Coop design... I finally decided!

[LynneP]

Yeah there were a lot of early closures as the snow storm approached, and I hope you didn;t lose power. We were lucky, but I guess a lot of districts were down. It's quite the shushfest now! Not enough snow for the snowblower on the tractor and so wet that it doesn't get thrown very far anyway. We had a light snow in the run, but other than that business as usual.

 

[Hillsvale]

Hi Linda

South Rawdon Rd is treacherous!... At 1:00 we had 7" of snow and with the exception of a few minutes, its been snowing steadily since. I would estimate that we have around 9" now.

I built the trusses and roofing and tar paper are on but I grossly underestimated the amount of sheathing I required so I haven't finished the walls or windows, my main concern of course is the OSB on the floor chipping because I haven't covered it with vinyl yet.

I so wanted it tight by end of weekend.

Once we got home from our disappointing shopping trip I ran the water into the whirlpool tub and we crawled in to warm up so all wasn't lost.

 

[Hillsvale]

Sooo...

yesterday it was -10 degrees celcius, with the wind chill it was -18 celcius!! brrr

When I opened our attached garage which is obviously insulated (but the heater is disconnected) I found a milk crate with the tools I have been running back and forth with, in there right at the door was a small bottle of water completely liquid.. I was a bit surprised there wasn't a bit of ice. Anyway this brings me back to my thoughts that the coop should be reasonable temperature wise especially with all the windows (though I may have to find a way to cool things in the summer.

I plan on getting a wireless thermostat of some sort to monitor the temperature inside the coop for this winter so I can judge what will occur next.

Yesterday we managed to tar paper most of the coop though it was so cold the tar paper was brittle and cracking (thank you tuck tape!!) and we adjusted the door frame up and installed two of the windows thought the glass isn't in one of them because they were stored up side down in the snow and rain and the moisture has frozen the bit that moves up and down when removing the glass into the up position!

So today was absolutely lovely outside however we had to shop.... ick

Here is all we managed today... the stairs which I should have build weekends ago, wow how much easier is that!

Simon got back from running the dogs and got to try them out first... the dogs think this is a house for them, are they is for a shock!

 

[LynneP]

Still, it doesn't hurt to have the dogs feel 'ownership' for the coop which will translate into a protection instinct for the birds...we built in winter too, I understand how challenging it is. But the advantage is anticipating the most severe conditions possible and you'll be ready for them.

 

[Hillsvale]

so today we got a bit done... closed in the rafters a bit more and the front door is installed a well as the front window.... I started the pop door on the side.. t'was cold out today but it is amazing how much warmer it is in the still uninsulated coop. My friend has commented that she thinks Simon is helping to build his own dog house!

East and south side... pop door bottom right side door is started and you can see where I added the ends on the roof gable so I can tack on the rustic siding I bought... wow this looks so much different than even last weekend!

Just a closer look..

Front of coop... with my $10. door with the half light that opens and $10. window newly installed

Now is the cold weather would just

until we get things sided it would be great!

 

[Hillsvale]

image from the back garden door, just got the wood "soffits" and wood siding on the front today... my Simon thought cleaning the house

was more important so progress was slow...

We are big hit by the snow storm that just hit NY and Boston,,,, actually just started about 15 minutes ago though the "city folk" half house away have been dealing with the storm for about an hour... this baby is moving slow...

Praying for a storm day......

BTW... it was pointed out to me that the windows appear very low but dear god the chickens aren't that tall! ... it is all about them after all!

 

[Hillsvale]

well the wood siding is all installed on the exterior walls except one piece... I ran out

Still need to put the wood siding on the peaks and shingle the roof... then moving indoors, I will be running power to the coop but maybe not until spring as I think that the ground may be a bit more solid than digging friendly at the moment (underground wires) .... I have noticed that even though the siding wasn't done outdoors and there is no insulation in the walls or ceiling the coop is considerable warmer than outdoors....

This is so much fun!!

 

[sewingca]

oooh, so pretty! And, yeah, it is fun. This is ours soon after completion. The girls are clearing out the fenced wooded area now. Of course, no white stuff, just lots of dirt and some lovely green weeds.

 

[gsim]

Really nice looking. And what neighbor could complain about something that pretty?

I would caution to add a cupola or turbine vent on top as well as full time full length soffit vents on both sides. 12" x 12' gable vents would be good too at top of gables. Nearly impossible to have too much full time ventilation above wall areas in any coop.

 

[sewingca]

'specially in Florida. We haven't experienced a summer with chickens yet. That will be the real trial by fire. I had thought originally to have a window at the front, beside and slightly above the chicken opening. That may become a reality. It's a nicely shaded area when all the trees leaf out. The neat thing is, our property widens like a pie shape, so our coop is hidden from the nosy and a nice surprise to the invited.