Coop Advice Wanted

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Please ignore junk, and yes, the roof is burgundy. That's another story.

Hi, everyone. I have a coop on the works. Any ideas on how to increase the curb appeal to a chicken owner?

It is 4x7 free-range house on skids. It has a vermaculite floor (which is almost like really durable, waterproof plastic) and two nest trays, each able to accommodate 3 large fowl. These trays are accessible from outside. It has a window with hardware cloth. The human door that can both lock, and be opened from inside. I have not put the roosts in yet. I have caulked the floor and nests.

I would like advice on if and where to put the pop-hole. Also, any advice on roosts, and how to decorate. I have not painted it yet.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In the summer you want plenty of ventilation. Breezes blowing on them is a good thing, not a problem.

In winter you do not want direct breezes blowing on them. This gets a little more tricky. If you have nothing but plenty of vents over their heads when they are on the roost, any breezes will be over their heads. Block off the low vent. That's simple.

If (a nasty work "if") that low vent and the high vents are positioned so any breeze created by them does not hit the birds, you don't have a problem even with a low vent. If the combination of low and high vents puts the birds in a direct breeze, you can have problems.

The way I determine height is to determine the top of the floor, including bedding. Then position the nests. Next. make the roosts noticeably higher than the nests, say a foot. Your winter venting should be high enough above the roosts that cross breezes do not hit the birds.

If those nests are as high as I think you may have some problems.

I understand you are building this for sale. Kind of wish you'd ask for a review before you were so far along.

 

[aart]

Closable vents are always good, flexibility for changing weather conditions.
Deep roof over hangs can help protect venting also.

I'd put glass/plastic in the top hinged window(and maybe door too) for light infiltration,
and add another.... or two.

Not sure why the nests are so large, and up so high.
Roost/nest height has been covered I think tho.
Perches for nests has been mentioned too,
but height could be a problem there too.

4x7 foot print makes things tight for roost height,
tighter foot print - less fly/jump off roost landing space.
Roost length is what often limits occupancy in a coop.

Barrier(removable) at people door to keep bedding in has been mentioned.
Nest access (and fronts) needs the same and not much room for it.

Just my observations.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

It needs more ventilation, a lot more.

Gary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Warm air rises, as long as you have cool air to push it up. Cool air is heavier than warm air and gravity provides the force to move warm air up. If the air in your coop is warmer than air outside, that cooler outside air can come in, ands you have vents up high for the warm air to exit from, you will get air movement. If that cooler air is up high, it will come in through high vents and push warm air out of the same vents. The bigger the temperature difference the more air movement.

In the summer a good place to find cooler air is in a shade. If the hot sun is beating in it the air is not likely to be as cool. So you are looking for shade for your inlet vent. You may have your coop next to something that shades it, but in Missouri a good place to find shade is normally on the north side of your coop, away from the sun. Usually the air is cooler down low in that shade. But that is worthless if you don't have enough venting up high to let the hot air out.

To say it a little more bluntly, put a low vent on the north side of your coop.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Ah yeah that is something else I meant to mention but got sidetracked. I do see there is ventilation at the roof but you need some more at the sides.

See up near the peak? Add vents there.

I also like to have some low vents but people have mixed opinions on that.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I plan on poking three holes both roof pitches. There are too many studs to put in another normal window. I could put a large vent nstead of holes, though. But it would be more work trimming it. You can see we quit half way through framing the door. There was a little frustration, as I recall.
I checked out your coop, too, Gary. Really nice.
I kind of want this to look like a sort of storefront. I'm going to make a vertical sign to put between the door and the window. Anyone have a suggestion for siding paint color?

I would go as big as you can on the vents. It will be worth it

Gary

 

[blackdog043]

Yes, the window does count. You can't always get 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken, but the more you can put in, the better.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nests 3' off the ground are fine as long as you have room for roosts and such above as long as you don't have Silkies since Silkies can't fly. The hens should not have any problems jumping/flying up to them.

 

[aart]

Okay, great! Dad is "retired" from construction, so I should be able to get some extra soffit real quick.

Just remove the wood on soffit and replace with HC.