[rcandy2001]

Hi guys, Firstly I really appreciate the help/advice you guys provide on this forum. So thanks firstly for that.

Secondly, I have a question! I am building my own coop for a few hens I intend to get. It will be made from wood (ply wood, cladding and 2x4 sawn timber). I have read that wooden coops suffer from red mite as they hide in all the nooks and crannies and joints in the wood. I was thinking a solution to this may be to fill any joints or cracks with either bathroom sealant or builders cork or something similar. Would this be ok or could it be harmful to the birds?

Any suggestions welcome

[poultrygeist]

Hi. Some keepers have used silicone sealant but there is a tendency for the birds to peck it off. I did wonder about using some quadrant or traingular trim and glue it in place, making sure the glue oozes out and seals the joins.

Good idea to design to alleviate future problems. Well done.

Rob

[rcandy2001]

ahhhhhhh quadrant now that is an EXCELLENT idea, thank you very much Rob. Yes i am giving this as much thought as possible to reduce problems further down the line.

[poultrygeist]

The only thing to remember is, you'll never think of everything. 

I have my mk.2 design in my head. Just need to save up a bit so I can replace my mk.1 

Good luck with it. My t&g v-notch roof leaked because I made the pitch at 45deg each side (90deg at apex). The rain ran along the grooves until it found a knot and dripped all night. I covered with felt, slappign loads of bitumen under the edges to keep out the mites.
Seems to have worked so far.

Rob

[rcandy2001]

True True.

I think im going to go for some sort of corregated plastic for the roof.

[Roughlee Handled]

I use painters chalk

It drys very hard and the girls never pecked at it.

[Rhode Runner]

True True.

I think im going to go for some sort of corregated plastic for the roof.

Hi rcandy, there are a couple of makes of corrugated roof cladding. Look here:-

http://www.arielplastics.com/products/pdf/coroline.pdf

http://www.onduline.net/

HTH

Allan