A-Frame Coop Finished...*** New Pics Added pg 5***

[UrbanMama]

Thank you for all of the wonderful feedback!

Ventilation...I'm planning on making the vent in the peak above the door as well as a "screen door" made of hardware cloth/screen for the summer. (I'm making a frame for the door and screwing plywood down, then in the summer I can trade it out for hardware cloth with a screen. Now I was under the impression that with the deep-litter method there wasn't the strong ammonia odor? Is that not correct?

Baseboards...The area behind it is filled with rocks. They are large at the bottom and smaller to the top ( I didn't want the weight to hurt the Palruf)
Hopefully that'll keep the little poopers out of there!

I'm hoping that this will work for at least the next year or two (I know the untreated wood won't last forever and I really do want to eventually use it as a greenhouse.) I'm already working on my next coop plans....the next one will definitely be bigger!

 

[my first peepers]

In the winter you need ventilation to get rid of moisture from poo and that the birds give off, evaporating from their bodies. If they get damp they will get cold and if it's cold enough they can die.

I didn't know about this when we built our coop so I'm having to go back and retro fit. Since you are still in building phase you can still make the changes you need on the way. Hope this helps!

I wish someone had told me but I didn't find BYC until it was too late!

By the way, who's going to be living in this lovely home? Do you have some chicks stashed somewhere?

Edited to add link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

This has all the answers!

 

[UrbanMama]

Thank you for the link! As for chickies...none yet, but we have eggs in the 'bator!

 

[Shawn Wilder]

we have a buff orpinton that has been sick for about two weeks it sneezes a lot with mucus discharge it sits around with little activity the other hens will not sit with her or rome the yard with her. we are raising them organic problem is, my children are taken with this one hen so we are contemplating antibiotics. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks you

 

[UrbanMama]

Quote:
I'm so sorry you have a sick chickie! I'm glad to see you put up a post in the other section and were able to get some feedback....I'll keep her in my prayers!

Ventilation question...The seams of the Palruf are open (the front anyway) I planned on putting up some trim to block it off....with all the questions about ventilation, should I just leave it open? If you look at the front of the A-frame,you can see where the roof meets the front ... My only concern with doing this is that if it rains/snows hard enough (think Nor'Easter here) would it come in through there? I'm not concerned about predators because the openings are too small.

I'm hoping to build both of the doors today and was planning on putting trim up too...unless I here otherwise from all of you!

 

[halo]

Im not exactly sure what you mean about the seams being open, but however much ventilation you think you need, you will need more. The long sides of your coop have absolutely no cross ventilation, so you will need the front and back to have rather large openings to compensate. If you're not concerned about predators, maybe you can make some open windows, with some type of door that you could close if bad weather sets in. Even with a lot of rain or cold, you'll need ventilation. Birds can handle cold, they cant handle stagnant damp ammonia air.

 

[mksenoj]

Great looking coop! Keep the pictures coming. In the winter you need ventilation to get rid of moisture from the poo.

 

[UrbanMama]

Quote:
Thank you for your input....I'll see what I can come up with.

I'm doing the best I can with what I have, hopefully it will be good enough. If not, I'll have to modify as I'm able.

Thanks again.

 

[UrbanMama]

The A-frame is finally finished!...Or at least for the winter

i have more cosmetic stuff I'd like to do (including building a patio/chicken watching area between my hubby's shop and the a-frame) and I have two vents that I need to put into the front...but for now...I'm done.

The run is almost complete (again, for the winter...more will be done to it in the summer) I still have the netting to put up, but that can be done in the snow if need-be.

Here's some pics...

(The afternoon sun shines right into the clear side of the coop and you can see where we are going to set up the patio area in the summer.....)

The back with pop-door up..

And closed...

Door open..you can see the inside of the pop-door and the kick board I put in front of the door to keep shavings in...

The patio area and a better shot of the run... (approx 14' X 20' currently lined inside and out with a stone wall)

Now the total cost is about $550 (including the run) This includes the seperate coop and run that I'm building out of kids plastic playhouses...AKA Silkie Ville.

 

[Omran]

Congratulation, You did a great and fantastic Job.

Omran