Minnesota!

[NikonD2xer]

Here is a photo of my coop. I needed a coop very quickly and put this together in 6 hours. That was 2 years ago. Even with the end being open all the time, I still have moisture problems in the winter.

It is built on a 4 x 6 treated base. I was planning on building a permanent structure on that, but that has not worked out so far. During rain or snow with a southern wind, I have an old blanket that gets clipped to the cattle panels to keep out moisture but allow air to pass through.

It is not pretty, but it was fast to build, pretty cheap, and has worked well for the most part. I was surprised how well the tarp has lasted and how comfortable it is in there in the winter. I do have an infrared heated that gets turned on over the roost when temps drop below -10.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have no idea what comfrey is, I looked at a picture of it and it looked like a flower thingy, my chickens will be forever deprived of it.


Rhett Your coop is beautiful, but I agree with the rest you need to "drill holes like a mad woman". I have a 2 inch space on mine all along the top of the upper plate,(soffit/fascia area). A vent like BC describes would work great, but you still need a place for fresh air to get in. I would drill 3-4 inch holes along both walls every 3-4 inches apart, and cover with a commercial vent or just some hardware cloth. You really cannot have too many.

The coop I will use for the main flock this fall will have the main part west wall has a garage door in it, I have removed the door and am replacing it with wire.



Mistha Are you telling me Ole has become monogamous? Try telling me about the Easter bunny, I might believe it first.

 

[Rhetts]

OK. I think I got it for venting. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! I will be, as Ralphie puts it, "drilling like a mad woman". I had a feeling what we put wasn't enough and thank you guys for helping me understand what to do. I appreciate it! Really!

Nikon your coop totally works. That is awesome!

 

[KlopKlop]

What makes it good for chickens?

It's very high in protein and is also supposed to contain high levels of other nutrients. Comfrey is supposedly good at drawing them from the soil. Do a little googling and you will find many articles about comfrey as fodder

 

[KlopKlop]

@NikonD2xer I like you hoop house. I plan to build something similar next year for housing turkeys. What are the dimensions of it?

I believe you in saying you have ventilation issues. A pipe with only one open end will only exchange air if you could achieve a Venturi effect I think. Adding some kind of venting on the ridge towards the closed end might help but could also result in draftiness

 

[NikonD2xer]

It is roughly 8 x 16 feet. I put a double 2x4 ridge beam in the top. There is almost 6 foot clearance inside down the center, so I would only hit my head every 4th or 5th time i went in there. The ridge beam helped with support. I was worried about wind and snow. There is no movement with the cattle panels at all. I could climb on it if I was 20 or 30 years younger.

For the moisture problem.....I was thinking about installing a 4 inch pvc pipe with holes drilled into it along the ceiling and fan pulling the air to the outside over the door. I really don't want a vent on the north wall because of the wind we get here.

I can get photos for you @KlopKlop if you need any more details.

 

[KlopKlop]

It is roughly 8 x 16 feet.  I put a double 2x4 ridge beam in the top.  There is almost 6 foot clearance inside down the center, so I would only hit my head every 4th or 5th time i went in there.  The ridge beam helped with support.  I was worried about wind and snow.  There is no movement with the cattle panels at all.  I could climb on it if I was 20 or 30 years younger.

For the moisture problem.....I was thinking about installing a 4 inch pvc pipe with holes drilled into it along the ceiling and  fan pulling the air to the outside over the door.  I really don't want a  vent on the north wall because of the wind we get here.

I can get photos for you @KlopKlop
 if you need any more details.

The pipe could make a decent air exchanger. I would hazard a guess that fewer larger holes would work better than many small holes. A cheap bathroom vent fan might be a good start

Pictures would be great if you have some. I could use some inspiration. I have some cattle panels laying around my place that i intend to use. They are 36"x12' or 14' perhaps

edit: I got curious and did some research. Sounds like using a fan to push air from the coop will be more efficient for air exchange than one pulling air (I.e a bathroom fan vent pushes air out through a pipe vs sucking through a straw)

 

[NikonD2xer]

The pipe could make a decent air exchanger. I would hazard a guess that fewer larger holes would work better than many small holes. A cheap bathroom vent fan might be a good start

Pictures would be great if you have some. I could use some inspiration. I have some cattle panels laying around my place that i intend to use. They are 36"x12' or 14' perhaps

No problem. I will get some pictures taken of some of the details.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

@Mistahbue you need to find the resolve or find somebody else who can put that bird down for you. Maybe a neighbor who can help. I'm sorry to say. That $4.65 bird is going to cost you $200 at the vet for the same result I'm afraid. It's totally up to you dear. But this chickening business things like this are going to come along and it wont be your last bird with issues. It breaks your heart everytime. And for me...I've wept over special birds, but I know it was the right thing to do to end pain and suffering. It's just stuff that comes with the territory. I'm not sure all vets are avian vets and some may not want you to bring in a bird with possible Mareks. My humble opinion only. Good luck with everything.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Hey Ralphie welcome back. Glad Ma had the chooks in good order. Bless her heart.

I can't remember anything either today. Rough night of sleep or something. I drove like crap to work. Good thing its a small po-dunk town. Putting on my brakes here and there for no reason. Scared the crap out of myself. I think I need to go back to bed.

The pup wakes up at 5:30 each morning. She has to go potty. And the sky this morning was as orange as any orange peel. It was glowing orange off the dirt driveway. I took pictures but they did not do the color justice. It was amazing. The shades in the bedroom were even glowing orange. Beautiful. But Rain and thunderstorms today...so that's why the color I suppose. "Red skies in morning sailors take warning."