Halfway done with coop- what do I need to do to finish it?

[Carolyn227]

We have the basic coop designed. We got a bunch of free 4 by 8 foot composite wood pieces and we need a new coop for the ladies pretty quickly. It's going to get cold soon, and they need more protection from the elements than what they currently have.

So the design is pretty simple. 4 of the boards basically put together with 2 by 4s, the side pieces angled and one side shorter than the other. The top is shingled. We have a full-size door for us to easily have access to the coop for maintenance. On the interior is a 2nd level. We need to add ventilation, a ladder to reach the 2nd level, perches and nesting boxes. How much ventilation do we need? And it does occasionally get into the 20s and (rarely) the teens here. How important is it to have a heat lamp in there? Will their body heat be enough on those days, or is it vital that I also have an area to plug in a heat lamp on those really cold mornings?

We're planning on finishing up the coop this weekend and hopefully have the chickens moved in there by the end of the month.

 

[SteveBaz]

Pictures and kind of blue prints would help a lot to help you. It is hard for me to imagine what you want if I cant really see what you have or have done. Sorry

Welcome to the BYC which is a fantastic group of folks to be helped by.

 

[gale65]

The ventilation page in the learning center says 1 sq foot of constant non-drafty ventilation per bird. We probably don't have quite that much. I'm going to put a humidity meter in the coop this winter and if it's too humid, we'll add more vents. Not that I know what too much humidity is. It probably also depends on the height of your coop, since ventilation would be based on cubic footage rather than square footage.

You shouldn't need any heat lamps for the chickens. Maybe something to keep water from freezing.

 

[Carolyn227]

I took pictures but I am having issues with uploading them to my computer, unfortunately. I'm trying to figure out how to upload but I haven't had any luck with what I've tried. The coop is four 4 by 8 wood panels forming a long box so the square footage is 16 square feet, plus we have a top level adding in more square footage. They will have a nice big run outside too. This is quite possibly a temporary solution for our chickens until we can get a design that we like. This coop went up in a few hours and we're feeling pressured to give them something that gives them protection from the elements before the really cold and rainy season starts.