Leanto Coop? (Maine)

[TheHealingIdea]

I saw the concrete and what looks like a wood floor. <shrugs> Sorry.
Best of cLuck!

Lol, my post said concrete slab and that the wood on top was just what I had on hand right this second.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Why don’t we step back a bit. First, how many chickens are you planning on housing? What are the dimensions of that lean to? And lastly, what size run are you planning on. You need a minimum of 10 square feet per bird. But honestly, I live in northern Massachusetts and to get them through the winter you want to provide more room. Bored chickens get cranky and kookie.

 

[TheHealingIdea]

Why don’t we step back a bit. First, how many chickens are you planning on housing? What are the dimensions of that lean to? And lastly, what size run are you planning on. You need a minimum of 10 square feet per bird. But honestly, I live in northern Massachusetts and to get them through the winter you want to provide more room. Bored chickens get cranky and kookie.

First batch of little ones is 6 in count.
Dimensions from initial post are “Lowest part of the leanto is about 6' tall, tallest is 8.5' I think. It's also about 6.5' wide, and about 9' deep”. Tall enough that I had thought of doing a second floor somehow, but wasn’t sure.
Run size is pretty open, have a decent little fenced in backyard.

 

[Clabbergirl]

Can you simply cover up that back ‘wall’ of chain link with boards, make or repurpose some kind of nesting boxes, and then make a wide ladder of sorts for the roosts? Make another wall for the front, cover with a curtain of hardware cloth, and make a makeshift door with latches. I am not an expert and building things is not a skill I really have, but I can see this forming up to be a nice big coop.

 

[TheHealingIdea]

Can you simply cover up that back ‘wall’ of chain link with boards, make or repurpose some kind of nesting boxes, and then make a wide ladder of sorts for the roosts? Make another wall for the front, cover with a curtain of hardware cloth, and make a makeshift door with latches. I am not an expert and building things is not a skill I really have, but I can see this forming up to be a nice big coop.

I was thinking leaving at least part of the back wall open would be better for ventilation, or no? Air flow better than just one wall of mesh. But like I said, never built one before. Lol
I actually have roosts and nesting boxes already, even though they won’t be laying/needing the boxes for some time still. Haha!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Just for perspective, my coop is 8 feet by 10 feet walk in. I built a ladder roost and have 4 nest boxes. Last winter I had 6 RIR’s in there. Their run was 8 x 14 feet. They got bored over the winter and decided to start feather picking for entertainment. You need more room for your chickens. You could put the nest boxes on the outside wall of the slant with access doors to collect eggs. That would minimize cutting into the coop itself. Install real walls and make sure there are ventilation holes above where you put the roosts. Also, the roosts need to be higher than the access to the nest boxes. I hope this is helpful.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I was thinking leaving at least part of the back wall open would be better for ventilation, or no? Air flow better than just one wall of mesh. But like I said, never built one before. Lol
I actually have roosts and nesting boxes already, even though they won’t be laying/needing the boxes for some time still. Haha!

Chickens need ventilation but not drafts. Wire mesh will not keep cold winds and blowing snow out of your coop.

 

[Doublete]

My mother lives in Maine and keeps chickens. She keeps them in the back half of her VERY large garage because let’s face it... it’s super cold up there.

You’ll want to close up the walls. All of them. Create ventilation at the top. Allow moisture to escape via vents by the roof. When you’re in the middle of a blizzard you want to know your birds are cozy and not getting snowed on.
When snow melts in Maine it frequently does get muddy so be aware for their run... prepare for that.

If it were me... I would close up all the walls... create vents at the top...have a pop door that opens and closes to their run... and a largepeople door. Build lots of roosts with 2x4s and comfy nest boxes. Put a window or two in if you can that you can also open for ventilation. Do you have electric out there? That’ll be super helpful for a heated waterer.

 

[TheHealingIdea]

[QUOTE="Doublete, post: 21659234, member: 536874"
Do you have electric out there? That’ll be super helpful for a heated waterer.[/QUOTE]
I do!

 

[Doublete]

You’ll need it.

Winter animal keeping up there is no joke. I moved south when I was 22. I had horses and all other animals up there my whole life. I could not tolerate winters up there any more!!!