Starting a coop build, it is my first build and first chickens so feedback is very welcome

[Sally PB]

@saysfaa, I saw your post asking about my "inside lock" on my run door, and posted pictures on that thread.

Your coop looks nice!

 

[Katanahamon]

The plan is 10x14. It will be board and batten pine siding and doors, plywood floor, 4:12 shingled roof on plywood with almost 12" eaves, 2 single pane "barn windows" that open inward from the bottom (hinges at the top of each window) and hook open more than 90 degrees up. It has double doors 3'x7' each on the west end and a single 4'x7' door on the south side near the east end. The 4 or 5 hens will get the east 6 or 7 feet of the building; garden tools and chicken supplies get the west end. Woven wire with a 2" x 4" mesh to divide the chickens from the rest of the building. That makes 10 to a little over 15 square feet per hen. They will go out some but not reliably enough to count that for space per bird. I will be able to bring some entertainment in to them regularly, although that will be a lot easier vary in the summer. Is that enough space for most breeds or should I make sure to pick breeds that are more likely to tolerate confinement?

I'm upper midwest so it gets cold and can get very snowy. Zone 5b (or so). Lowest it normally gets is ten below or so (F.), it doesn't stay there longer than a few days. Weeks straight of teens and mid twenties is common, though. Highs in the summer hit 90's and stayed there for several weeks last summer but it does cool off nicely at night. It is humid. Very little wind as we are sheltered by a steep hill and woods to the windward side and it isn't often windy here anyway.

My winter ventilation plan is to leave the south side door fully open and everything else air tight. If that doesn't work - I can build a wood's open-air style coop inside the main coop. or part of one. I'm not just building the woods' coop as a compromise with my better half. In the summer, open the ridge vent and soffit vents and whatever doors and windows seem to make it most comfortable. It will get morning and evening shade from trees - full sun from about 8 to 3:30.

Predator protection: I expect raccoons will be the most likely threat but everything from least weasels to bald eagles and black bears is possible. Metal lath (like for stucco, it is 27" x 8' with 1/4x1/2 diamond-shaped mesh) on the ground for the apron around the outside. And to screen the bottom 50" of the south door. And the west door if I can figure out how to make it movable enough. Maybe put a frame around it and slide it open inside the framing. The rest of the openings (eaves, windows, upper part of doors) : 19 gauge hardware cloth with 1/2 x 1/2 mesh.

I'm still working on roosts and nests.
Nipple waterer on a bucket or on a pvc pipe from a bucket.
This for a feeder: https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/diy-rodent-free-chook-feeder/12322946 for dry feed. I'm working on feeding fermented rations. And how to give them oyster shell and grit. Is there any reason a "sandbox" of sand and stones wouldn't provide grit as well as dusting and entertainment?
Bedding: Sweet PDZ under pine shavings and fall leaves from the trees. Maybe some chopped straw (from my own rye field - is there any reason not to use that?)

View attachment 2554562

Probably late, but, I save this article in favorites cause it talks about the billion variables in ventilation, but, here it is for your files..also another cool article on influencing yolk color, just..cause I find it cool!
https://www.veterinariadigital.com/en/articulos/the-egg-yolk-color-and-pigments/
https://www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/how-much-coop-ventilation

 

[aart]

https://www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/how-much-coop-ventilation

I couldn't get this to load when you posted it the other day.
Worked this time.
Just skimmed the 12 points, they are pretty good.

 

[saysfaa]

Thank you. I liked the egg yolk article.

The other has some points worth considering and some that seem really sketchy - she uses condensation inside the coop, moist spots, and smelling ammonia as the criteria for not enough ventilation? Pretty low bars, aren't they?

 

[saysfaa]

We are still fighting the leveling/squaring issues and getting the doors to work well. I though it was fixed but it wasn't. Progress is really slow because we don't have much time or energy to work on it.

One of the battans between the door and the corner of the shed bowed way out; we think it is from squaring the building. One other did that in the beginning. The builder thought it got caught by the fork lift.

The current problem battan seems to be a main binding spot... when the strap is tightened. Or possibly one of the boards under it. That board is the only one that warped significantly. We pulled the battan loose and left it for now. We'll use screws to straighten that board. I'll have to give them a turn or two per day to go slow enough to not split the board.

The knots in the boards seem to be a bigger problem than I realized, and I thought they would be a huge problem. The internet says only epoxy has a hope of keeping knots from falling out if they want to fall out. The paint guy at the hardware store said epoxy won't work either. He recommended a certain brand/version of wood sealer. I got a package of epoxy and one of a fancy wood filler. I certainly have enough knots to experiment with. I'm worried the epoxy and wood filler will be too inflexible; that the expansions and contractions will work it loose. I'm thinking of a little wood filler or epoxy to secure the knot in place and then caulk to fill the rest of the depressions.

