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CourtsCacklers

CourtsCacklers

Songster
6 Years
Feb 18, 2013
195
31
116
Northern Ohio
My Coop
My Coop
Hello All! My name is Courtney and I reside not far from the banks of Lake Erie in Northwestern Ohio! I grew up on a farm with all kinds of animals-- lambs, pigs, cattle, a few chickens, goats, cats and dogs! Once we even had a pony for a while! Anyhow-- now I am married and have three little boys and we live in a little neighborhood so about all I can get away with is a huge garden and some chickens! I have wanted chickens for a few years and I have just now really talked my husband into it! My chicks (3 Rhode Island Red & 3 Silver Laced Wyandotte) are ordered and due for hatch on March 20th! and the Coop plans are drawn up! My husband is a carpenter so he is going to begin building it this week! I love the site--- I have been browsing for months but have finally paused long enough to join! I look forward to getting to know ALL OF YOU!!

Thanks!
 
Welcome.
I grew up with 2 farms, ours and my uncle's. We raised cattle, hogs, horses, pheasant and occasionally meat chickens.
My uncle kept 100 laying hens.
While you're building, the best advice is to build big enough for the coop and run with good ventilation.
 
Thanks! -- we are definitely heeding that advice! It will have a cupola on the top-- two windows that will be able to be opened-- and a fan built in for our hot summers here in Ohio! Still, it will be insulated and have a hard wired (red) heat lamp that will come on at a preset temperature when the temps are frigid! It is also going to be 8 x 4 so I can add a couple more chickens in the future if I decide too-- Does this sound like I am on the right track or do you think it would need more ventilation than that? Obviously the windows won't be open all the time-- will the cupola provide enough ventilation for the colder months or not?
 
Sounds nice.
One of my buildings is 8X6 with external nests and holds 10 birds very comfortably. On that building I counted on a ridge vent for part of the ventilation and realized it was worthless covered with snow so I had to cut bigger windows.
Shoot for 1 sq. ft. ventilation per bird.
You can close up the windows on the windward side when you get one of those storms like the one heading your way now.
You get a lot of snow so keep that in mind. An elevated coop and a cover over part of the run helps them get out when there's a lot of snow.

I don't add heat for hens. I do give the roosters a little heat keeping it above 25 for frostbite protection.
 
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Hi from KY!

Have fun with your coop building!!

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Hello and welcome from Ohio...so glad you joined BYC. Best wishes building your coop and finding your perfect chicks.

I live in SW Ohio and have one of those wooden garden sheds with the gambrel roof. The entire south facing side of my coop stays completely open year round with only hardware cloth covering the front door. It has a shingle roof and no insulation. The only time I partially close the front door is when the temp is near 0F and the winds are out of the south (which is only a few times during the winter) and only because I usually have young chickens sleeping on the floor. Also have a large window on the north wall that is up high and stays open 365 days a year. I have a 3 year old rooster with a large comb and his comb is still just as perfect as when he was a year old. Never had any trouble with frostbite. I know you get colder weather than we do being up near the lakes but more open air with no drafts is always better. Their little fluffy downey coats keep them toasty warm enough. Sorry for rambling on. Nice to meet you :)
 

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