Large coop fixer-upper - could use some advise.

[MichelleP43]

Nice sized garden, ya.  

And alot of corn for a family.  Feed supplement for the cattle?  

My garden is about a tenth of the size of yours.  Built a green house here last spring.  The idea is to get a jump on spring veg starts and to extend the pepper/tomato season here.

Yeah we do a lot of sweet corn for us and to give away. Same with pumpkins, they take up a lot of space. Jealous of your greenhouse. We would like to build one some day.

 

[MichelleP43]

Some progress pictures, we got the inside cleaned out today, also painted it. The roof was completed yesterday.

 

[Nineplus5]

Looks alot better already! Be sure to dust the antlers

Greenhouse is a 8' x 18'. First one. Next one I build will be bigger lol

 

[aart]

I thought the peek-a-moo was funny
That old metal nest bank is very cool.

Nice sized building for sure.
Hard to say if the structural integrity is solid with everything covered up......
...might be concerned about moisture around foundation/bottom of walls.
But I guess if the cows haven't knocked it over <shrug>
Chickens will be great for gleaning undigested grain and fly larvae in the cow pies....
......and spread it around for ya.

Any concern with rodent infiltration?
Those sheathed and insulated walls could be mouse/rat heaven.....
.....especially once you start serving up the chicken feed.

Not sure you'll have enough ventilation in the long run,
chicken respiration and poops add moisture to the air....as do open waterers.
You'll want to add some open all year vents up under the front and back eaves,
and some top hinged and glassed windows to open in the summer and for light in the winter.

How will you keep water thawed in winter?
Think about using horizontal poultry nipples from the get go once you get chicks.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples

 

[MichelleP43]

I thought the peek-a-moo was funny
That old metal nest bank is very cool.

Nice sized building for sure.
Hard to say if the structural integrity is solid with everything covered up......
...might be concerned about moisture around foundation/bottom of walls.
But I guess if the cows haven't knocked it over <shrug>
Chickens will be great for gleaning undigested grain and fly larvae in the cow pies....
......and spread it around for ya.

Any concern with rodent infiltration?
Those sheathed and insulated walls could be mouse/rat heaven.....
.....especially once you start serving up the chicken feed.

Not sure you'll have enough ventilation in the long run,
chicken respiration and poops add moisture to the air....as do open waterers.
You'll want to add some open all year vents up under the front and back eaves,
and some top hinged and glassed windows to open in the summer and for light in the winter.

How will you keep water thawed in winter?
Think about using horizontal poultry nipples from the get go once you get chicks.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples

I'm pretty sure it is structurally sound, the cows use it as a scratching post. We did find a few dead mice while cleaning it out. What do you recommend for keeping them at bay?

The ventilation is actually pretty good. There are windows on all four walls. They do need to be replaced though. Some are covered now because of broken glass so it does look a bit darker in there than it will be. There is also ventilation cut outs in the ceiling in each corner that vents under the eaves. I didn't get a picture of them.

There is electricity in the coop, we just have to get it turned back on. We plan to use those heated pans to keep water from freezing. I'm not sure what they are called but we have at least one of them left over.

The tin for the siding is hopefully going up next weekend and I will be starting on the roosts and poop board soon. We are looking at getting hens as early as January (if I get my way

) or in the spring (if Fiance gets his way.)

 

[aart]

We did find a few dead mice while cleaning it out. What do you recommend for keeping them at bay?

I just keep my feed in a metal can with tight lid and regularly set snap traps, especially if I see mouse turds.

 

[mountainrun]

We use metal cans for feed too; we had mice chew thru a plastic can

 

[western edge]

Hi. Found you on the ND tread. Ventilation is important in the winter. I added two 6 inch vertical duct starting 18 inches from the floor, slightly adjacent from the roosting area as not to create a draft in roosting area, up through the roof with a weather cap. This along with lower windows along the non roosting side slightly open at all times and a couple of soffit vents near the ceiling above them, vents the moisture very well. Found the plans on an old coop plan online. I will try to post some pics of mine.
If mice have no place to hide inside of the coop such as holes in the walls and such it seems they wont venture into the coop cuz the chickens will get them.
Good luck.

 

[JonathanJ]

I did a similar conversion of a building that was the milkhouse on the old dairy farm we bought a few years ago. It's got a concrete floor and the walls are concrete halfway up. Had to put the pophole four feet off the ground with a ramp!

I know it's been a couple of months since you started this, but here are my thoughts:

• Ventilation: You need cross ventilation, even in the winter. Chicken poop contains a lot of water and ammonia that needs to be moved outside or you'll end up with rot and mold and your girls may end up with respiratory problems. Studies have shown that the benefits of ventilation outweigh the benefits of heat as far as chicken health, so it's a good idea to ventilate even when it's super cold out. A low vent on one side and a high vent on the other side works pretty good.
• Construction: Replace any particle board or chipboard (OSB) with exterior-grade plywood or solid wood. Particle board and chipboard will just turn into a moldy, crumbly mess.
• Paint: Use a semi-gloss or gloss paint. The glossier the paint, the easier it is to clean.
• Heat: Not necessary -- most chicken breeds acclimate well to cold weather, even 20 below or colder. You'll probably want heated water dishes, though.
• Litter/bedding: On the floor of the coop, I use hay (it's the cheapest bedding I have available). I periodically add hay, letting the hay & manure build up. I clean out the litter once a year. With 30 hens in a 10x15 area, it gets 9-12" deep in a years' time. This deep litter method helps to control odor. One disadvantage of the deep litter method is that if the litter is allowed to build up against wood walls, it can cause the wood to start rotting, though I haven't seen that problem yet on the wood supports for the roosts in my coop. Bare concrete is about the best surface imaginable for a coop floor -- easy cleanup -- so no need to paint or cover it.
• Wiring: I used conduit and weathertight boxes, fittings, and fixtures. This allows me to go in with a pressure washer during the annual cleaning, and I don't have to worry about the wiring getting soaked.
• Lighting: In addition to the normal lights, install some red lights (use either a CFL or LED "party light" bulb) so you can go in at night to check on the girls without disturbing them. If you want to supplement their light during the winter, you can get really fancy and install an industrial delay timer and a photocell, and set it up so the white lights automatically come on 10 hours after dusk! I did this in my coop, and now I don't have to adjust the timer as the seasons change, and the girls can go to bed when the sun tells them to.

Most of all, remember that chickens really aren't picky about how their coop looks. The design should be primarily based on ease of maintenance, with the appearance only a consideration for impressing other people. I had to rebuild the roof on my coop because it was horribly rotten, but the rest of it is structurally sound, even though it leans to the west due to uneven settling! Leveling out a 4' foundation wall would be a daunting task that's really not necessary.