Coop location. Venting.

[Doctor Gonzo]

Forward progress. One drawback using re~purposed lumber, Everything is cut necessitating ALOT of cutting, and wedging. And to be honest, I probably went overboard on all the battens to ensure security. But live chickens are worth a little more time spent.

(BELOW) This is the windward side of the coop, the prevailing breeze will enter this vent, which is directed upwards into the coop.

All wire is stapled as well as battened.

(BELOW) The oblong opening is going to be covered with a plastic "storm shutter" wrapped in standard wire, and held together with battens. This is one of two such vents.

So, I reckon so far I've got around 11~15 sq ft of venting. Am I going overboard here? Thoughts?

The louver vents will be covered in the wintertime, leaving only the soffit vent, and some venting on the East wall (yet to be started).

THANKS!

 

[Joe.G]

It's looking good, one thing I do suggest is to paint the coop, the OSB which you have on the outside is only going to last a few years in the weather, If you paint it it'll last a longtime, You can get a 5 Gal jug of paint pretty cheap.

 

[ButchGood]

Your doing a nice job with the coop. So lucky to have that floor to start on. I have one question. Did you flash the roof where the coop meets the existing building. Potential water problem were the two meet. If not all ready done, it's something I would consider. It looks real good, and I can tell your like me and love to use up left over material. I'm in the construction business and I collect all abandoned material. You'd be surprised wheat some people consider trash. I built a 25x27 green house from 90% recycled material. and it looks good. My chicken coop was about 60%. My bachelor pen is 100%.. It's nice to have access to all these materials.

 

[Nicole01]

It looks great! The more venting, the dryer it stays inside the coop! I've noticed this with my own coop. We cover up a bit with cut out foam insulation blocks during the winter to block our excess ventilation.

Your coop looks great! I also second the painting. Particle board doesn't last long amongst the elements without protection. Also, if you decide to build a run, chicken wire will not keep predators out. It only keeps the chickens in. I wasn't happy with welded wire either, that's why we have hardware cloth over the welded wire.

Your coop looks great! I'd wish we would of used more recycled materials. Most everything in our coop was new. We did make the nest boxes out of an old solid oak night stand my hubby made almost 30 years ago in wood shop class. My hubby is picky on how things look, I'm not.

My neighbor across the street built her coop and run out of 100% recycled materials. However, since we don't live on a farm or big piece of property(we have 4 acres), he built it new and it wasn't cheap. We built a feeder that holds 50lbs feed that sits outside of the coop. Hubby cut a hole for the inside tray. This was free from left over wood. We got the great idea from another BYC member.

Outside our coop, but inside our garage.

Sits under our self roost(14" shelf). We have a removable tray, so I can grab out the dusty feed that gets old.

 

[Doctor Gonzo]

As some of you may know, MOST of Ohio got wiped out by a wretched storm two weeks ago. We got it as well. Power was out for 7 days.....and it was a challenge. The good news is, the coop survived the 80-100 mph winds! So did most of our roof (on the house). At any rate, the place is a mess, Lost numerous trees on the hill, and a 35ft Sassafras tree.....YoY. Which also disrupted the bank of our creekbed.

I have been working on the coop here and there as it were, and am putting the finishing touches on the exterior. Well, at least enough to get the chickens moved outside.

The bantams are going to get a smaller coop on the front porch. But that can wait, as we enjoy having them inside. But the Wellies are too **** smelly to keep inside and they are cramped as well.

Pictures later tonight.

THANKS!

 

[Joe.G]

Glad you guys are ok.

 

[Nicole01]

We were surprised our run survived high winds too. The kids wooden playset fell apart from the wind.

Last Friday my house was struck by lightening. Luckily it hit the foundation where we have rocks and no fire. We had so much electrical damage. It took out 1/2 the house circuits, main refrigerator, bedroom tv(blew up), phone and phone line, all the wiring and electrical boxes(DVR, wireless Internet, cable box, ect...), cordless drill charger, ect... We basically had to have our house rewired on Monday. I'm so lucky my house didn't burn. We do not have a lightening rod.

Anyways, I'm glad to hear your coop is coming along. I know my hubby was thrilled to be finished. It took him a year to finish since he is so busy. He wasn't so thrilled I needed updates to the coop and run. We didn't follow any plans, we just winged it. I still want 2 roosts in my run, but he is done. If I knew how to run the big table saw, I could do it myself.

 

[Doctor Gonzo]

Actually you guys we were on the road, on our way to East Fork State Park to do some squatchin. So we were on the highway, and making good time too, mostly because I am fearless. I would have been worried about the house, and all that crap, but I had my buddy up the road feeding chickens, and dog was at Dad's house. And we were on a mission, and I was excited to be finally getting down there.

But yeah, thanks, glad everyone else made it through as well. Sorry to hear about your electronics Nic, but you know, they can be replaced. Direct strikes never end cheaply. This is why I like ground rods. Anyway, I will have pictures of the now mostly finished coop. And next week, the fenced off run!

Thanks guys!

 

[Doctor Gonzo]

Ok well this is my last update without pictures, I promise!

The coop is (mostly) done, and the wellies are spending their first night outside! I am going out to check on them after I post this, and then am going to bed myself.

All the remains is paint, nesting boxes, and aluminum siding. And OF COURSE, it's going to rain this weekend. We need it badly, but the timing sucks.

I want to thank all of you, most especially those of you who advised me that building bigger now was a much better idea than going small. Which would have been very, very stupid.

I suppose if anyone is interested in watching this saga of absurdity continue after the build is complete, we can keep the thread open.

LOL Thanks!

 

[Joe.G]

Id like to see some more pic's and maybe some of the whole barn in and out I love old buildings, And yes you are much better off for going bigger, with buildings it s always better to go as big as you can.