How a bookkeeper built a coop. :)

[AllenK RGV]

Add plastic or metal roofing with large overhangs....to protect the winter ventilation you will add.

My suggestion would be to check at scrap metal yards for useful but cheap materials that might make suitable water tight and weatherproof roofing materials. Also your local dump might have a construction waste area it is worth a phone call to them to see where that stuff goes. I am always trying to do all I can on the cheap and asthetics matter less to me than functionality. Wear appropriate shoes and leather work gloves if you follow either of these tips.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Roofing is in the plans. Also ventilation...but I'm a little lost on that. I'm trying to read up on it but only find square footage per bird stuff. I'm confused on the 'ventilation but no draft' concept. How do you accomplish this? Vent near the roof...but they roost up on the upper rung in the coop...won't they be in a draft then? Any help is appreciated.

aart has a ventilation link in her signature.

 

[sourland]

Well done !

 

[JurassicBawk]

When my dad built my chicken house, he put actual closable wall vents into the sides. I can open them and they can get a cross breeze, or I can close them in very cold weather but they still allow air vapor to leave. I'll see if I can get a picture loaded here in a bit. We did put hardwire mesh on the inside to keep them from accidentally getting a foot caught in there somehow.

 

[biophiliac]

I'm building a pigeon loft but the ventilation principles are the same. Just to give you some ideas....

Gable ends will be open covered with hardware cloth.

and then vents down low, with hinged covers that can be partly or completely closed in wet weather.

and here are the low vents on the other side for a lot of flexibility to adjust ventilation.

This way there are no direct drafts on the roost/perching area.

 

[biophiliac]

aart has a ventilation link in her signature.

X2 Definitely look at @aart 's link!

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I'm building a pigeon loft but the ventilation principles are the same. Just to give you some ideas....
View attachment 1169193

Gable ends will be open covered with hardware cloth.
View attachment 1169194 and then vents down low, with hinged covers that can be partly or completely closed in wet weather.View attachment 1169195
and here are the low vents on the other side for a lot of flexibility to adjust ventilation.

This way there are no direct drafts on the roost/perching area.

This is what I'm working with...right now. I plan on making a bigger coop/run...but I was in a hurry to have something to give the rescued birds. The little window above the egg box is plexiglass. Easily changed to open air...but again...draft?

 

[aart]

Roofing is in the plans. Also ventilation...but I'm a little lost on that. I'm trying to read up on it but only find square footage per bird stuff. I'm confused on the 'ventilation but no draft' concept. How do you accomplish this? Vent near the roof...but they roost up on the upper rung in the coop...won't they be in a draft then? Any help is appreciated.

It's tricky...especially in a tiny coop.
Eave venting is best with large roof overhangs.
You may have to damper vents on the inside if drafts blow hard enough to literally 'ruffle feathers'...I use cardboard to redirect drafts.
Putting vent/window on coop wall under run roof will be good too.

That link is OK..this thread might be more useful tho.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048597/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts
Nothing written in stone about how to ventilate, except that it's very important, as each coop is very different.

 

[JurassicBawk]

When my dad built my chicken house, he put actual closable wall vents into the sides. I can open them and they can get a cross breeze, or I can close them in very cold weather but they still allow air vapor to leave. I'll see if I can get a picture loaded here in a bit. We did put hardwire mesh on the inside to keep them from accidentally getting a foot caught in there somehow.

I’m working on my phone and cant exit the above post to add these for some reason, but here are the construction pics of my house in case they help. The front door is screened but has a built in solid door that comes off in nice weather, and the left/right sides have the closable vents. The little vinyl window opens for more airfloe of course, and we replaced the screen that came with it with a permanent hardwire mesh screen inside. So between front screen/door, window, and vents, it can be very open or completely closed up but still have ventilation.

You can barely see in the bottom pic the roofing we bought and were going to use, which is a recycled rubber sheet of awning. Because the whole coop and house went under my wooden deck, we went with a plywood roof covered in leftover roof shingles like on my house. If it were out in the elements, we would have used those awning panels since they would have provided more of a water block/porch effect.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

It's tricky...especially in a tiny coop.
Eave venting is best with large roof overhangs.
You may have to damper vents on the inside if drafts blow hard enough to literally 'ruffle feathers'...I use cardboard to redirect drafts.
Putting vent/window on coop wall under run roof will be good too.

That link is OK..this thread might be more useful tho.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048597/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts
Nothing written in stone about how to ventilate, except that it's very important, as each coop is very different.

Your Ventilation info is what I've been studying. I thought about putting a window above the trap door...but was again thinking...draft?