Building New Coop/Barn...Phase 5 Great Barn Build, OCCUPIED! 3/6/16

[speckledhen]

We covered the gutter last night with several layers of black plastic. I was thinking today that this deep concrete trench all the way around the building will be a heck of a predator dig barrier. I won't need wire on the ground under the pens with this baby in place. What do you think?

 

[aart]

We covered the gutter last night with several layers of black plastic. I was thinking today that this deep concrete trench all the way around the building will be a heck of a predator dig barrier. I won't need wire on the ground under the pens with this baby in place. What do you think?

Cool Beans on the plastic, you must have been exhausted glad you made the effort!! <thumbsup>
Did you stick your hand under there this morning to see if it was holding some warmth?

Agrees the concrete gutter should be an effective dig barrier...unless they go under it, but no cover nearby so should be easy to detect if it becomes an issue.

 

[speckledhen]

Cool Beans on the plastic, you must have been exhausted glad you made the effort!! <thumbsup>
Did you stick your hand under there this morning to see if it was holding some warmth?

Agrees the concrete gutter should be an effective dig barrier...unless they go under it, but no cover nearby so should be easy to detect if it becomes an issue.

I didn't, just left it there. Busy, busy day off the farm today.

I think something would have to tunnel way down, then go at least two feet then go up the same distance they tunneled down in the first place to get into the barn.That's a looooong tunnel. If they manage to get past this one, they almost deserve a chicken dinner. That would be one dedicated predator. I just hope mice/rats don't manage to tunnel under there. We've never had a building flat on the ground before. There will be plastic over the interior gravel floor before the wood floors are built on top so hopefully, that plus the concrete barrier will stop most of anything that could tunnel.

DH asked for tomorrow off from manual labor. We have a family dinner two hours west of us to attend Sunday and tomorrow, I have to bake desserts for it. I told him that he could refrain from concrete and digging. We may do the caulking around all the door trim and the exterior corners, though. Rain is supposed to hold off for at least a week and it will be warming up in a few days, too.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Rats are in a different category, they will tunnel under anything, they go under our concrete slabs until they find a gap, so you are not stopping them unfortunately, we get them every fall, the only thing that works for us is poison.

 

[The BlanchRanch]

I noticed ou sealed this up tight. Don't you have problems with humidity build up and frost bite? I know in MN. you would.

 

[aart]

I noticed ou sealed this up tight. Don't you have problems with humidity build up and frost bite? I know in MN. you would.

@The BlanchRanch If you read thru the thread, ventilation is discussed quite a bit.

 

[The BlanchRanch]

I just looked at the pics. My bad.

 

[speckledhen]

I noticed ou sealed this up tight. Don't you have problems with humidity build up and frost bite? I know in MN. you would.

I would never seal up a chicken barn tight, trust me. I sealed up gaps against rain and drafts. I want my ventilation up high. If you've seen my other coops, they always have good size ventilation openings at the tops of walls, all winter long. In this barn, there are 5 windows, a 2.5" x 6 ft gap at the top of the roll-up door, plus air flows inside the box trim all around the building (you can see daylight at the top of the walls). I have already discussed more ventilation with husband, who usually balks at "more" of anything, but the possibility of a wall-installed exhaust fan in one of the gables is still in play as well as barn hanging fans of some sort. I'm not going to do it until I'm at that juncture. We have a long, long way to go before chickens will inhabit this building.

I spent a little while ago placing the steel U-posts back at the fence line where they used to be, now that the pasture work is complete. We have the chain link gate installed again and ready for the posts to be hammered in and the fence re-strung, but DH has messed up his fingertips with the concrete work and is out of play today for the most part.

 

[aart]

...... DH has messed up his fingertips with the concrete work and is out of play today for the most part.

No gloves huh? BTDT.

 

[speckledhen]

No gloves huh? BTDT.

Yup. I had my hands in it some, too, and mine are fine, but his are drier to begin with and that stuff sucks every drop of moisture out of your skin anyway. He'll wear rubber gloves next time or use a float. He was using a short piece of steel frame as a float to shape the trench at one point, but not soon enough and where it rolls up over the first concrete we put down, you can't really use that very well. Needless to say, his violin lesson was "sans violin" ("sans" is French for "without" for those who are not aware). We'll be starting back at it on Monday, providing his back is okay then after tomorrow's drive and family get-together.