Chicken Palace Progress *PICS*

[CritterHill]

Progress continues. Hoping to get stairs, ramp, and siding on this coming weekend!

The frame:

The front with plywood:

From far away. just so you can see how much grass we don't have...

South and East sides:

Chicken Cat!

Gratuitous cat pic:

Question, do you think the two windows will be enough ventilation? In the summer we will have the door open during the heat of the day.

There is a 2 inch opening at the top of the front wall due to a slight mismeasurement. I am lobbying to leave it there and just put wire over it for winter ventilation that won't be right at chicken level...

 

[whatnow?]

That looks really great. I started mine last weekend and immediately regretted not using platform construction which is much easier to assemble with one person. It was courteous of you to include a door for the cat.

Do you have a lot of chickens? I plan on putting only 4 in a 6 foot by 5 foot coop (it's 30 inches off the ground and inside height is about 4.5 feet.)

Can't help with the ventilation. This must be a function of # of chickens, size of coop, and location. I'm not too worried about ventilation for four hens because I plan on using soffit vents (with wire) and ridge or gable vents. I'm more worried that the space is too big for Philly winters.

EDIT: I just noticed the SE PA and see that you are right up the street... I'm north of Downingtown.

 

[CritterHill]

I have no chickens yet

They should be arriving in a month!

We will be getting 11 chicks. Hoping they all make it. So, yes, it is bigger than they will need especially since we plan to put a second floor of roosts in. But hey! More room for more chickens later!

My husband doesn't realize it yet, but he will be running electric out to it this fall so we can have a heat lamp going in the winter

I think it is too tall to expect it to be heated by chicken power alone especially with the Philly winters.

We argued about the ventilation. He insists that two windows will be plenty, I think we need more that isn't right at roost height for the winter. So I was pretty happy when he made the slight measurement error.

 

[hcammack]

what breeds are you getting? I am in Maryland it is cool that there are so many chickens around here.

thanks,
Henry

 

[CritterHill]

We are getting the crested Polish chicks.

5 gold laced polish, 5 white crested blue polish, 1 buff laced polish. They don't seem to be good at much except looking cool. Mostly they will be pets we can get eggs out of for a few years.

 

[antiquebuff]

I love this design! Are you going to have a fenced run around it? I would like to do something like this and have three of these and just put them up together to keep my different breeds apart. I could just spend a fortune doing this! I agree with you on the ventilation , you may need a little bit more.
Have fun and keep posting as you go!

 

[hcammack]

Cool I have a suburban laying flock just got my first egg yesterday it is the best they are my favorite animals.

Henry

 

[whatnow?]

Windows aren't the worst thing to have to add later. There is plenty of wall space for windows. I don't have any yet since I am really winging the design and I want to make sure I leave space on the wall to hang some outside accessible (by me) nest boxes.

Next thing is the run... I had the chicks out yesterday in that 70 degree weather and the hawks circled overhead. Guess the run will have overhead screening.

 

[CritterHill]

Quote:
Yep, fenced run including fenced top and wire run out along the ground. We have foxes and a hawk nest in our neighbor's tree. So we have a lot of predator proofing to do.

Not sure how we are going to attach the run to the coop since DH wants to put cedar siding on it. We aren't actually working from any sort of plan here. This has been a somewhat organic project that changes as we get parts of it complete.

 

[CritterHill]

whatnow? :

I am really winging the design

Oh yeah. I'm with you there.

whatnow? :

the hawks circled overhead

And there...

We also have these guys we have to protect against.

Who knew possums and raccoons ate birdseed?​