Advice for Chicken coop with Greenhouse together

[Valk]

Wow, FoxyChicken, looks great!

My hubby wants to do a similar coop/run/greenhouse combination. I'll have to show him your posts and pictures!

Quick question: will there be too much humidity in the coop from the greenhouse during the winter? It's my first year with chickens, so I haven't been through a winter with them but everything I read on this site says to keep it dry and they'll be just fine. Just wondering, thanks!

 

[FoxyChicken]

Valk- I won't have any living plants in the greenhouse in the winter so humidity shouldn't be an issue. It'll be my first winter with the chickens too, I'll keep everyone posted as to how it goes!
I haven't even gotten an egg yet

 

[FoxyChicken]

New chick- the entire structure is 10x16. The run and greenhouse are both 6x10, and the coop is 4x10. The "vestibule" is about 2 feet so the main coop is about 4x8. I believe it's 8 feet tall in the middle, the roof over the run slopes down to 7 feet and the greenhouse roof slopes down to maybe 6 feet I'm guessing.

 

[Valk]

Valk- I won't have any living plants in the greenhouse in the winter so humidity shouldn't be an issue. It'll be my first winter with the chickens too, I'll keep everyone posted as to how it goes!
I haven't even gotten an egg yet

Can't wait to hear how it all goes. It looks like you'll do great this winter! It should certainly retain some heat for the chickens.

My oldest girls are going on 22 weeks and we haven't gotten eggs either. Someone earlier told me "a watched pot never boils". Hah, how right they are! Hopefully we'll both get eggs soon.

Enjoy your hard work!

 

[aart]

Cool! Nice details, thanks for the pics and explanations.
Just saw that you had mentioned the roosts was too close previously to my asking <blush>

Do you have any plans on dealing with the heat from the GH effecting the coop in the summer?

 

[FoxyChicken]

aart- No problem! I pretty much did all of my research and learning and got all my ideas from this site, so if I can give a little back that's great.
(Obviously the one thing I didn't research was roost spacing from the wall, and it showed

)

As for summer heat, the way I figure it, here in Northern Minnesota I have maybe two or three weeks total of temps in the upper 70's to low 80's but 5-6 months of pretty harsh winter so I focused more on keeping them warm instead of cool. That being said, the coop walls are all insulated and I can close the window between the coop and GH. There are also curtains I can shut to block the sun. Also, it turns out that an empty, flattened 50 pound feed bag fits perfectly in the window opening between the coop and GH so that gives another little extra thermal break. During this past little heat wave we had there was a noticeable temperature difference when I went from the greenhouse into the coop. I also keep the pop door to the enclosed run open 24/7 so they can go out as they please. Seems they spent most of their time in the vestibule area laying in the sand.

 

[FoxyChicken]

Well now that we're starting to get frigid temps I thought I'd post a little update. Yesterday it was -9F in the morning and I think it maybe got up to +3F during the day but it was sunny (as it usually is on very cold days) and the greenhouse and coop were in the 20's. Unfortunately the coop doesn't hold the heat overnight, but at least they get a reprieve during the day. The coop is also staying very dry, it has good ventilation so no moisture issues. I'm using a heated dog bowl for water but I keep it out in the greenhouse because it puts off a lot of moisture. I also wrapped the North and West sides of the run with clear plastic to block the snow and wind but they're still not very interested in going outside.

Today wasn't sunny but it still warmed up to about 12 in the greenhouse. They were just watching the world go by and eating warm mash.

 

[aart]

Nice, they look like they're on vacation soaking up some sun!

 

[4 Acre]

well now that winter is not leaving...... how is everything going with the coop/GH. I will be doing the same this year also. first time with chickens too. they show up on st.pat's day..
PS great post by the way..

 

[Alaskan]

Why looky here! I hadn't noticed this thread before.


I have had my greenhouse connected to my chicken coop for a few years now. I love it.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/my-coop-journey