Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[bnjrob]

I found shade cloth to be wanting here during the summer. So I use tarps instead. Keeps the area MUCH cooler than shade cloth.

If you're on a north slope, pay attention to the wind patterns. Ordinarily the south should be open and the north protected but since you're on a hill you might have a different pattern, i.e. cold rolling down the hill, etc. On flat land, you'd want the south and east open and the west and north protected as that's the way our winds work, south and east breezes in summer, north and west cold winds in the winter. But as I said, you're on a hill so that could be different for you.

We bought shade cloth years ago that is thicker and blocks the heat/light but has lasted longer than tarps do in our wind. But we ran out of the good cloth and so the newest runs have shade cloth that is not as thick. We ended up double layering the thinner stuff and it gives the deeper shade like the old thicker cloth. I found a new online site for shade cloth - can get it in varying densities and even with shipping, was comparable to buying it locally - www.greenhousemegastore.com. Ordered some for our garden.

I put the shade cloth on the sides and that helps with even more shading than just top cover alone, but I leave it elevated 2 feet off the ground - otherwise it blocks wind and gets too hot. And when the wind is barely there in the summer anyway, blocking the tiniest breeze makes it worse. But the sides being covered help as the sun moves around during the day. Our coops are also elevated 2 feet off ground for deepest shade for the chickens to get under.

Gotta be creative sometimes.

 

[Arielle]

ANy one use th monitor design-- I think that is the name. Like an A roof but the highest edge of each is offset. If I try for a 1 foot separation, what do i put into this area? !. completely block it, 2. allow for adjustable windows, 3. glass windows, 4. chicken wire and leave open at all times? THis would be at the "peak" of the building.

 

[bnjrob]

ANy one use th monitor design-- I think that is the name. Like an A roof but the highest edge of each is offset. If I try for a 1 foot separation, what do i put into this area? !. completely block it, 2. allow for adjustable windows, 3. glass windows, 4. chicken wire and leave open at all times? THis would be at the "peak" of the building.

This is what the inside looks like of our A frame roofed coops looks like, taken after we got the roof wire on. Hardware cloth inside for safety. The roof panels at top peak have space for hot air to escape and we put a cap on the top that keeps rain out but tsill lets air out. Air can flow up under the rafters from outside too. The hardware cloth is attached using screws and large washers - those round silver things on the wood in the photos. With white walls on the finished houses, it is light inside but still keeps off the sun heat.

Some of the newer houses are just one slope with a high side and a low side, with the high side tall enough for us to stand up under. But the hardware cloth is put under the roof similarly to the a-frame roofs to allow air flow and predator protection.





Here you can see the completed house roof from the outside with the just a hint of the roof cap on top over on the right side. The a frame roofs are at least 6 feet for us to be able to stand up in. This particular peak is closer to 7 ft though.




This is a dark photo, but you can see the gray shade cloth curtains hanging on the sides of the runs of the two houses on the right side of the photo. And since this was December, there are tarps on the tops of the run over the shade cloth. The bottom under the houses have plastic on the north/west sides for cold wind blocking.

 

[Fentress]

ANy one use th monitor design-- I think that is the name. Like an A roof but the highest edge of each is offset. If I try for a 1 foot separation, what do i put into this area? !. completely block it, 2. allow for adjustable windows, 3. glass windows, 4. chicken wire and leave open at all times? THis would be at the "peak" of the building.

The monitor house is what I would have built if I had the skills. It would be adjustable glass windows that you could open and close based on your ventilation needs. If you have not already you need to get a copy of Fresh Air Poultry Houses by Dr. Prince available through Norton Creek Press. First published in 1919, I think. It does not have complete building plans, but lots of concepts and schematics, that if you know what you are doing can be followed. My coop is open on 2 sides and I will close off one side during the winter, but leave the other one open.

 

[Fentress]

@bnjrob - Iike your roof, with the larger rafters and the lateral boards that you attach the roofing to. I wish I had thought of that. I just have the roofing on rafters that are a little too far apart. It was a pain to construct. I think a good tropical storm might peel it off.

 

[bnjrob]

@bnjrob - Iike your roof, with the larger rafters and the lateral boards that you attach the roofing to. I wish I had thought of that. I just have the roofing on rafters that are a little too far apart. It was a pain to construct. I think a good tropical storm might peel it off.

Thanks. We built these things to last. They are huge and heavy. Since the pasture is not level, we wanted sturdy stuff to withstand the racking while moving them every few days, and to keep them intact with the high winds we get so often. Would have liked to go cheaper, but didn't want to have them fall apart after a couple of years of moving them around and have to rebuild them. Used 2x3s for the coop framing to decrease weight, but the floor joists are set at 16" to support humans. We did cheat a bit and set the wall studs and rafters at 24" to help decrease the weight some. The biggest house requires 2 axles with 4 trailer tires to be able to move and all of them require at minimum a riding lawn mower to move them due to the weight. We have various designs of these things as we have experimented to see what we liked.

 

[Arielle]

Looking up the book by Dr prince on line to see if it is stashed somewhere.

LOve the idea of wheels, but terrain is very rough-- lots of NewENgland rocks. ANd no means of moving it-- no tractor.

I like that the roof material of the A roof is smaller than the full run of one side taller than the other.
Thanks for all the ideas. Now to sketch out something using the material at hand.

 

[Fentress]

I got the title correct, but the author is Dr. Prince T. Woods. YOu should have no problem finding it.

 

[galanie]

The monitor house is what I would have built if I had the skills. It would be adjustable glass windows that you could open and close based on your ventilation needs. If you have not already you need to get a copy of Fresh Air Poultry Houses by Dr. Prince available through Norton Creek Press. First published in 1919, I think. It does not have complete building plans, but lots of concepts and schematics, that if you know what you are doing can be followed. My coop is open on 2 sides and I will close off one side during the winter, but leave the other one open.

Same here. My dream barn is monitor style with windows in that space that can be adjusted.

 

[Arielle]

I got the title correct, but the author is Dr. Prince T. Woods. YOu should have no problem finding it.

Google search found the book on line -- spent a few hours reading the info-- no diagrams though. Very good basic data, and much of the examples are Massachusetts based.