Any experience or recommendations with the Sym Coop in Portland Oregon?

[zinnia5117]

Hi everyone,
I’m starting to seriously get ready to build a coop. I like the idea of the “Sym Coop” design from “Reinventing the Chicken Coop”. There is a link that shows pictures.

http://newfactory.com/sym/

My one concern is that I bet it gets a bit colder up here in the Portland (OR) area than in San Francisco where it was designed and I am not sure if this would provide enough protection for chickens on our colder days. Any insights or ideas for how to modify the basic idea to work for coldish weather would be appreciated!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have found my birds love having the dirt floor when it rains they love having dirt baths in the coop

 

[rosemarythyme]

How cold does it get for you? Cold is probably less of an issue than drafts or rain getting in with this design. The easiest "fix" would be to make removable panels that could cover up some of the sides during bad weather (semi transparent panels like you see in a greenhouse would work, or plywood, or even clear plastic sheets).

Personally I don't love it - it looks stylish for an urban setting but it's set up more like a hamster cage than a chicken coop and both ramps look a bit steep. I'd rather have something less "pretty" and more functional. I have no problem making nice compost using a more standard coop and run set up. How many chickens were you hoping to get?

 

[pennyJo1960]

A nice square shed determined by how many birds you want hardware cloth for the run

 

[zinnia5117]

Thank you for your feedback! Probably the coldest it gets is in the mid 20s. Not for very long, but maybe up to a week.

I will look at some other options too.

 

[aart]

Looks like La-La Land dreaming to me...Sorry..it's just unrealistic theory.
Maybe thought up by someone who never actually kept chickens.