brand new & overwhelmed!

[wingsofglory]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=445004&p=1

This thread has an excellent coop for Michigan weather. Everyone loves this design and its based on a lot of research and traditional coops in Maine area.

Has beautiful photos and later in thread, pics of inside the coop.

The photos show the roofline I was trying to describe with addition of transom windows.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Michigan winters and heating your coop should'nt be much of a concern honestly. If you search for the Alaskan thread you learn just how hardy chickens are. My birds here in New Hampshire stayed half days in the coop when temps hit -20 and -30. Otherwise if only 0 F would spend all day in the run. We used a tarp to wrap 3 sides and top of run for wind sheild. Come deep snow your tractor is not moving, piled snow to hold the tarp in place. Never used heat or insulation. My birds layed all winter.

All I was saying here is large coops for cooping in chickens all day are not needed. Tractors work and I personally use one. You can check my page. Below is it this winter with 7 chickens (though recomend time of day for free ranging). The electic cord seen is for 12 hour 13w light and heated waterer that's in run. The run door we left open all winter and gated the end of shoveld path so they could hang out under the side deck.

 

[Mattemma]

I ended up putting mine in an old metal tool shed. So far so good with 2 summers/2 winters. I cut holes for plexi glass to add sunlight,and drilled a few holes for ventilation.

Some people have converted plastic play houses. I recently sold mine on craigs for $60,so keep your eyes open for deals. I see coops too. Start collected free wood pallets for building a coop. For a run I have used plastic fencing and bird netting,but ofcourse metal wire fencing is far better!

 

[alhanse77]

I will agree with what some of the others are saying about an A-frame style coop. We live in Idaho and the coop was great in the summer when the chickens could be out and about in the yard. We learned very quickly this winter that it was difficult to winterize. We had to cover the coop with tarps and plywood to keep the snow out of the bottom. Sometimes the ice and snow made it difficult to open/close the doors. Since we were not able to move the coop during the winter, the floor of the coop quickly became muddy when the snow started to thaw. We still can't move it because it is frozen to the ground! For us our A-frame will work for another summer, but we have plans to build a permanent, shed-style coop this summer.

 

[javelina21]

Thanks all for your advice! I had already been looking at 10 inch wheels because I thought the smaller ones wouldn't be quite as useful if I were moving the tractor on my own. Now, I'm thinking I may need even bigger tires.

I'm aware that the coop will become stationary once the snow arrives, and we've already picked out the parking spot: the place where it'll get the most sunlight & wind protection.

I'll definitely be using something to cover the run once the snow hits. I'm not a fan of winter or snow either, but even I can be convinced to go out if the reward is big enough. So, we're planning to lure them out of the coop with sprouts, mushy apples, etc: feed inside, tasty treats outside.

I think the bottom line is, we have too many hens for the space we can (willingly) provide. We don't have a farm, just 1/2 acre with 245lbs of dogs running through it. I'd trust one dog with the hens, if supervised, but the other is a hunter --so they will need to be protected from him at all times. Now, I just need to decide which hens are going to live with the neighbors....

 

[elmo]

Consider building a stationary coop and run for winter (and for the added security from nighttime predators that you can get with a stationary coop). Then build a lightweight day tractor to get the benefits of free ranging when the weather is good for it. This is what I do, and it works beautifully.