Cetacea33
Hatching
- Apr 25, 2015
- 2
- 0
- 7
Right now we have a coop over by our shop, but it's a bit small and was sort of a retrofit thing so it's not all that nice. I'd like to build a bigger, better designed coop but trying to not break the bank. We do have a large area under our deck that isn't really being used for anything. The space is basically 11 feet wide by 8 1/2 feet deep and 7 1/2 feet tall. I've included a picture (don't mind the mess).
My thinking is that we could throw up some plywood to make walls and a door pretty easily. I'd like to have around 20 chickens. They have 3 1/2 acres to forage.
I guess the question is, how much ventilation is going to be necessary? What problems might there be having a coop so close to the house? (The living areas are all level with the top of the deck. The room behind what would be the coop is just a room that leads into the crawlspace and is just used for storage).
Anything I've read that seems similar at all the main concern seems to be smell. I would think that if I put in the poop shelves under the roosts and cleaned the coop often, it wouldn't be too bad. Really it should only matter in the summer when we might want to use the deck. Are solid plywood walls all around, not going to be enough for ventilation? I was thinking I could leave the 6" space above the beam that's just to the left of the window open so there would be some air flow that way. But not sure if that is really enough. Thoughts?
Edit: Our deck is weird in that it is covered and has tile on top of the wood so it stays totally dry under there as no water goes through the deck so it would be a good roof.
My thinking is that we could throw up some plywood to make walls and a door pretty easily. I'd like to have around 20 chickens. They have 3 1/2 acres to forage.
I guess the question is, how much ventilation is going to be necessary? What problems might there be having a coop so close to the house? (The living areas are all level with the top of the deck. The room behind what would be the coop is just a room that leads into the crawlspace and is just used for storage).
Anything I've read that seems similar at all the main concern seems to be smell. I would think that if I put in the poop shelves under the roosts and cleaned the coop often, it wouldn't be too bad. Really it should only matter in the summer when we might want to use the deck. Are solid plywood walls all around, not going to be enough for ventilation? I was thinking I could leave the 6" space above the beam that's just to the left of the window open so there would be some air flow that way. But not sure if that is really enough. Thoughts?
Edit: Our deck is weird in that it is covered and has tile on top of the wood so it stays totally dry under there as no water goes through the deck so it would be a good roof.
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