Coop height question

[Crazy4mypeeps]

Ok, so I bought (kinda feel as if I cheated here, LOL) a St Bernard Dog house for our coop. This thing is huge, its about 6'3" at the peak, but I want to raise it up a bit, so that they will have the shelter from the heat in the summer. What is a good height? Hubby and I were thinking 12 inches, possibly 16.

Its going to be interesting modifying this thing for the chickens.

Here's what needs to be done:

Raised up
Ventilation
Windows
Nest boxes ( this is a toss up, can't decide whether to use the metal ones that we are using in the shed now on the inside, or build the ones that sit on the outside for more room inside)
Access Door for us
Pop Door
Slide out Litter door with pan

There are so many great threads on here with pictures that it almost makes it hard to decide what to do. So many wonderful coops with great ideas. LOL

I would love suggestions. It is insultated and already set up for electricity. This was one spoiled dog. LOL Also, they blocked off the rafters, but we will be taking that down, to add roosting space for the chickens. Its really and interesting design, and even has a little front porch on it with an overhang. It just wound up being bigger than I expected, when I got there to buy it. But couldn't pass it up, because it was so well built. LOL

The run will be sand, which is mostly what we have out here for dirt, we live on a lake, so its plentiful, but am thinking about getting some beach sand from the sand pits to add with it.

 

[Judy]

Sounds like a great buy!

Personally I'd just put a roof on part of the run instead of trying to take the top of that apart. Sounds too much like work! You'd want it up at least 16", really more, because sooner or later you're going to have to go under there to retrieve a sick chicken or an egg or set rat traps, whatever.

Hard to hand out opinions on nest boxes without knowing climate, dimensions and number of chickens. One thing, if you roofed part of the run, it could be done so outdoor nest boxes would be out of the weather.

 

[Crazy4mypeeps]

Oooooo thats a great idea! I didn't think about that. *storing the outdoor nest boxes idea

Yeah, we plan on putting a roof on the run, already have all the stuff for that.

Sorry about leaving out so much information on this project. I'll include that here.

The whole structure is 8' 2 and 1/2" long by just a hair over 5' 5 and 1/2" wide by 6' and about 4" high.

We are in Nebraska, so we get all climates here. We've had winters here that get down to -22 and stay for three or four weeks, and hot humid summer days that will be in the triple digits as well.

We have 9 hens total. 3 new pullets that have yet to start laying, don't expect them to start until the end of summer, they are sure having fun free ranging in our big back yard though. LOL

Here is a picture of the structure. Now you can see why I would like to have the rafters open to them, that's a lot of lost space in there, plus being able to add the ventilation in that end of the gable would be nice.

 

[Judy]

Sounds like a great setup. I think I'd put one nest in the coop and one or two in the run, to tell the truth. It will get a little close in there if they feel "snowed in," though with a covered run, hopefully they will go out even with snow on the ground.

I'd be tempted to put ventilation in both gables, or maybe on one end with a cupola on the roof so the warm ammoniated air can easily go straight up.

Looks like they would love roosting at "ceiling" level, just below the roof slope. You might wind up fixing something a little lower, though, to avoid drafts. Draft vs. ventilation can be tricky. I wonder if one good cupola would do it in the coldest weather -- I really don't know. Maybe if the window opened at the top and you cracked it.... or a cupola and a gable vent open in cold weather.... Lots to think about!

What a climate! Real winter plus hot summer. You'll be glad for the shade.

 

[Crazy4mypeeps]

Yeah, that was my thought too, both gables. I like the cupola idea too, would almost make it look like a little country church. LOL Of course I want to dress it up with some shutters and flower boxes.

The only issue with raising it really, is the weight of that thing. That was my strawberry bed, so its not really compact dirt there, but we are going to do the paver thing, to set the run on. And we have the galvanized corrugated roofing for the top of the run, actually way more than what we need, so we are set there, just have to get to work. LOL

They all have free range in our back yard right now, and we've successfully kept them out of the garden with deer netting. I'm home all the time, so I pop out and check them usually once an hour or so, to make sure no one has hopped the fence. LOL

I'm really excited to get it all done and just enjoy them after that.

 

[Crazy4mypeeps]

I've got another question, and didn't want to start another thread for the same coop, so here goes:

We managed to get all the plywood out of the inside and gained a LOT of space from removing that, more roosting area for them, etc. But, there are nails sticking out everywhere in the plywood sheathing, and of course we took out all of the insulation that he had just stuffed up in the gables. So I'd like to add back some insulation to the roof and cover the nails up, instead of pounding them over. I don't want them getting poked by them. I'm not a big fan of the fluffy fiberglass stuff that he had in there, so would 1" styro work? And what could I cover it with so that they wouldn't eat it? Of course since I'm doing this after the fact its going to have to be something pretty pliable to get down to the eves, etc.

I was thinking that the plastic corrugated stuff would work, but not sure where to buy it or how expensive it is.