Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Triple Willow]

Thanks Mlowen & Armorfirelady. Do you cover the ends of your coops and doors also?

 

[armorfirelady]

Thanks Mlowen & Armorfirelady. Do you cover the ends of your coops and doors also?

The south end is covered. Most of the winds come from south or southeast. The north end is open and will remain so unless snow blows in off the roof of the garage. On one upper side I have a half circle cover on since sometimes rain blows in there. They are the covers used for those spaces in front of your basement windows.

If you click on *my coop* under my username it will show you how I have it set up

 

[Triple Willow]

The south end is covered. Most of the winds come from south or southeast.  The north end is open and will remain so unless snow blows in off the roof of the garage.  On one upper side I have a half circle cover on since sometimes rain blows in there. They are the covers used for those spaces in front of your basement windows.

If you click on *my coop* under my username it will show you how I have it set up

Thank you much! I have got a dog pen that I have been trying to make work but I need to just get off my backside and build a hoop coop, or two. It is hard to get the roof to do right on the dog pen. I have put 3 tarps on it this year trying to keep it dry inside. The sun just cooks them. I am thinking about painting a tarp. lol The new coop and run will hold all the pullets and 2-3 roosters but I have got to have a pen for about 5 extra roosters.

I wish I had had a hoop coop to play in when I was a kid. I would have put a bed in it and tried to live there! LOL

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: I purchased my tarp online. Its pretty heavy duty & suppose to be mildew resistant, waterproof & uv resilant. I put it up in March and its holding up well. The next time I get a new tarp it will be an old vinyl billboard tarp. They are much thicker and should last years.

 

[mlowen]

Thanks Mlowen & Armorfirelady. Do you cover the ends of your coops and doors also?

My prevailing winds are mostly northeast. My coop's north wall is solid (with venitlation along the tip, under the eaves) and there are two windows on the east. I will probably cover the east windows and maybe the south window--it depends. I also plan on closing the door between the coop & run. The pop door in the big door will stay open. You can see my coop/run pics under "my coop," too.

 

[Beekissed]

@Bee... do you close your hoop house up pretty much completely for the winter? I'm still wondering how much cold chickens can take.

Last winter was my first winter with the coop and I buckled it down pretty good....and soon had to unbuckle it again.

It was dripping with condensation and the bedding was staying wet from the humidity..if I had left it, the birds would have suffered. I then opened up the front and some areas at the floor level and it soon resolved the humidity issue. I had thought leaving vents open at the roof(you can see the space above the door and the same space was left at the back of the coop) , the pop door and a few open areas at the front of the coop would provide enough airflow, but it didn't.

My hoopty coopty looked like a bubble!



I removed the hale bales you see here at the front, the plastic on either side of the door, upper and lower, on both sides and some hay bales were spaced out at the back end. This year, the only plastic will be the left side of the coop (the southern exposure sun porch), the front door the matching space at the back of the coop, and the right side of the coop will have a wall of leaves raked up into some plastic fencing, with the tarp over the top of the leaves to keep them dry. I'll have some areas directly beside the roosts covered from the wind, but other than that, this coop is going to remain pretty open air. I'll not make the same mistake again on this hoop coop merely because it looks like it wouldn't keep chickens warm...it kept them TOO warm and humid, so when the outside temps dropped I got all that condensation forming and even dripping on the birds as they roosted.

Here's a pic of a Wood's style coop...similar coops were used in various sizes all over the upper states~Wis., Minn., etc. back in the early 1900s.

I wish I had had a hoop coop to play in when I was a kid. I would have put a bed in it and tried to live there! LOL

Me too!! Beats trying to rig up a tent using an old blanket and some sticks. How cool would it have been to have one's own hoop coop play house?

 

[Triple Willow]

Well I feel like dirt. I didn't have a "ratproof" place outside for broody and chicks so I brought the chicks in and put them in the brooder. I tried to figure it out but they just weren't in a safe enough place outside. If my brooder was taller I would have brough the broody in too. It isn't tall enough for her to stand up in completely. I did think about leaving it half open but I wonder if she would trash my garage. I feel bad for splitting them up so soon. Somebody tell me to bring the broody in too! (In about one or two weeks I would have a place for them together in the new coop. Dang it!)

 

[Triple Willow]

Thank you guys so much for sharing your coop info! I hope I can get it right like you guys have. I guess it will be trial and error - but with great guidance.

 

[Beekissed]

Well I feel like dirt. I didn't have a "ratproof" place outside for broody and chicks so I brought the chicks in and put them in the brooder. I tried to figure it out but they just weren't in a safe enough place outside. If my brooder was taller I would have brough the broody in too. It isn't tall enough for her to stand up in completely. I did think about leaving it half open but I wonder if she would trash my garage. I feel bad for splitting them up so soon. Somebody tell me to bring the broody in too!

(In about one or two weeks I would have a place for them together in the new coop. Dang it!)

Definitely keep them together wherever they are. They will do fine in the garage unless there are rats in there!

If you put out the JOB, the rats will be gone in a couple of days, so they won't have to be in the garage long.

 

[armorfirelady]

Well I feel like dirt. I didn't have a "ratproof" place outside for broody and chicks so I brought the chicks in and put them in the brooder. I tried to figure it out but they just weren't in a safe enough place outside. If my brooder was taller I would have brough the broody in too. It isn't tall enough for her to stand up in completely. I did think about leaving it half open but I wonder if she would trash my garage. I feel bad for splitting them up so soon. Somebody tell me to bring the broody in too! (In about one or two weeks I would have a place for them together in the new coop. Dang it!)

Definitely keep them together wherever they are. They will do fine in the garage unless there are rats in there! If you put out the JOB, the rats will be gone in a couple of days, so they won't have to be in the garage long.

Do you have a. Dog crate or old play pen? They would both work to keep them all together