I want to finish painting before cold becomes an issue. That could be as soon as a month from now. Looks like finishing painting on the inside will get done next year.

They have started spreading out to sleep on the roost. And they like to walk the full length of it during the day and when starting to think about going to bed. Spice still eyes the top of the wall but doesn't try for it.

 

[aart]

she uses condensation inside the coop, moist spots, and smelling ammonia as the criteria for not enough ventilation? Pretty low bars, aren't they?

Not for the totally unaware.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Thank you. I liked the egg yolk article.

The other has some points worth considering and some that seem really sketchy - she uses condensation inside the coop, moist spots, and smelling ammonia as the criteria for not enough ventilation? Pretty low bars, aren't they?

agreed

 

[Katanahamon]

Thank you. I liked the egg yolk article.

The other has some points worth considering and some that seem really sketchy - she uses condensation inside the coop, moist spots, and smelling ammonia as the criteria for not enough ventilation? Pretty low bars, aren't they?

Gotta go with indicators that there isn’t enough. Always easy to add more ventilation. Also, that line in the article was after all the detail, they were simply summarizing in a very short way, just to show that with all the variables, all the seeming complication, it can be boiled down to..if you see wet spots, dampness, condensation despite having followed whatever recommendations or formulas you want, then you don’t have enough ventilation..

 

[Katanahamon]

We are still fighting the leveling/squaring issues and getting the doors to work well. I though it was fixed but it wasn't. Progress is really slow because we don't have much time or energy to work on it.

One of the battans between the door and the corner of the shed bowed way out; we think it is from squaring the building. One other did that in the beginning. The builder thought it got caught by the fork lift.

The current problem battan seems to be a main binding spot... when the strap is tightened. Or possibly one of the boards under it. That board is the only one that warped significantly. We pulled the battan loose and left it for now. We'll use screws to straighten that board. I'll have to give them a turn or two per day to go slow enough to not split the board.

The knots in the boards seem to be a bigger problem than I realized, and I thought they would be a huge problem. The internet says only epoxy has a hope of keeping knots from falling out if they want to fall out. The paint guy at the hardware store said epoxy won't work either. He recommended a certain brand/version of wood sealer. I got a package of epoxy and one of a fancy wood filler. I certainly have enough knots to experiment with. I'm worried the epoxy and wood filler will be too inflexible; that the expansions and contractions will work it loose. I'm thinking of a little wood filler or epoxy to secure the knot in place and then caulk to fill the rest of the depressions.

I want to finish painting before cold becomes an issue. That could be as soon as a month from now. Looks like finishing painting on the inside will get done next year.

They have started spreading out to sleep on the roost. And they like to walk the full length of it during the day and when starting to think about going to bed. Spice still eyes the top of the wall but doesn't try for it.

Many paints, at least in my area, are rated for quite cold temps. You’d be surprised, I was, at the quality..I did Sherwin Williams, used a palette from their home ideas..I took pics from my old iPad for your files, future color ideas..this was when the coop was still under construction, but I too was trying to get it painted before that very snow hit..edit..sorry my other screen is grungy, the paint job is better than the pic looks, although it certainly looks better than my house..!

 

[Katanahamon]

We are still fighting the leveling/squaring issues and getting the doors to work well. I though it was fixed but it wasn't. Progress is really slow because we don't have much time or energy to work on it.

One of the battans between the door and the corner of the shed bowed way out; we think it is from squaring the building. One other did that in the beginning. The builder thought it got caught by the fork lift.

The current problem battan seems to be a main binding spot... when the strap is tightened. Or possibly one of the boards under it. That board is the only one that warped significantly. We pulled the battan loose and left it for now. We'll use screws to straighten that board. I'll have to give them a turn or two per day to go slow enough to not split the board.

The knots in the boards seem to be a bigger problem than I realized, and I thought they would be a huge problem. The internet says only epoxy has a hope of keeping knots from falling out if they want to fall out. The paint guy at the hardware store said epoxy won't work either. He recommended a certain brand/version of wood sealer. I got a package of epoxy and one of a fancy wood filler. I certainly have enough knots to experiment with. I'm worried the epoxy and wood filler will be too inflexible; that the expansions and contractions will work it loose. I'm thinking of a little wood filler or epoxy to secure the knot in place and then caulk to fill the rest of the depressions.

I want to finish painting before cold becomes an issue. That could be as soon as a month from now. Looks like finishing painting on the inside will get done next year.

They have started spreading out to sleep on the roost. And they like to walk the full length of it during the day and when starting to think about going to bed. Spice still eyes the top of the wall but doesn't try for it.

Mine still do this..I’m wondering if they will continue to change roosting spots as the temps change. It seems they wander, wander, wander, then still end up close to where they always roost..the dominant hens seem to change spots, or rotate, or maybe trade..every few days they are in one of three spots.