Am i on the right track?

[Zerandise]

Just building my first coop. Had some plans but i made lots of changes. Just looking for some insight!

1st. It's not supose to be drafty. the one pics shows the direct sunlight that comes through the wall. is this too much of a gap or should i put a sealer on it? the walls will rarely if ever get wet as there will be 1.5 to 2' overhangs.

As for vents:
on the finished wall there is a slide window the wall opposite it will have the same style window.

above sliding window is a 5'x5" air vent that will remain open year round. It will have a small hinged flap that will attach to the eves for stormy night. The wall opposite it has the same vent. The lower of the two is 48" off the floor.

on the doored walls there is a large triangle. That will also be a hinged vent that can be open or closed as needed.

As for the inside. the nesting boxes are 15x13x12 and 12 inches off the ground. The roosts will be 24" inches off the ground leaving 24" inches between the roost and the permanent air vents.

City law says i can only have 5 hens so i went with 2 boxes. I didnt want to waste the space next too or below so made it in to storage.

I am building it all out of pallets and reclaimed wood.

Please let me know if anyone sees any huge issues as I am in no way a wood worker let alone a carpenter!!!

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing. If you put your location into your profile people will always be able to give you better-targeted advice.

When it comes to draft-free ventilation you want to keep the air moving over the chickens' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Here's my article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

And just to check your size while you've got time to make changes if you need to, here are the usual guidelines:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

So for 5 hens you need:

• 20 square feet in the coop,
• 50 square feet in the run,
• 5 linear feet of roost,
• 2 nests,
• And 5 square feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation.

Looks like you have a solid build started.

 

[Zerandise]

coop is 4x5 and the run is 65'

I amin Victoria BC on an island off the west coast of canada. It's never hot or cold but wet most of the year. Summers are in the mid to low 70's (might hit 80) and winters are in the high 30's to low 40's. We do get a number of wind storms every year. Thats why I want to be able to close the permanent vents! that being said one perm vent will be inside the run and the other will be well hidden from any rain or wind. Even in a down poor the two triangle will be 100% out of the rain as they will be under a 1.5 foot overhang.

Oddly driving down the road after I posted this i think i found my solution for killing the draft fully. I will have to remove that 1 wall but in the long run it will be far better!

 

[Zerandise]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing. If you put your location into your profile people will always be able to give you better-targeted advice.

When it comes to draft-free ventilation you want to keep the air moving over the chickens' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Here's my article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

And just to check your size while you've got time to make changes if you need to, here are the usual guidelines:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

So for 5 hens you need:

• 20 square feet in the coop,
• 50 square feet in the run,
• 5 linear feet of roost,
• 2 nests,
• And 5 square feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation.

Looks like you have a solid build started.

"Elizapeck has the best -- or the worst -- of both worlds when it comes to weather so her coop has to be flexible. Her owner put in soffit vents with big roof overhangs so that the snow can't get in and big windows with top-hinged covers to adjust as the seasons change. It can be all open, all closed, or somewhere in the middle."

This is 100% me!!

with both sliders and all 4 roof vents open there is a metric ton of air flow but I can close all of them as well. A great mix and match solution!. I only wish I had seen your article before I beat my head on the wall figuring it out!!

 

[3KillerBs]

"Elizapeck has the best -- or the worst -- of both worlds when it comes to weather so her coop has to be flexible. Her owner put in soffit vents with big roof overhangs so that the snow can't get in and big windows with top-hinged covers to adjust as the seasons change. It can be all open, all closed, or somewhere in the middle."

This is 100% me!!

with both sliders and all 4 roof vents open there is a metric ton of air flow but I can close all of them as well. A great mix and match solution!. I only wish I had seen your article before I beat my head on the wall figuring it out!!

Sounds like you're on the right track then.

What roofing material were you planning on using?

 

[Zerandise]

Sounds like you're on the right track then.

What roofing material were you planning on using?

to be completely honest I have not figured that out yet. I am doing it out of reclaimed wood so that defines a lot. I was thinking about going with opaque corrugated roofing panels. this would leave gaps that i could not close off airflow wise though. the roof will be 8'x12'.

 

[3KillerBs]

to be completely honest I have not figured that out yet. I am doing it out of reclaimed wood so that defines a lot. I was thinking about going with opaque corrugated roofing panels. this would leave gaps that i could not close off airflow wise though. the roof will be 8'x12'.

IIRC, they make a foam closure strip to use with corrugated panels. It's not the airflow that's a problem, it the possibility of small predators exploiting the gap.

You might consider metal roofing. It's remarkably easy to work with.

 

[Zerandise]

IIRC, they make a foam closure strip to use with corrugated panels. It's not the airflow that's a problem, it the possibility of small predators exploiting the gap.

You might consider metal roofing. It's remarkably easy to work with.

But is it cheap? I have already blown past my budget! My autistic grandson has found his joy in critters. I live on a fairly small bit of land. in fact the coop and run will take up 1/2 of my back yard. We live in the city so I am out of range of most predator's. Racoons and dog's being primary. Dont think we really have anything else around here to worry about thats not in the sky.

 

[3KillerBs]

But is it cheap? I have already blown past my budget! My autistic grandson has found his joy in critters. I live on a fairly small bit of land. in fact the coop and run will take up 1/2 of my back yard. We live in the city so I am out of range of most predator's. Racoons and dog's being primary. Dont think we really have anything else around here to worry about thats not in the sky.

I don't know how the price of metal compares to the corrugated stuff.

I can say to not get Ondura no matter how cheap it is. The stuff is heavy, awkward, and crumbles in a lot less time than they claim.

When we bought this property there was a structure with an Ondura roof that was only about 5 years old and was unsalvagable.

 

[perkolator]

Online stores like Home Depot will show you a price in seconds. At mine, a metal panel is only like $1-2 more than the gray plastic one, it's cheaper than one of the other plastic ones they carry. To me that's a no-brainer to just use metal as I know it will last a lifetime in good conditions.

My metal panels are from a salvaged barn, they've gotta be at least 80yrs old at this point and still going strong.