Smith Center, Kansas. Thanks for including that. it is a help. In the center of the state east-west and up next to Nebraska. You’re going to be flat and have that continental climate, fairly brutal winters and hot summers. And you’ll know what wind is like. Chickens normally have more trouble with heat than cold but you kind of need to think of both.
You can follow the link in my signature for my thoughts on space. There are so many variables in our conditions and how we manage them that there is no one magic number that covers all of us in all seasons. What matters is how much space is available to them when they need it whether that is just coop, coop and run combined, or maybe some free ranging. Where you are winter will be your limiting time.
You’ve got some good people talking to you but I’ll add some of my thoughts. I’d keep it on the ground but the key to a healthy coop is to keep it dry. A wet coop or run is an unhealthy coop or run. During wet seasons you might not be able to do a lot about the run but it is important to keep your coop dry even then. That means either keep water out to start with or fix it so it dries out really quickly if it gets wet. That means good ventilation, good drainage, and a bedding that does not hold moisture.
Chickens need ventilation in the coop, even in winter. The dangers are ammonia from the poop breaking down and moisture in the air that can lead to frostbite. Chickens can handle cold really well but you can get moisture in the air from the poop and their breathing. Ammonia is lighter than air and warmer air holds more moisture than cold air so openings up high are good. In your shelter a roof vent and a gable vent that is over their heads in winter would be very good. Maybe incorporate a gable vent in the door or just above it?
I’ll give you a couple of articles form a lady that was in Ontario that might help. I think she went a bit overboard on how much ventilation is actually needed but still, you need some. In summer you need a lot.
Pat’s Big Ol' Ventilation Page
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION
Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-fix-a-muddy-run
As someone mentioned, you need a window. You don’t need a lot of light in there but they need enough to be able to see. Maybe make a panel out of Plexiglas that you can bolt on in the winter and replace it with a hardware cloth panel in the summer for more ventilation. Or install a permanent hardware cloth panel that you can cover with Plexiglas in the winter. In the summer with your heat you can’t have too much ventilation even down low. You might want more than one of these. If you can get inexpensive windows off Craigslist or maybe one of those habitat stores if you have one handy those can work great too. Just make sure any opening s are covered so predators can’t get in even when the windows are open. The window can be in the door.
They are creatures of habit. The odds are really good they will return to their own coop at night even if they mix and match during the day, but they are also living animals. Those don’t always come with guarantees as to how they will behave. As long as you separate them at breeding season, what difference does it make if they mix anyway? By the way, a hen can store sperm from a rooster for over three weeks and it remain viable. If you want to keep the breeds pure, you’ll need to separate them for three weeks or more before you incubate any eggs. No free ranging together.
I’m guessing the 4’ height is to the peak, not the top of the straight walls. The roosts need to be noticeably higher than anything you don’t want them to roost on (especially nests), about 12” minimum from a wall, separated by 12” minimum from each other horizontally, and positioned where they don’t poop in feed and water. They can get by with less, but 12” headroom is not a bad number. But don’t forget you need ventilation higher than them on the roost. You may be a little height challenged in that but try to figure out a layout if you plan to feed and water in there.
Many of us use droppings boards. They poop a whole lot when they are on the roosts at night. If you can remove most of that poop you can reduce how often you need to clean the coop and that pure poop sure helps in a compost pile. There are a lot of different ways to make a droppings board. Mine is just a sheet of plywood that covers my built-in brooder. Others get a lot fancier. If you can position your feeder and/or waterer under a droppings board and still be able to get to all of them you will be ahead. Making them portable can help with cleaning too. Just move the coop to someplace dry. Positioning the roost is the biggest challenge I see in that because of the limited height and that peaked roof.
Maybe you could use two of these together, one for roosting and one for feed and water, and connect them with a tunnel maybe 18” high and a foot wide that they can get to each side even during a blizzard.
That’s probably enough right now. I think you have a great resource there and can do well. Good luck!
You can follow the link in my signature for my thoughts on space. There are so many variables in our conditions and how we manage them that there is no one magic number that covers all of us in all seasons. What matters is how much space is available to them when they need it whether that is just coop, coop and run combined, or maybe some free ranging. Where you are winter will be your limiting time.
You’ve got some good people talking to you but I’ll add some of my thoughts. I’d keep it on the ground but the key to a healthy coop is to keep it dry. A wet coop or run is an unhealthy coop or run. During wet seasons you might not be able to do a lot about the run but it is important to keep your coop dry even then. That means either keep water out to start with or fix it so it dries out really quickly if it gets wet. That means good ventilation, good drainage, and a bedding that does not hold moisture.
Chickens need ventilation in the coop, even in winter. The dangers are ammonia from the poop breaking down and moisture in the air that can lead to frostbite. Chickens can handle cold really well but you can get moisture in the air from the poop and their breathing. Ammonia is lighter than air and warmer air holds more moisture than cold air so openings up high are good. In your shelter a roof vent and a gable vent that is over their heads in winter would be very good. Maybe incorporate a gable vent in the door or just above it?
I’ll give you a couple of articles form a lady that was in Ontario that might help. I think she went a bit overboard on how much ventilation is actually needed but still, you need some. In summer you need a lot.
Pat’s Big Ol' Ventilation Page
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION
Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-fix-a-muddy-run
As someone mentioned, you need a window. You don’t need a lot of light in there but they need enough to be able to see. Maybe make a panel out of Plexiglas that you can bolt on in the winter and replace it with a hardware cloth panel in the summer for more ventilation. Or install a permanent hardware cloth panel that you can cover with Plexiglas in the winter. In the summer with your heat you can’t have too much ventilation even down low. You might want more than one of these. If you can get inexpensive windows off Craigslist or maybe one of those habitat stores if you have one handy those can work great too. Just make sure any opening s are covered so predators can’t get in even when the windows are open. The window can be in the door.
They are creatures of habit. The odds are really good they will return to their own coop at night even if they mix and match during the day, but they are also living animals. Those don’t always come with guarantees as to how they will behave. As long as you separate them at breeding season, what difference does it make if they mix anyway? By the way, a hen can store sperm from a rooster for over three weeks and it remain viable. If you want to keep the breeds pure, you’ll need to separate them for three weeks or more before you incubate any eggs. No free ranging together.
I’m guessing the 4’ height is to the peak, not the top of the straight walls. The roosts need to be noticeably higher than anything you don’t want them to roost on (especially nests), about 12” minimum from a wall, separated by 12” minimum from each other horizontally, and positioned where they don’t poop in feed and water. They can get by with less, but 12” headroom is not a bad number. But don’t forget you need ventilation higher than them on the roost. You may be a little height challenged in that but try to figure out a layout if you plan to feed and water in there.
Many of us use droppings boards. They poop a whole lot when they are on the roosts at night. If you can remove most of that poop you can reduce how often you need to clean the coop and that pure poop sure helps in a compost pile. There are a lot of different ways to make a droppings board. Mine is just a sheet of plywood that covers my built-in brooder. Others get a lot fancier. If you can position your feeder and/or waterer under a droppings board and still be able to get to all of them you will be ahead. Making them portable can help with cleaning too. Just move the coop to someplace dry. Positioning the roost is the biggest challenge I see in that because of the limited height and that peaked roof.
Maybe you could use two of these together, one for roosting and one for feed and water, and connect them with a tunnel maybe 18” high and a foot wide that they can get to each side even during a blizzard.
That’s probably enough right now. I think you have a great resource there and can do well. Good luck!
