Improving Justin Rhodes chickshaw design - less $$ 

You are welcome. Thank you so much for the comment!

I haven’t had too much issue with roosting in the nest boxes but the area below the nesting boxes is wasted space for sure. I would make sure they can’t roost above the nesting boxes and poop inside them while roosted. It’s been so hot this summer in Ohio that mine gave up on roosting inside the coop all together. They are all roosting on the roof this summer lol. But they are still faithfully using the nesting boxes to lay which is good. Hopefully they go back to inside the coop when it cools down. Thanks for watching and the comment. Hope your build goes well and the improvements work out!

You are very welcome! Thanks for the comment and let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions along the way.

I would be curious how that works for people. I don’t like the idea of of potential flats haha

I mean, it's not like you're actually biking with it, just take the tires/tubes off the wheels and roll it around on the rims. Tires are for rim endurance and rider comfort, 🤷🏻‍♂️ just a thought.

That's my plan 😊

You are very welcome!

I’m glad you like it 😘

Thank you! I really appreciate the feedback :)

Nj bresse farms. That’s me. If you ever need bresse eggs or chicks let me know, I’ll send you whatever you need for a video

@mikemacinnes6120 I’m definitely interested but we have too many chickens right now. Maybe next spring I’ll contact you. Looks like an interesting breed to try

Sorry for some reason I didn’t get notified of this comment. We currently have about 33 chickens. They actually can all fit in the coop and do sometimes. I actually have two…Justin Rhodes’ original chickshaw mini and this modified design. The limitation is more so on how many nesting boxes are needed. I found out that we needed more than 2 boxes for the 20-25 birds we had laying at the time. So this design gives you one extra nesting box. Of course the chickens normally have a favorite box and wait for that one. but with 25 birds laying right now, I do get a few eggs from all five nesting boxes each day and 10 from the favorite one

Awesome to have viewers from Costa Rica! I really just followed what he did on the mesh. I don’t think using 1” on the sides would cause any issues at all. I also questioned why he used mesh on the sides and then covered it up with the siding. The only thing I could think of is the small access hole created by the corrugated slots. Depending on the size of those corrugations, you could have a 2” access hole. Not sure what varmints that would give access to but I assume snakes eating eggs or maybe small rat type varmints? Anyway I just decided to copy him since it wasn’t much cost to do so. I’m not loving the run chicken automatic doors as much now. They work great during the warm weather but we discovered that cold weather has them freeze and not open. Probably not an issue in your climate but something to consider for freezing locations. Thanks for watching!

You are welcome. I’m sure you can come up with a better handle. I’m going to do a run chicken automatic door review soon. I did have issues in my freeze thaw winter here in Ohio. That would be my only edit to this video at this point. I still like those door 9 months out of the year but not in the winter here.

Thank you!

I do not but here is the famous guy that has plans in the descriptive of the below video he offers for free. My adjustments are small. Smaller cheaper wheels, 3 nesting boxes, a door on the back, etc. I would ask a grandkid or neighbor to help you. There is someone that would love the opportunity to build one with you I’m sure. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MbhCe12M1bo.htmlsi=7aon5Q_cEFX1IT8Y Let me know if I can help with specific questions.

You could possibly add a heat lamp. I’m no chicken expert but my daughter has done a lot of research and closed up coops can actually cause more freeze risk than well ventilated coops. Here in Ohio we have negative 5-10F temps and we did get a few combs with frost bite. But the chickens are fine. You may need to research this more because I’m not qualified. Thanks for watching and the comment :)

I’d like to know, as well.

My sincere apologies! I’m not sure how I missed your comment. Front to back is 4 feet on this coop. I mounted mine at 2 feet 8 inches from the front. So about 8 inches offset. Hope my answer is not too late.

@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle just in time for me! Thank you!🙏

Thanks Devan! Didn’t know you were a subscriber :)

Actually, I do see that yours appear to go corner to corner. 😅 The drawing in the plans did not, so that was confusing. xD

I don’t think it is very critical. They are just giving the box strength against racking. I’ll take a look tomorrow and see if mine went corner to corner. But honestly I think it’s up to you.

