That is going to be an awesome coop! You did a great job! For the windows. I would suggest using hardware cloth over the tilt in frame and over the window... to keep critters out, birds in and to keep them from roosting on your windows and the cross braces.Two of my EEs stopped laying for the winter. They are the green and blue layers. I haven't seen a green or blue egg for nearly a month now. the blue layer, Honey, just started moulting too, poor thing. The third EE lays a brown egg and she's still laying. Plus my runt pullet (the one who had the curled toes when I bought her) just started laying a few weeks ago. She's been behind on all development but seems to have finally caught up. Despite all that, my egg numbers have been fairly consistent, around 5-8 eggs a day between the nine layers that I suspect are all still laying.
My coop is being winter tested right now. I have no idea how it's going to perform in the coldest months but last night gave me an idea. My BO rooster got a little frostbite on the lower tips of his waddles this morning. He has monster man-waddles though. He went out to drink from the sheep's trough this morning and dipped them right in to make it worse, freezing water on his breast feathers too. I added some vaseline to prevent further damage but I don't suppose there's much I can do to fix the damage that's been done. It's going to be a long winter if I can't find a solution. The coop does have a dampness to it that I'm not sure how to cure. It's got a cement floor, deep litter (wood shavings). I've got three windows on the east wall, one on the north and two on the south that open into the barn with one vent high above them and a stovepipe vent that takes air from the floor and through the roof. Right now all but one of the windows are shut, the vents are perpetually open. Would like some advice if anyone's got it to get some more ventilation going.
This is the coop exterior, the two inside windows and the venting is above in the peak. It only vents into the barn. I know I need some cross ventilation on the other side but I'm not sure what kind is best or how to go about installing it (height being an issue - I only have a 7ft ladder and that peak is well over 10ft high).
Below you can see the four windows that are now inside the coop (this was taken before I built the coop). I built it single-handedly, armed only with the knowledge I gained from researching here on BYC and no chicken experience so I'm sure it will require tweaking and reworking, etc. I'm totally open to suggestions.
Thanks! It's finished for the most part, just... like I said, needs some tweaking for comfort/safety. I did put hardware cloth over all windows and have never witnessed one roosting on them or the braces... yet. But it was a concern. My sister had one fall into the space between the window and the hardware cloth and got stuck. I could easily rig some chicken wire over the gap if need be. So far so good though.
