Chickens by Easter .... Maybe

[aart]

Inside .... water leaking in from the roof was splattering on the wall as it hit the floor. One of the images shows where I cut the rotted purlin out and scabbed a 2x4 back in. I will find out next time it rains if it's fixed or not for sure.

How's the flooring and siding there, squishy or just stained?
Everything else looks great....looks a lot like my shed floor.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Solid. Thump it with a hammer and it sounds good to me.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Finished taking out some trim from around the opening for the overhead door and brought in some materials to begin construction. First off I found that the overhead door opening was out of plumb by about 7/8 of an inch. Not good for my new wall and door. Most of the day went into leveling the shed good enough for the new bottom seal to lay flush. Will have to touch up the rest of the blocks under the shed later to bring it in to level.

Then, according to the workings of Mother Nature, the pressure tank on the well decided to lose its bladder. That took up the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow I can get the new wall framed in.

 

[aart]

Not surprising, glad you could 'bend' it back where it needs to be.
Other places, new trim might hide the 'off'.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Making progress …..





Not sure on how much ventilation i will need but I don’t want to just start chopping holes. My plan is to sneak up on it. The new window is approximately 20 sq ft and the people door will add another 20 sq ft. if needed. Soffit vents front and rear will add another 16 sq ft. That will allow 56 sq ft of air to move from low to high and out if my thinking is right. Will have power out there so a fan might play into the equation.

Just playing it by ear for now .....

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Got rained out today ... But the roof repair passed with flying colors. No leaks.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

I did get the window finished up yesterday though. I know the expanded metal plate is overkill for a coop but I will be storing more than just chickens in it. That low window should be impervious to critter attack and will stop most people attacks too. It will have at least one camera and i will have to light it up a bit too. It's close to 300 feet from the house and pitch black out there.

 

[3KillerBs]

I did get the window finished up yesterday though. I know the expanded metal plate is overkill for a coop but I will be storing more than just chickens in it. That low window should be impervious to critter attack and will stop most people attacks too. It will have at least one camera and i will have to light it up a bit too. It's close to 300 feet from the house and pitch black out there.

View attachment 2498272

You won't want too much light though. Some people find that a light shining on the coop convinces their rooster to crow all night.

I always thought that it was car headlights that triggered middle-of-the-night crowing for my in-town rooster.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Just enough light to make the thieves nervous .....

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Sitting around watching the rain and cold make everything miserable the last few days, I have been doing some thinking. After pilfering a few more of #aart ideas I have decided to change the layout of my coop. Instead of splitting it through the middle, I will split it length wise. This configuration seems to “flow” better.

Also I have figured out the runs. On the eastern side I will have a summer run that is shaded in the morning and early afternoon with dappled shade from a large oak tree. The coop will shade the entire run in the late afternoon protecting it from the super heated afternoon sun. The winter run on the western side of the coop will be gardened during the spring and summer. … the idea is to let the birds stay cool in the summer run and then turn them loose in the winter run after the gardening is complete for the year. That way they can clean the area up and do a little fertilizing while the summer run recovers a little. The door of the coop faces almost due south.

I do have a question on ramps though … what is the maximum angle the birds can handle and how wide should they be?