Considering part of my house for a coop?? (PIX ADDED NOW)

[LynneP]

I wouldn't for all the reasons listed above, but I understand the temptation because there are a lot of houses like that here, built by United Empire Loyalists.

You may violate zoning laws, too and devalue the property.

If you do go ahead, what about creating a coop on wheels or skids that can be removed for the summer? I'm not sure how your doors are constructed but some of those houses had sliding barn-style doors at the back end. You do have cats to keep the rodents away from the feed? Without them you are going to acquire another kind of 'pet'. I once knew a man who kept a rooster in his kitchen but the roo was litter-trained.

 

[chickens4jojo]

I have kept my brooder chicks in my garage & after just a few days, no matter how clean I try to keep it, the smell of them wafts into my family room under the door. The go outside to their little "chicken tractor" then! But your setup sounds very different and perhaps it would work~~I would use a lot of sealer though!

Do you have pic of what you mean?

 

[raven880]

I"m the person who posted with the house chickens.....
I"m 61 yrs old and have had indoor pets all my life. I live in an 'upscale' neighborhood and have never had any problem because of my house pets. Ever. You DO have to clean regularly. It's not like having them in a barn. But they certainly don't require a visit from any health dept. if you take proper care of them. The floor of the birdroom has pergo flooring under the woodchips and cleans easily. But, it's never wet anyway. Bugs haven't ever been a problem. We had mice before we had chickens....we live on a woods....but I think I finally got rid of them. Sure, dogs and cats have accidents occassionally. There are loads of products on the market that help to clean it up AND get rid of the odors. Vinegar also works. cheap and safe.
There is a chicken list on Yahoo called Housechickens and it's made up of all people who do have chickens in the house, either full time or part time.
As mentioned in my first post, I"ve had parrots in my birdroom for 18 yrs and the only way anyone would know it is if they heard one screaming if the doors are open which they rarely are. Never had a complaint from a neighbor about any of our animals because we are considerate of them and don't let our pets be a nuisance.
Can't imagine a life without 4 legged or 2 winged animals in my life.



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[raven880]

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When I had chicks the smell was strong. They seemed to do nothing but poop! I had to change the bedding every day until I could get them out of the small crate and into the room with the rest of the birds. As they grew the odor was less and less of a problem.

 

[Hobbit Hole]

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Thanks for the input

Your place looks like so much fun.

The walls and ceiling would be insulated and finished with plywood and I'm thinking some sort of impervious cover over that (linoleum?). It would have an exterior-type door with a window in it. We would walk out of the kitchen's back door, into the utility room space and there would be the back door to the outside and the door to the chicken coop at 90 degree angles to each other.

Hmm - didn't consider the dust...

 

[BearSwampChick]

Yeah, the dust is incredible! If you have a rooster, you sure won't need an alarm clock!

 

[Hobbit Hole]

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Whatever we end up doing, there will be no roosters

 

[Hobbit Hole]

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We need a permit from zoning to have chickens in any case. Devaluing the property wouldnt be bad -- we have really high property taxes here!

My DH is a selectman in our town, so following the rules is probably a good idea

And yeah - we have two cats... really good hunters, too.

 

[Bossroo]

I was in the Real Estate business for 25 years so I have seen thousands of homes, businesses and farms ( for sale and rent) from multi-million $$$ homes to condemned. I managed a 148 upscale apartment complex that allowed pets. We always had the carpets professionally cleaned and deoderised ( with commercial solutions and many types of organic products) upon turnover. They just would not work in most cases. Most of the time,however, we had to at least seal the concrete floors and replace the carpets due to the cat and dog urine stench . In one case we had to jackhammer out the concrete floor and repour the concrete it was so bad. Another case was were we had to replace all the doors and door casings and trim as well as all of the carpeting because fido lifted his leg and left wet markers there. Pergo floors have a 1/4 inch gap all the way around the perimeter of the room for expansion and contraction. It also sits on top of a plastic cushion. Therefore, what types of creepy crawly critters, bacteria, and molds have access to sub-floor/ concrete and walls of the house? Similar things apply for older sheet linoleum or tile when the top protective coating starts to disintegrate or at the seams and at the walls. Having any type of animal in your house is just fine for you the owner of the pet and home. Enjoy all your pets and beasties. However they also have liabilities for you as the home owner. Know that if you decide to sell or rent , you will have an expense to rectify the odor or any pest or mold problem and that can get into the thousands of dollars if not a lost sale or tenant . You may even be hit by a possible law suit if the new owner or tenant discovers any "hidden odors" or "molds" that may cause a health issue or any covered up "damage" to the property.

 

[Hobbit Hole]

Here are some pix...

This is the corner of the house (formerly the barn part). The west side is the wall the door is on (note the bright setting sun). Those windows are the pantry, which stays pretty well closed up.

I'd put in a couple windows and a hole for them to get out into a permanent run area, and then have another larger moveable area that we could let them go into.

Here's the inside -- looking at the north (gable end) wall. The outside door is on the left (the blinding white thing - that setting sun again). There is a closet on the right that would be removed, so the width would be doubled. There would be a door with a window in front of where I took the picture.

I appreciate all the input I'm getting! Thanks very much!