Historical Coop & Barn Architecture Book

[Natural Chick]

Hello fellow chickens! I'm new to BYC and decided to share this in a new thread because I couldn't find mention of it before. Hope its in the right place.

I recently moved to the country from the city and (thanks to BYC!) built a small coop for my recently acquired 2 Silver Laced Wyandotte hens and Roo. My husband and I are planning to build a second coop to expand our flock. Doing research, I came upon a book titled, "Radford's practical barn plans : being a complete collection of practical, economical and common-sense plans of barns, out buildings and stock sheds". This turned out to be a historical book from the 1800's with every barn design from that era. I found a digital PDF copy that has been preserved and shared by Google and available to the public (non-commercial use). The copyright has expired and is part of a special Google project (explanation on 1st page). http://www.dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/Radford_s_practical_barn_plans[1].pdf
I love old barns, so this was a super cool (nerdy) find for me.

The chapter, "Poultry Houses" starts on pg. 138. It is packed with general "best-practices" design information, such as how to lay out the nesting boxes and roosts, where to place windows, ventilation, etc. I found this to be super interesting and informative and great designs that I would like to use. But here is my question - can anyone verify if these designs are still "practical"? Are these design ideas outdated and perhaps been proven wrong over the years?

I would love to hear feedback if others have found this book useful, or if they know if these designs still hold true today?

I live in Canada and have cold winters, so the advice on wall elevation to keep warm air on nesting boxes and minimize drafts looks very useful. And check out the cotton curtains!

Cheers! Happy Roosting!

 

[ALJhappychicken]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

My coop was constructed by my father. He designed it himself. If I ever want to Build another, I'll check out that book; it sounds useful!

 

[aart]

Probably as many good and bad ideas as a book written today...but different things, you have to do some research and make your own decisions.

I read the intro and one thing I would say is a bad idea for today, and I paraphrase... 'not a crack or crevice.... that cannot be filled with crude oil'.

 

[Natural Chick]

Thanks for your replies and insight!

Yes, you are right! crude oil sounds like a bad idea.

I do like how they suggest to lay out the nest boxes and roosts in a way that they can look out the window and sun themselves. This would be nice for them in the winter months. I also like how it is written. They are keeping the chicken's best interests and comfort in mind.

I also noticed that it states several times that keeping an earth floor is the best option, but concrete can be easier to clean. I have been reading a lot of opinions on BYC about this and we have decided to go with a natural earth floor and treat as a compost floor. The added heat that the compost will produce will be beneficial in winter. I can also use the compost in the spring for the garden.

 

[aart]

Thanks for your replies and insight!

Yes, you are right! crude oil sounds like a bad idea.

I do like how they suggest to lay out the nest boxes and roosts in a way that they can look out the window and sun themselves. This would be nice for them in the winter months. I also like how it is written. They are keeping the chicken's best interests and comfort in mind.

I also noticed that it states several times that keeping an earth floor is the best option, but concrete can be easier to clean. I have been reading a lot of opinions on BYC about this and we have decided to go with a natural earth floor and treat as a compost floor. The added heat that the compost will produce will be beneficial in winter. I can also use the compost in the spring for the garden.

Always two sides to every coin!

My theory, and it's only theory because I haven't done it myself in a coop, is that it's hard to keep a compost pile truly 'hot' without a pretty fair amount of moisture....and moisture can be deadly, or at least disfiguring, in a coop within a climate that freezes.

Lots of variables with any chicken keeping technique, they all depend on climate, site, facilities and the personal preferences of the keeper. IMO the three most important aspects of keeping chickens is space, weather protection and ventilation. Life's a balance, have fun figuring it out!

 

[RJSorensen]

My thoughts on this goes along these lines. The old timers had to do it without power in the coop to remove heat and ammonia etc., they used natural convection in their out buildings refined by decades of keeping chickens. They used the southern orientation for light and warmth in winter, low roost height to roof line, to keep the birds warmth near them in the winter.

The comment on crude oil is just what we call tar today, and they used it to plug holes like we might use caulking today. Look past the obvious terms that may or may not be politically correct today. Times change, terms change, but I feel they had it down for the best designs that the small farmer of the time could choose from.

If anything we have regressed in coop design… Really, what do most people know today. Something they read on the web? Have they done it? We don't depend on our flocks for food, they did. If it did not work who went hungry… they did. They had their vested interests in those buildings and it had to work. They could not run to the web for 'help'. So look long and hard at those buildings, and just update the materials, we got nothin on them, so to speak.

Just my thoughts and experiences, everyone needs to choose for themselves what will work for them, or if it does not work out, well run to the web.

Regards,

RJ