Building in a very humid maritime climate (Pacific NW) - considerations?

[ChickenHermit]

Hello! We just purchased a house up in the Pacific Northwest, and my chickens have all moved up, but are currently in temporary housing. I'm starting to work on a more permanent solution for them, and I'm just wondering if there are special considerations in this type of climate. I know mold can be an issue, and keeping things dry, etc. Just wondering if there might be something else I'm not thinking of. I'm from sunny California, so thinking about all the damp is a pretty new experience for me! I'm also wondering if anyone in the general area (I'm a little east of Astoria, OR) has any insight on predators. I've dealt with issues with raccoons, bobcats, coyotes and rats in the past, but I keep hearing unpleasant rumors of weasels around here. I'm wondering if there are other predators I might not have come across much before? And how to build to keep them out.

Here are my vague thought/plans so far:

- We have a very large, newer, well roofed three sided cedar shed structure that I intend to wire in to be their run, with a coop inside. It was used as wood storage by the previous owners, and it is rain-proof- has a composite roof.

- The shed already has crushed stone throughout on the ground, and I'm planning on adding sand on top for bedding. I thought sand would be best as I'm worried shavings, hay, straw or paper would mold in fairly short order. I've never used sand before, but there have been some really great review/articles on it here on BYC, and it seems like an ideal solution for the climate, at least in theory.

- I'm a bit worried about the chickens getting enough light in winter, but want them to be really sheltered as well. Might anyone have any ideas on that balance? The structure I'm converting is in a relatively shaded spot. The coop they were in in California was too, but we free-ranged them a lot which sort of balanced it, but I'm not sure how doable that will be here when we get into rainy season.

- I've been wondering if I should connect electrical to the new coop so they can have a light, and possibly a heater for those rare freezes/snow times. I'm kind of nervous about freezing and snow in generally- it's something I haven't had to deal with much in keeping chickens before! It would be fairly easy to run electrical, as the shed is adjacent to our shop/garage.

Edited to add photo of shed for conversion:

 

[HighStreetCoop]

I think you mostly seem to have a solid plan. I wouldn't worry about a heater. Chickens deal with cold just fine. All a heater does is add a potential fire hazard to your coop (and maybe endanger your chickens by having them not used to the cold and then the power goes out!).

I'm never sure about sand in a cold, damp climate. It just seems like it would be cold and hard on their feet. If it was me, I'd build up a good bark and leaf mulch bed that they can turn over and dig around in. It should stay pretty dry since the run is roofed.

 

[Jynuine]

Also on the heater, for you I would just worry more about drafts because Astoria is sooo windy. In the winter when all it does is blow and rain, you could have a hanging light bulb in there at the top attached to a thermostat that auto comes on at 35 degrees or something and shuts off at 45 or whatever like this http://www.123ponds.com/tc-3.html?u...cGYjQ1NOvHuXz1FEliCASyFrAS2eKmzw57hoCAVHw_wcB

But just make sure it's draft-free. And Welcome to Oregon!

 

[ChickenHermit]

Oh, that's a great idea! I'll have to look into that- it would be great, especially in winter. And thank you for the welcome- looks like you're not too far away!


On the above comment about sand being cold- I have been a little worried about it, but it seems like colder but clean/dry is preferable to mucky and moldy. Maybe if I give them a lot of perches and things to play and roost on, it would mitigate it somewhat? There's definitely enough vertical space in that shed- it's really tall.

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

What type of cedar is that shed made of?

Most cedars are not a good choice for chickens being anywhere around it, (that's why no one uses cedar chips for bedding, aromatic oils cause respiratory issues to develop), I would check into that possible issue first thing.

Other than that it sounds to me like you have a pretty good plan of attack.

 

[junebuggena]

I'm just across the river from you. You will need a 4 sided coop here. The wind can drive the rain is just about any direction, so protecting from the rain and wind gusts is important. I use straw in my coop over a dirt floor and have no problems with it molding. Predators in this region include raccoons, bobcats, mountain lions, bears, coyotes, feral cats, eagles, osprey, hawks, owls, weasels, martens, snakes, and rats. It doesn't get cold enough here to need a heater in the coop. Winter temps rarely get lower than 30*, and most chickens can handle that just fine. They do need a pretty big covered, sheltered place to avoid crowding stress in the winter. Chickens don't mind rain too much or wind, but they don't go out when it's really windy and pouring rain (very common for winter here). My coop is setup to be kind of an indoor chicken jungle gym. I have 2 roosts at 3 feet, one at 5 feet, and 3 at 6 feet high.

 

[junebuggena]

One thing you should be aware of, in terms of aerial predators, there is a migratory population of snowy owls that pass through. They feed mostly on birds while in the area and they are not strictly nocturnal.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

What type of cedar is that shed made of?

Most cedars are not a good choice for chickens being anywhere around it, (that's why no one uses cedar chips for bedding, aromatic oils cause respiratory issues to develop), I would check into that possible issue first thing.

Other than that it sounds to me like you have a pretty good plan of attack.

Cedar lumber is FINE for chickens to be around. Shavings allow for massive amounts of aromatic oils to be released, and that's why it should be avoided. Lumber does not. It's an excellent choice and has been used forever for coops and other outbuildings because its rot-resistant. And as this shed has been in place for a while already, there's really NO reason to worry at all. It's not even fresh wood.

On the above comment about sand being cold- I have been a little worried about it, but it seems like colder but clean/dry is preferable to mucky and moldy. Maybe if I give them a lot of perches and things to play and roost on, it would mitigate it somewhat? There's definitely enough vertical space in that shed- it's really tall.

Poo and wood/leaves/etc. naturally break down and compost. Poo and sand ... not so much. I'd rather have a naturally composting floor than a sandy poo soup (which is my worst case scenario with a sand floor in a rainy location), but it's really up to you and what you think you're likely to be up against (and how good your drainage is there).

 

[tcstoehr]

I would check on the humidity aspect. I don't think the PNW is particularly humid at all, but I'm in the valley not out in Astoria.
Heating will not be necessary as your climate is very mild. Quite excellent in fact as chickens are more threatened by heat than by cold, and neither gets very extreme in Astoria.
Cloudiness is not an issue. You will have short days in the winter as anyone will at your latitude. Clouds won't make any difference, not much anyway.
Over here in the valley my chickens spend nearly all day hiding from the heat during the recent hot spells.
Do make sure they have adequate shelter that they can duck under to stay out of the rain. And maybe some wind breaks.

 

[ChickenHermit]

I agree that the cedar lumber should be okay- it's several years old, at least, and quite cured out, so I don't think it should present a problem.

We've been here a little under two months, and there are already issues with mold here and there- very very humid here! It's been a problem indoors as well as out. I've lived in Portland in bits and pieces over the past few years and didn't have any issues with it there, but it seems that this micro-climate we're in is prone to it, which is why I'm so concerned about potentially moldy bedding.

For reference, accoding to a number of sources, Astoria is tied h two other towns for most humid in the contiguous US. See the Climate section here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria,_Oregon. I'm pretty happy with that personally, as I love clouds, rain, and wet weather in general (I wilt in the sun). But it does create some issues, mold-wise.