Winter time Update
Just an update.
So far our coop is proving to be very low maintenace and convenient. Here are some images in no specific order.
The marine clear vinyl sheets are keeping the covered run dry and protected from the winds. We purposedly left a gap at the top to allow ventilation.
The droppings board works great, I highly recommend it. Not only it is very easy to clean, but because it is filled with 2-3 inches of Sweet PDZ it practically works as a giant deodorizer and dehumidifier for the coop.
We build a convertible seat/roosting post for the run. The girls love it and it is very covenient when we want to just sit down in the run and pet them.
With leftover vinyl I build a little strip door to stop the draft of colder air from the run. Not sure it is really necessary, but I like it.
We have a wall waterer with heater on the inside. I placed a bowl under it to collect any water drips and we have no problems with excessive moisture inside the coop. Of course the coop is quite large and we have sand on the floor and PDZ in the droppings board.
We installed two heater panels and plugged them through thermo cubes, so they only turn on if the temperature drops below freezing and turn off I believe at 45 degrees. They work well and thanks to the vinyl panels there is not a huge difference in temperature betweem the run and the coop.
The nest boxes (not pictured) are also working very well. To prevent the eggs from freezing we installed a deicer cable under them. So far so good. The paint trays lined with astro turf are working wery well. They are easy to clean and resilient.
Next project: Installing the cedar shutters that we build with the siding salvaged from the shed.
So far our coop is proving to be very low maintenace and convenient. Here are some images in no specific order.
The marine clear vinyl sheets are keeping the covered run dry and protected from the winds. We purposedly left a gap at the top to allow ventilation.
The droppings board works great, I highly recommend it. Not only it is very easy to clean, but because it is filled with 2-3 inches of Sweet PDZ it practically works as a giant deodorizer and dehumidifier for the coop.
We build a convertible seat/roosting post for the run. The girls love it and it is very covenient when we want to just sit down in the run and pet them.
With leftover vinyl I build a little strip door to stop the draft of colder air from the run. Not sure it is really necessary, but I like it.
We have a wall waterer with heater on the inside. I placed a bowl under it to collect any water drips and we have no problems with excessive moisture inside the coop. Of course the coop is quite large and we have sand on the floor and PDZ in the droppings board.
We installed two heater panels and plugged them through thermo cubes, so they only turn on if the temperature drops below freezing and turn off I believe at 45 degrees. They work well and thanks to the vinyl panels there is not a huge difference in temperature betweem the run and the coop.
The nest boxes (not pictured) are also working very well. To prevent the eggs from freezing we installed a deicer cable under them. So far so good. The paint trays lined with astro turf are working wery well. They are easy to clean and resilient.
Next project: Installing the cedar shutters that we build with the siding salvaged from the shed.
- Next page: Summer 2021 Update
- Previous page: Planning
loooove the picture overload.
Love the attention to detail and your ability to be able to repurpose an existing structure. Glad no injuries occurred with evicting the critter and stepping in someone's former underground den. 