No. Justin Rhodes provides those to people for free. The mini has some errors in them but overall they are good plans for the price lol. I would watch a few videos like mine and pair that with the plans and you should be good to go with making your own flavor.

@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle That was my understanding from his site, entered my email as requested but never received the email with the plans I was expecting. Oh well, thanks.

I simply put the axel rod or threaded bolt on the center of the 2x4 and then used U-shaped rigid pipe straps. You can get them on Amazon or your big box stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot will have them in the electrical conduit section. Hope that helps.

Very helpful, thank you so much for the quick reply! Hoping to finish the build today!

@LeahValerie86 awesome! I think you will like these coops. Thanks for supporting this channel :)

@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle I have the same question and I think I understand your answer here. Any chance you could post a picture to confirm what I'm envisioning?

@JoeDays23 I cannot figure out how to send pictures here. You can find me on Facebook under Woodworking McDaniel Style same logo and message me there. I can send pics that way to help you out.

I’m in southern, Ohio in the United States. Normally the lows are in the 20F range and highs in the 30-40F range. We do get some days with sub zero F.

​@@woodworkingmcdanielstylewhat do you do in the winter to make sure your chickens are warm In these?

We don’t do anything special. I think make sure they have a wind block. We have had some sub zero days and the breeds with big combs did get minor frost bite. But they leave the coops and walk outside. You could put a heat light in the coop maybe if you have harsher winters.

I think the metal gets hot to the touch when in the direct sun but the nesting boxes were staying full with 99% of eggs being laid in the boxes. So I think that tells me that the coop was not too hot here in southern Ohio. By the time they come in to roost, the sun is down and the temps are in the 60-75 degree F range here. I shopped many different plastics, pvc’s, metals etc and went with this cheap galvanized metal because of durability and price. I think all products would work and is entirely up to you on preference.

Thanks for the response! I live in a similar climate and have harsh winters. Has it been "sweating" at all in your winter season? or any condensation build up at all?@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle

Thanks for the reply! Did you notice the shaw "sweat" at all or have any condensation in the winter when you used the metal siding and roof?@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle

Sorry I missed your first comment. No I haven’t noticed any sweating. Probably because it is pretty open with lots of air flow and no temperature difference between the two sides of the metal. I wouldn’t stress over this too much because you could easily replace whatever material you pick if you decide you don’t like it. They did have some higher quality non metal materials available at the big box stores but I went cheap lol

His original one held 28 but not enough nesting boxes. So this model adds a nesting box but you lose that roosting bar so lose some space. I would say 20ish in this new model.

Not sure what video you watched but I said I built a second one because I liked the first one so much. I did not say his design was “Horrible”. I made this video to help others see some improvements they might like to make on their chickshaw. Thanks for watching and commenting

@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle I think he's referring to you saying the kickstand was a horrible design around the 15:40 mark. I, for one, appreciate the improvements made. Unless you're passing off the design as your own or profiting off it, we all benefit from any improvement, no matter how small, to another's work.

@Norbingel oh ok. Yeah I had several friends build them before me and they discussed the kickstand troubles. I do need to do an update video on the run chicken automatic doors. They are great in the warmer months here in Ohio. This winter they didn’t work. It is muddy during the day and then the mud freezes at night and the doors won’t open. So I’m less enthusiastic about those doors. Keep that in mind if you are building one of these. Thanks for watching and the comment!

@@woodworkingmcdanielstyle Loved your changes to this and plan to rebuild mine this year using some of those! On the door - if it's getting wet, and that's what's freezing it up, would an awning over it protect it enough? Or is it simply the cold?

@morningmystfarm2017 thank you! On the door, I think it’s more a mud freezing issue. So here in Ohio in the winter it gets muddy during the day because it is above freezing. The mud is on their feet and they push this mud into the door slot at the bottom. The mud freezes at night and is still frozen at daylight. I think if it was always below freezing or always above freezing, the issue would go away.