crtrlovr
Still chillin' with my peeps
Please bear w/ me; this may be long due to my trying to explain everything clearly.
My current chicken house (my mom has a fit and says, "that's not a COOP! It's a chicken house! -- hereafter since Mom's not reading it, for the sake of ease & speed in typing, it shall be referred to as the "coop"
) OK, the coop is a converted shed with interior floor space of approx. 10'X12'. There are wide (approx. 10") shelves around the entire length of 3 walls. No insulation, no interior wallboard, just the studs w/ the outer wall sheathing nailed to them. Peaked roof, approx. 8' high where roof joins walls, then about 2' higher at the peak. There is a 6' long ridge vent in the roof. I'd put some styrofoam insulation just laying on the rafters to try to keep them warmer in the winter. The bantam OEGBs were persistent and kept flying up & eating it (chicken popcorn
). When I took it out they started roosting on the rafters, which they REALLY seem to enjoy b/c it gives them space when they want it. Last summer I had a guy come out to do replace some rotten wood (basically the bottom 2-3 feet all around the bottom of the chicken house. My idea was to replace it w/ new wood, and put a small vent (a cut-out approx. 1' long, 6" high, and covered with the hardware mesh) in two places on each side for some ventilation. I was gone when he was working on it. My DH told the guy to remove all the bottom wood and make BIG hinged doors and staple hardware mesh the entire length of both sides and the back.
It sounded good to him in theory, but it's too open and the little guys who sleep on the floor or near the walls (some silkies & frizzle bantams) are afraid. Aside from that, it was EXTREMELY drafty this winter. I had to pile lots of hay around the outside walls and put duct tape on the open crack where the doors joined the rest of the wall b/c of all the air blasting through. I know ventilation is a good friend in the winter, but this was arctic express type wind.
A friend had to give up 7 of her chickens b/c of her neighbors, and I agreed to take them for her. (I had already taken some frizzle roos and a turkey previously b/c of her neighors. This friend wants to do an "extreme makeover" and redo the coop. Some of the things she wants to do are: put down new flooring, add a couple of windows, replace the door, fix the walls, insulate, run electricity out there (been using an extension cord run about 75' from the garage), run a water line, haul in gravel & sand for the run, run electric wire around the chain link (something got into the run, somehow got into the completely covered & roofed chainlink (wrapped in the small chicken wire -- checked for torn holes & found none) run and killed one of my ducks, so they're still not safe), maybe put a hangover roof bumped out over the front door, and some cute touches like maybe a window box or two, and last but not least, add a cupola to mount the beautiful weather vane she got! That's a LOT of makeover! Another friend of mine suggested that while we're at it, we put a utility tub by the corner of the chicken house or add a sink inside to have a place to scrub waterers and feeders without dragging them into the house and back out. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas that you think should be implemented, or have any input as to what has been a GREAT success, or ideas you've tried that maybe have NOT been a stellar success? I don't want to take advantage of her extreme generosity, but she really DOES want to go all-out and fix everything that needs to be fixed once and for all to make a safe, secure, easy to clean and maintain home for my birds and hers. I could really use some input and advice here! TIA!
A friend had to give up 7 of her chickens b/c of her neighbors, and I agreed to take them for her. (I had already taken some frizzle roos and a turkey previously b/c of her neighors. This friend wants to do an "extreme makeover" and redo the coop. Some of the things she wants to do are: put down new flooring, add a couple of windows, replace the door, fix the walls, insulate, run electricity out there (been using an extension cord run about 75' from the garage), run a water line, haul in gravel & sand for the run, run electric wire around the chain link (something got into the run, somehow got into the completely covered & roofed chainlink (wrapped in the small chicken wire -- checked for torn holes & found none) run and killed one of my ducks, so they're still not safe), maybe put a hangover roof bumped out over the front door, and some cute touches like maybe a window box or two, and last but not least, add a cupola to mount the beautiful weather vane she got! That's a LOT of makeover! Another friend of mine suggested that while we're at it, we put a utility tub by the corner of the chicken house or add a sink inside to have a place to scrub waterers and feeders without dragging them into the house and back out. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas that you think should be implemented, or have any input as to what has been a GREAT success, or ideas you've tried that maybe have NOT been a stellar success? I don't want to take advantage of her extreme generosity, but she really DOES want to go all-out and fix everything that needs to be fixed once and for all to make a safe, secure, easy to clean and maintain home for my birds and hers. I could really use some input and advice here! TIA!
