During the coop building process and the months following several things came up which we will call "lessons learned."
BAD IDEAS
1. Do NOT use stick-on vinyl tiles! The chickens will scratch them up and tear them apart in no time. A solid sheet of vinyl would be an excellent choice though.
2. Do NOT use regular screening on the windows. The mesh is too small and will collect dust which will prohibit sunlight from entering the coop. Hardware cloth is a much better choice.
3. Use two hinges, one on each side, for the gang planks instead of one in the center. This will prevent shifting and loosening of the screws.
GOOD IDEAS
1. Passive solar heat. The east and south facing windows are working well to provide passive solar heat to the south end of the coop. Even on an overcast day that end stays 15 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. On a sunny day at 32 degrees outside the inside can reach over 60 degrees! The north end of the coop with only north facing windows is much, much colder.
2. Adding pop doors to the storage area was a good idea. It's been in constant use. In fact we removed the bottom storage cabinet and now use it full-time as a Bantam coop.
BAD IDEAS
1. Do NOT use stick-on vinyl tiles! The chickens will scratch them up and tear them apart in no time. A solid sheet of vinyl would be an excellent choice though.
2. Do NOT use regular screening on the windows. The mesh is too small and will collect dust which will prohibit sunlight from entering the coop. Hardware cloth is a much better choice.
3. Use two hinges, one on each side, for the gang planks instead of one in the center. This will prevent shifting and loosening of the screws.
GOOD IDEAS
1. Passive solar heat. The east and south facing windows are working well to provide passive solar heat to the south end of the coop. Even on an overcast day that end stays 15 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. On a sunny day at 32 degrees outside the inside can reach over 60 degrees! The north end of the coop with only north facing windows is much, much colder.
2. Adding pop doors to the storage area was a good idea. It's been in constant use. In fact we removed the bottom storage cabinet and now use it full-time as a Bantam coop.
