Coop design in barn

What is a pop door??
The little chicken sized door that the chickens pop in and out of.

Being in Wisconsin we can have long winters

Then you want a roofed run, about the same size as your coop, that can have 3 solid walls in winter to keep out wind and most snow.

Or... double the size of your coop.

But I think Wisconsin has hot summers??? So, if you go with the roofed run.. one wall is the coop itself, and then the two roofed run sides that join the coop should have some way to be turned solid for winter. Keep the far end wall of the roofed run open for ventilation.

The temporary winter walls can be plastic panels that slide or screw into place, or shower curtains, or plywood... whatever. But if you have hot summers you will want to be able to remove the temporary winter walls when it gets hot, so your birds can get a breeze. In hot weather, a breeze is a GOOD thing.

In your design it isn't clear where the ventilation is.

If you have scorching summers you want huge ventilation, as in an entire coop wall hardware cloth... but if you have cold winters you need to ensure no gusts at perch level but still enough ventilation.

You actually can have a coop with a solid wire wall in cold climates... the design is called a Woods coop, and it relies on being a rectangle, with perches on a short side, opposite short side full wire wall. Being a rectangle the wire wall is far enough away from the perches that wind does not reach them... it is an excellent design.

But... if you don't have the space for that... simply focus on winter ventilation NOT at perching/roosting height, summer ventilation as much as possible.

As previously stated... I like 9 square feet of indoor space per chicken... I achieve that by giving my chickens access to my greenhouse in the winter.
 
How do i keep plywood from rotting underneath?

First, use exterior-grade plywood.

Painting with "porch and floor" paint, covering it with vinyl flooring (it's often possible to find scrap pieces at a steep discount), or coating it with Blackjack is optional.

Second, use a management system for the bedding that does not allow the bedding to ever get wet. Dry wood doesn't rot out.

This includes making sure that you have enough roof overhang that blowing rain/snow can't get in, keeping the water outside the coop (or otherwise spill-proofing it), and having excellent ventilation year round. :)
 
Got it done! I used exterior plywood ($54/sheet!) for the floor but decided to leave that as is instead of covering it further. Chicks are 6 weeks and forecasted temps are 50s/30s so i think it’s good to move them in?

I did expand to 12x16’ so I didn’t have as many cuts. Nesting boxes will come later, just need to get these ladies out of the brooder before they kill each other.
 

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