A Few Coop Build Questions

[123RedBeard]

One of the challenges you will discover with a small square, and going "vertical" ... is that chickens aren't helicopters ... they need atleast, if not more horizontal room, for landing, as they are flying down from the high roost ... one way to kinda help with this ... is to build ramps that they can walk up and down ... but, they really need to be 10"-12" wide ... so you just reduced your 4' coop, to 3' ...

If you still want an elevated, reach in style coop ... I'd recommend stretching one side to 6' at minumum, 8' would be much better ... with two 3' wide doors on one side, it would still be possible to reach in and clean ... and it would increase your under coop covered runs space too!

 

[Alaskan]

1. Will 3/8" T1-11 be sufficient for exterior sheathing? I intend to do the standard 16" studs but I'm starting to be concerned that 3/8" won't be warm enough if I don't insulate the walls of the coop. We get some cold weather, although Lake Superior keeps us from getting too frigid; wind chill is typically the concern.

Wind chill doesn't matter if you block the wind. So yes, regular sheathing is fine. However, if you get lots of wind, a run that is roofed and walled on at least 2 sides to block the wind is excellent!

2. Should I insulate just the floor with one of the pieces of Dow board I have handy, since this coop will be raised off the ground?

If the wind barrels under the coop... insulating the floor will be a huge help. But, you better be very careful as to how you insulate it so chickens can get to it and rodents can't nest in it. If you block the wind and keep it from gusting under the coop, then you don't need insulation.

2A. For winter climates, any suggestions or insights for protecting the interior floor? I like the idea of using BlackJack

I have always thought that stuff sounds great... never used it though.

2B. Would it be foolish to try to do deep litter with a raised coop of this size? I didn't want to do poop boards just to keep things as simple as possible, but was going to design the door in a way that would let me scrape the coop clean into a wheel barrow.

The poop freezes into concrete. Since you only have a few hens, if you go out every day, you might be able to remove the concrete like poo before it welds itself into an immovable sheet.

This however is why I LOVE poop boards. For winter I line the boards with a feed sack... usually I can pop that up and out, no matter how cold... get it outside, crack the poo off, then replace the feed sack. But... if it turns into concrete.... at least they have a clean floor to walk around on.

3. For the roofing, should I sheath 2/3s or 3/4s of the roof, cut a sky light in the ply, and have the polycarbonate panels over that? The panels are more than strong enough for snow with a proper roof frame, and are UV protected on the exterior side, but I wonder if it might be too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer without some roof sheathing under them

I would put the polycarbonate as wind blocks in the run... or as roofing in the run.

4. I have 1/4" hardware cloth for predator proofing. I plan to use heavy duty staples and then some trim over that. I have experience with predator proofing but I'm concerned about weasels where we live now. Any tips besides the obvious for weasel proofing? Any tricks for deterring them that a google search hasn't already told me?

1/4 inch is perfect to keep out weasels. Just remember that the suckers can climb.

5. I plan on having 2 attached nesting boxes with outside access for collecting eggs. Should I insulate the nesting boxes to keep them cozier in the winter and cooler in the summer? Or is this silly?

To keep eggs from freezing I would recommend you use a roll out nestbox, with a heat tape in the pipe insulation against which the eggs roll. Or... some heat mat thing in the nest boxes. I think the ones made for dog kennels are relatively safe.

Make sure you have a big overhang on the roof over the nest box lid to keep rain and snow out. If I lived where you do and got that much snow I'd build a Woods coop with everything inside and have a large roofed run attached to it.

JT

Yep.

 

[Alaskan]

Also.... this article that I wrote... has s bunch of other cold weather building tips


https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/