Mountain Ledge coop 95% done - advice needed

[PirateGirl]

3 things that stand out right away:
-are your soffits open for winter ventilation?
-can the latch on the run door be opened from inside?
-that ladder to the roosts is unusable.

Suggestions.
Put your poop board just above the nests, 3.5-4' deep with roosts spaced 12" from wall and 18" apart. Feed and water hung underneath poop board. That'll give you 12' of roost length. Tho a 6x8' coop is tight for 12 birds in your climate.

Think about snow management...around run door and especially the run roof.
It would be good to put a solid roof on the whole run, and put up some plastic on 3 sides to block wind and snow. This will give them more space than just the coop during the nasty days of winter.
That board thing in front of run door is not necessary, and will be unmanageable in the winter, if your paver threshold goes into run.

I made a 'patio/threshold' in front of and under the door. The chooks dug underneath it. So I added the row of bricks. They dug underneath it. So I added the 2x8x16" pavers on edge and anchored them in with rebar. That has worked well so far.

I am inspired by your patio threshold. I had major issues with my run gate this winter (I should say this spring when snow melted) and reworking it is in the summer plans. This just might solve my problems!

 

[jthornton]

I have 2 4' roosts with a 3' connecting roost, when they were younger you could see up to 9 on a 4' roost... and the 10th one trying like heck to get up there to be on the same roost as the rooster, now usually the most is 5 on the 4' roost, in the winter sometimes 6 and sometimes they are just scattered about. My roosts are 12" off the poop board so they just hop up an down. If they have to fly up they need more room for their wings. Oh and no more fighting to be with the rooster he went to freezer camp.

JT

 

[aart]

I am inspired by your patio threshold. I had major issues with my run gate this winter (I should say this spring when snow melted) and reworking it is in the summer plans. This just might solve my problems!

I wanted a paver threshold to deter diggers(from the outside, was naive to the excavation powers of chickens when I built it-haha!) ....and had to put it in the 'patio' due to the slope of the land, and the existing concrete base for the coop shed steps, then also split the bottom of dutch door so it can open all the way for wheelbarrow access. It must be kept shoveled out all winter.

 

[NHMountainMan]

3 things that stand out right away:
-are your soffits open for winter ventilation?
-can the latch on the run door be opened from inside?
-that ladder to the roosts is unusable.

Suggestions.
Put your poop board just above the nests, 3.5-4' deep with roosts spaced 12" from wall and 18" apart. Feed and water hung underneath poop board. That'll give you 12' of roost length. Tho a 6x8' coop is tight for 12 birds in your climate.

Think about snow management...around run door and especially the run roof.
It would be good to put a solid roof on the whole run, and put up some plastic on 3 sides to block wind and snow. This will give them more space than just the coop during the nasty days of winter.
That board thing in front of run door is not necessary, and will be unmanageable in the winter, if your paver threshold goes into run.

I made a 'patio/threshold' in front of and under the door. The chooks dug underneath it. So I added the row of bricks. They dug underneath it. So I added the 2x8x16" pavers on edge and anchored them in with rebar. That has worked well so far.

Thanks for the advice.
The soffits are not vented, but my carpentry skill means some air will exchange. We have a ton of winter wind. I was thinking that the vents near the roof would provide plenty of air exchange. It’s rare that we don’t have 20+ mph winds- and 50-70 mph happen pretty regularly.

I am planning on wrapping plastic around the run. With as much wind as we get, snow is usually only a problem in November and late March. Wet snow may stay around a little. But once winter hits, the dry snow blows. We rarely have more than a few inches up on the ledge, while the bottom of our driveway will have several feet after a storm. The coop is set back amongst some trees for some wind break.

Do you think I need those soffit vents in our climate conditions?

Thx for feedback on the poop boards and roosting bars. I could not have figured that out myself!

I was originally planning on keeping 6 chickens for eggs and the rest in the freezer. But I thought that maybe winter survival might be better with the dozen for shared heat. Thoughts on optimal number to keep for winter conditions given coop size?

