50/roll. The roll is quite big, and its folded inhalf too. so the total height I think would be atleast 6 feet, which is GREAT cause so many other wires are only 4 or 5 feet. Not quite tall enough for those excapees. And its very light. The whole roll probably only weighs 10 pounds. It is wonderful stuff for tractors IMHO. And looks clean and professional. OH and easy to cut.. scissors is all you need. Nevermind silly tin snips and sore hands.

Poplar girl- yea whenever you're ready just drop me a line.

Oh and as for how many birds; I would probably be comfortable with a trio of standards, or even a quad if they wernt very large birds. And bantams, well you could probably fit 10 at least I'd think. Its nearly 8 feet long in total, and 3 feet wide.

Nice! I am curious about the slant to the roof. Is it so the water drains? What would happen if we have the same sort of rains we have had this summer? Would your plants drown?

Sue

Schipperkesue wrote:Nice! I am curious about the slant to the roof. Is it so the water drains? What would happen if we have the same sort of rains we have had this summer? Would your plants drown?

Sue

My same question ? do you have a few "" holes"" for excess water to drain ? Wet soil weighs a whole lot more then dry soil .Where did the Deer wire come from ........store ??

Wow DSSR! Thats a beautiful tractor!

You can drill all the holes you want in the roof. And yes... deer netting comes from the store

Sorry I meant which retail store ( name ) and I don't think you'd want to drill holes in the roof ? rather along the "" drip "" edge ( that's what I meant to say the first time )

The deer netting is sold at the greenhouse I work at. Some garden centres carry it. I will have to check on the brand name of it. It comes in 8ft x 100ft rolls. I use it to cover my runs and will use it to cross fence pens.

You are a very talented carpenter!!!! Lou

Ahh so thats where she gets it. Ill have to save up my pennies and buy a roll k.r.l Its great stuff

I did a search for deer netting and Rona carry's it
on line it said 29.99 a roll 7ft by 100ft
think we will pick some up

Thanks , Good to know .........will have to buy a roll or two

Just so you all know the deer netting is great for keeping birds in, I use it on my sale boxes, easy to work with and pretty cheap. BUT it will not keep predators out, and if you used it as a top netting it will break under snow load and predator load. (Even tame turkey load, LOL)

DoubleSSRanch wrote:You can drill all the holes you want in the roof. And yes... deer netting comes from the store

Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't drilling holes through the roof defeat the purpose of the pond barrier- it not only keeps the water in but it also protects the wood from rot.

Liz will have to let us know what happens when there is too much rain.

Sue

Thats what I figured. The plans called for holes drilled.. but I figured what on earth is the point of that seeing as I just put pond liner down. If It was MINE and I was using it. I would cut a few small holes on the very back edge, and the water will naturally drain thru that, between the boards, and not let dirt out. Not much anyways, not like how much would have drained out if I drilled 5, 2 inch wide holes that they wanted in there. And they wanted some sort of screen plug put in, but I searched EVERY hardware store and no one had anything similar to it. There is a variety of things one could do for draining. I would do like I just said. And once its painted with good outdoor paint, the rest of the structure will hold up to the water draining thru that space between the boards. As well, in a few years if the top peice needs to be replaced, its not a big deal. But I suspect, even if the plastic was cut in that back edge to allow some draining, the roof peice would still last a very long time.