eira_barbara
Chirping
Hi! I posted about inheriting a coop at the house I bought a few months ago and ultimately have decided to scrap it* and start fresh with a totally new setup. I'm in Minnesota, so I'm thinking carefully about my designs, and I'm not intending to actually acquire chickens until the coop is done, so I have some time. (Current plan is to acquire chicks early next spring, although maybe fall chicks would work if I could get them big enough and warm enough to look after themselves through a Minnesota winter--I'm debating timing there.) I'd rather do things right a little slowly than do them fast and have to fix it later. I'm thinking 4 birds for now, aiming to build big enough for 8 in case of chicken math. Plan is to do deep litter and build big enough for a fully enclosed setup.
I'm currently looking at building a hoop coop using cattle panels because it frankly seems like the easiest possible option for success: cheapest materials, minimal woodworking, relatively lightweight (my spouse has some aspirational thoughts about dragging it from place to place in warmer months and using deep litter in the winter). I'm sketching out plans for an 8' by 16' hoop coop based on the usual suspects now, built on skids ala the Ms. Biddy build and covered with hardware cloth.
However, I'm worried about effective ventilation in the winters while also minimizing drafts in a hoop coop design. I'd like the top of the coop to be roofed, and I'm not sure I can effectively insulate something that big. A lot of the covered hoop coops I've seen use a tarp for roofing, and it seems to be common to just tarp all the way over one half of the structure for the coop and leave the other open for the run. I'd like to cover the top portion at least of the whole thing, especially dealing with snowfall.
Would it work to have, say, corrugated panels bent over the top and around the sides with a 1ft "window" about 2/3s up the height of the structure? All the diagrams I can find for airflow are designed for more conventional roofs, but I really would like to make sure I'm not freezing these poor birds OR moistening them to death before I pick any up. Would that be strong enough with the snow load?
*by which I mean, I'm posting it on the local freecycling groups, because even if that thing isn't ideal I suspect it's miles better than a prefab and I'm sure someone else would like to have it to play with
I'm currently looking at building a hoop coop using cattle panels because it frankly seems like the easiest possible option for success: cheapest materials, minimal woodworking, relatively lightweight (my spouse has some aspirational thoughts about dragging it from place to place in warmer months and using deep litter in the winter). I'm sketching out plans for an 8' by 16' hoop coop based on the usual suspects now, built on skids ala the Ms. Biddy build and covered with hardware cloth.
However, I'm worried about effective ventilation in the winters while also minimizing drafts in a hoop coop design. I'd like the top of the coop to be roofed, and I'm not sure I can effectively insulate something that big. A lot of the covered hoop coops I've seen use a tarp for roofing, and it seems to be common to just tarp all the way over one half of the structure for the coop and leave the other open for the run. I'd like to cover the top portion at least of the whole thing, especially dealing with snowfall.
Would it work to have, say, corrugated panels bent over the top and around the sides with a 1ft "window" about 2/3s up the height of the structure? All the diagrams I can find for airflow are designed for more conventional roofs, but I really would like to make sure I'm not freezing these poor birds OR moistening them to death before I pick any up. Would that be strong enough with the snow load?
*by which I mean, I'm posting it on the local freecycling groups, because even if that thing isn't ideal I suspect it's miles better than a prefab and I'm sure someone else would like to have it to play with