Strawbale duck and chicken house design?

We are in the design stage for a duck / chicken coop at our homestead and wanted to put the word out for practical, inexpensive, and easy to build ideas. We are considering strawbale coops, and also pallet coops.

We live off-grid in western Washington. Winters are mild with only a few days or weeks below freezing per year. But, days in the winter are short! Our power system is small and we cannot run an incandescent light bulb for heat or light.

We like the idea of a strawbale coop. I've Googled it, and I found a post by some folks in Ireland who were raving about them. They said their animals were warm and cozy all winter in there. However, there weren't any photos or descriptions of the design. Can anyone else testify on strawbale poultry houses?

Any photos, drawings, experiences with strawbale or pallet poultry houses would be appreciated.

Thanks-->>nalawalla | http://www.Bcollective.org

It's probably not exactly what you had in mind, but this is one of the temporary hay-bale shelters we made when we suddenly became inundated with ducklings. We did have problems with the ducklings squeezing through the gaps at the corners, and they're obviously not very rainproof, but at this time of year too much sun is more of a problem, hence the 'shade' made out of loose hay on top of the mesh cover.

This is a strawbale coop in Taos, NM


For more pictures, go to http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7386511599529059343#editor/target=post;postID=3124350376575995074

Hello Merry---->>>>

That coop looks awesome---exactly what we are looking for! But I can't seem to access the Blogger photos. (Says I do not have "permission" to view). Also I have so many questions, like "is it easy to clean? What does the inside look like? Woukd it work for ducks, or just chickens?" etc. etc.

I would love to talk to the builder of this coop sometime. Is that you? Or, if not, maybe you could put us in touch with the builder/designer?

Thanks a million!--->>>>nala

I'm currently in the proses of building a light clay straw building for my chickens. I'd post pictures, but there isn't much to see yet... it looks a lot like standard stud construction... except eventually straw with clay slip will fill the voids between the studs.

It doesn't sound like you need a whole lot of insulation though, so I wouldn't worry about temperature too much. Most hearty chickens can do just fine in sub-zero temps, as long as you keep the wind off them. That's what can really kill them.

This is what I'll be doing some day, also with 5 gallon buckets at the end of the hoop for eggs.

(I added two pics, if they dont show then you can see them on this website)

http://www.soulfirefarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hoop-coop-w-Leah-11-6-2010.jpg [/size] [/size]

Guarren, have you noticed any mold developing in the straw bales? Has it effected your chickens?

This looks like it would be an easy mark for predators to dig under if there's no hardware cloth, or for them to dig in the space between two bales. While it won't prevent tinier animals like mice from entering, covering the straw bale structure in field fence seems like it would be a good addition.