My first try at home building a Chicken abode (after reading for months all about chickens)

[Indoroowet]

electric fencer and wire run with insulators along the very bottom of coop but just high enough up it wont short out. another run of electric fence wire about the height a fox/coyote/dog/raccoon would place its front feet when hopping up onto coop. cost for one fence charger and wire shouldn't be too high.

since you already know you will have dog problems i would do electric fence as soon as affordable

as far as the "tin" all it is is a clearish plastic sheet of roofing used mainly for green house construction, not really anything other than random idea. as far as i would be concerned the tarp works but so would the hinged top, all in what works best for you

Thank you for the explanations.

Joey

 

[Indoroowet]

I'd be mostly concerned with ventilation. A couple of 2" vent holes on each end is no where near adequate. You'll need some real openings, covered with hardware cloth. Even in the winter, ventilation is very important.

OK, for a coop that is 4 x 4 feet square and 4.5 feet high, how big of a vent hole on top should it have ?

 

[Wxguru]

I would do as much vent space as you can reasonably afford to make

 

[aart]

Quote: It's not the size of the coop, it's the number of birds....1 sq ft of ventilation per bird is a fairly good rule of thumb.

 

[Indoroowet]

It's not the size of the coop, it's the number of birds....1 sq ft of ventilation per bird is a fairly good rule of thumb.

OK, got it.

Sounds a bit big, but I am not arguing about your suggestion, just seems a bit big.
Assume 10 chickens, then the opening on the top is 10 square feet.
That is a hole 3.5 feet in diameter !!!

Thanks.

 

[aart]

The square footage doesn't have to be a round hole(s)....my ventilation runs along the eaves of the coop, 1 ft wide and 16 ft long in 3 places.

 

[MeepBeep]

Sounds a bit big, but I am not arguing about your suggestion, just seems a bit big.
Assume 10 chickens, then the opening on the top is 10 square feet.
That is a hole 3.5 feet in diameter !!!

As said above don't cut a hole, in your "A" frame design I would do two things... Cut a full length ridge vent and add some gable vents... Getting your 10 sqft of vent is easy this way...

See picture...

 

[Indoroowet]

As said above don't cut a hole, in your "A" frame design I would do two things... Cut a full length ridge vent and add some gable vents... Getting your 10 sqft of vent is easy this way...

See picture...

OK, sounds good.

 

[aart]

Quote: That's a great suggestion!

Not sure the lower HC is needed...and depending on climate, might want to make the roof ridge panels hinged and closable depending on prevailing winds during a weather event.

One downside to an A-frame is head room, once you get the roosts above the nests it can severely cut down on access to the roosts and puts their heads into the ventilation area...this is where ventilation and draft can be a delicate balance....again depends on climate.

@Indoroowet what is your climate? Putting your location in your profile can really help folks make more viable suggestions.
I love the idea of using the washer pans, could you post a pic of how you mounted them?
Just looked closer at the pic posts, the paint job is stellar!
Looks like there is a 'flap' that covers the nest area when they are removed for cleaning pans?

 

[MeepBeep]

Not sure the lower HC is needed...

No it's not necessary but I put it in the picture because just as a backup to block that area off...