So awhile back we entered an application for the Funky Chicken Coop Tour. We were pretty happy with our coop. All materials from the local crack houses. But it wasn't something to show off. Never ones to be outdone, we brainstormed on how we could make our current coop better. We had a generous run and a separate coop for the bantams and full sized but it still seemed overly "ghetto" to us.
Then Ashley found this. We instantly knew this was it! This might exclude us from the Coop Tour but it will improve flock management and care. We don't have any plans yet, but beauty of cob is figuring it out as you go along.
So I started digging the foundation. It's basically a trench, tampered down, and then filled with rocks. There was an old grape vine (not the yummy kind, the sour Texas kind) close by so there was quite a few a roots that had to be removed. 
This is critical as they will decompose and shift the rocks. Tools required: one good shovel, a pick-axe (courtesy of our neighbor Steve. Thanks!), and a machete. They machete is great to form the trench and remove the roots. Next comes the stonework and figuring out our cob recipe. Stay tuned! In the meantime here are some great cob resources:
http://weblife.org/cob/ The Cob Builders Handbook
http://www.cobhouse.net/ CobHouse.net
http://www.housealive.org/ House Alive!