Thx again for all your help.

 

[aart]

I am planning on wrapping plastic around the run.

Don't make it 'air tight', leave one side or part of one side open....and/or a gap of few inches at the top of walls all the way around open. You're going to put plastic on the run roof too?

Do you think I need those soffit vents in our climate conditions?

Yes, it the best winter ventilation, tho you might have to do some dampering inside with cardboard on bottoms of rafters from eaves up a foot or so. You'll need some louvers on your gable vents too. Ventilation is tricky and hard to advise over the net, got to get inside and feel the air movement and adjust openings as necessary.

But I thought that maybe winter survival might be better with the dozen for shared heat.

With adequate ventilation a coop 'holding heat' is moot and a fallacy. Chickens make moisture with respiration and poop, that moisture needs to be able to escape, so fewer birds is actually better...6 would be good.

 

[Folly's place]

Six to ten big birds will be happier if they are in the coop only during bad weather. Crowding is BAD!
It's easy to underestimate the need for ventilation, and more is better all year. Openings especially on the south and east sides are necessary. Having electricity out there to keep water from freezing, and if you want winter eggs, a light on a timer from 3am to 8am makes a difference.

Roofing the entire run, and having the run walls partially covered in rolled plastic, will be good for winter, and give the birds more room, and you a lot less shoveling!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Insulating the ceiling helps with summer sun, and winter cold. Summer sun is a bigger problem, and planting a tree and shrubs on the south and west sides of the coop will give shade, and some shelter from raptors.
Mary

 

[NHMountainMan]

Don't make it 'air tight', leave one side or part of one side open....and/or a gap of few inches at the top of walls all the way around open. You're going to put plastic on the run roof too?


Yes, it the best winter ventilation, tho you might have to do some dampering inside with cardboard on bottoms of rafters from eaves up a foot or so. You'll need some louvers on your gable vents too. Ventilation is tricky and hard to advise over the net, got to get inside and feel the air movement and adjust openings as necessary.


With adequate ventilation a coop 'holding heat' is moot and a fallacy. Chickens make moisture with respiration and poop, that moisture needs to be able to escape, so fewer birds is actually better...6 would be good.

Thanks again. The gable vents are hinged and can close from inside but I really like the louvre idea.
Wasn’t going to plastic wrap the roof simply because there’s no way the wind won’t rip it off. Sounds like I’m back to only 85% done... going to have to put a wood based roof or the wind will take it.
I will vent the soffits- easier to cover that if needed than to ventilate in the winter.

 

[NHMountainMan]

Six to ten big birds will be happier if they are in the coop only during bad weather. Crowding is BAD!
It's easy to underestimate the need for ventilation, and more is better all year. Openings especially on the south and east sides are necessary. Having electricity out there to keep water from freezing, and if you want winter eggs, a light on a timer from 3am to 8am makes a difference.

Roofing the entire run, and having the run walls partially covered in rolled plastic, will be good for winter, and give the birds more room, and you a lot less shoveling!
Mary

Thank you!
In my pictures, the front of the coop faces north, and the run faces south. The wind hits us almost exclusively from the west, as mtn notches create a wind tunnel effect for us. I was planning to wrap the western side of the run, and possibly the south, and leave the east (where the run door and coop door are placed) mostly exposed.

There are some oaks growing to the east side that provides summer shade until about noon. By 3, the west oaks start to shade the roof- so about 3 hrs of sun on the roof right now. Typical summer weather for us rarely gets above mid 80s, though we’ve had 2 separate 3 day heat waves in the 90s so far this summer. Even so- the breeze makes it more manageable. On those 90 degree days, nights get in to the 70s. I think that when those oaks shed their leaves, the coop will get more full sun in the winter than the summer. (I’ve got bees in the same area so I have watched wind and sun carefully)

I do have the coop wired so there will be light a heated water. Not planning to heat the coop but will watch it to see if I need to.
Thanks again for the advice

 

[aart]

(I’ve got bees in the same area so I have watched wind and sun carefully)