I am converting what used to be a kids treehouse into a chicken coop. In between the treehouse past and the chicken coop future, the building had been invaded by squirrels and used by them for years. Current renovations included lowering it from tree house status to about a foot off the ground, and releveled it. I have gutted it, removing sheetrock, insulation and most of the wiring that had been chewed down to the bare wire. It's pretty much a bare shell at this point. Some of the osb flooring was pretty rotted and is getting a new layer of osb as well.
So, here are my questions .
1. Do I need to worry that it still smells like squirrel pee? Nothing major, but you can certainly tell that it's not a kids playhouse anymore. I know it will smell like chickens in a short time.
2. I had planned on new insulation and covering it with new plywood walls. I have been reading that insulation is not required, but our winters in Minnesota can get down to minus 20 degrees.
3. If I don't need insulation, should I put up the new interior walls anyhow? Assuming the airspace will act somewhat as insulation. Also, there are nails sticking through to the inside so I want them covered.
4. My interior has open rafters and currently a ceiling fan. How likely are chickens to get up to the 8 foot ceiling and get hit by the fan?
5. I have rewired it to have 2 outlets and I moved them up to the height of the switches. Do they need covers anyhow to keep curious beaks away?
6. My interior space is 8 x 10, with a 36" door on the south 10' side. There are two 20 x 40 pushout windows on the east and north side. They will be covered with half inch hardware cloth and left open most of the time. There are holes in the eaves from the previous tenants. Do I need to patch the holes, or can I just screen them over as well.
7. I had planned on roost bars on the non windowed side and nest boxes under the east window, with storage bins under the nest boxes. Is that the best placement?
8. What's the best material to put down over the osb? Paint, rubber roofing or just leave as is?
That's all I can think of at the moment, and am looking forward to seeing comments and suggestions.
I'll try to post some pictures later.
So, here are my questions .
1. Do I need to worry that it still smells like squirrel pee? Nothing major, but you can certainly tell that it's not a kids playhouse anymore. I know it will smell like chickens in a short time.
2. I had planned on new insulation and covering it with new plywood walls. I have been reading that insulation is not required, but our winters in Minnesota can get down to minus 20 degrees.
3. If I don't need insulation, should I put up the new interior walls anyhow? Assuming the airspace will act somewhat as insulation. Also, there are nails sticking through to the inside so I want them covered.
4. My interior has open rafters and currently a ceiling fan. How likely are chickens to get up to the 8 foot ceiling and get hit by the fan?
5. I have rewired it to have 2 outlets and I moved them up to the height of the switches. Do they need covers anyhow to keep curious beaks away?
6. My interior space is 8 x 10, with a 36" door on the south 10' side. There are two 20 x 40 pushout windows on the east and north side. They will be covered with half inch hardware cloth and left open most of the time. There are holes in the eaves from the previous tenants. Do I need to patch the holes, or can I just screen them over as well.
7. I had planned on roost bars on the non windowed side and nest boxes under the east window, with storage bins under the nest boxes. Is that the best placement?
8. What's the best material to put down over the osb? Paint, rubber roofing or just leave as is?
That's all I can think of at the moment, and am looking forward to seeing comments and suggestions.
I'll try to post some pictures later.