need a winter coop close to the house

[BeardedChick]

You could post on freecycle or craigslist for a kids playhouse... Maybe that would get you around zoning issues? People make those into cute coops.

 

[trulyviolet]

Quote:
just sent the email right this past minute

thank you again

(and yes i have looked at the playhouse coops with envy....they are beautiful)

vi

 

[LynneP]

Kid's wooden play houses and mini-sheds are often on sale this time of year. You might strike a real bargain if you spot them, and it wouldn't take much to modify one close to the house for winter use. You might even be able to edge one up under a deck or overhang.

 

[trulyviolet]

Quote:
i hope to be able to look around this weekend
lowes site didn't have the little one anymore
it had a bigger one that was very expensive
but i hope i can find something

i posted a request on freecycle, and looked at our local craiglist

i also have been googling pvc pens

i am hoping that whatever will work.....could possibly be bolted somehow to the foundation of the house


thank you all again

vi

 

[3 sisters farm]

I PM'd you with some info. mary

 

[CityChook]

Vi -

1) A dog house "compound" seems like the perfect size for a small flock like yours. If you can't find something on craigslist (or even freecycle if that's in your area), check the building stores as they have this sort of stuff on huge discount right now before winter.

This may not be at all what you are looking for, but when I read your post, all I could picture in my head was this guy's web site. He is a homesteader in Vermont, where it certainly gets plenty cold. In winter, he moves his chickens closer to the house because of the frigid weather and deep snow. I am not convinced that it is terribly predator proof (he has dogs that patrol his area), but he claims that it stays warm. And at least hay isn't terribly expensive. You might be able to fashion a simple frame to border the hay that you could attach wire to, making it a more predator proof. Snow over the roof could be quite insulating. Just a thought. I'll link the page in case you want to check it out.

Best of luck to you. I certainly can appreciate your fear and frustration. Cold temperatures are very frightening to me too. And if I had to build something myself, I don't know how good of a job I could do.... I'm personally against the idea of keeping livestock in the house, buuuuttttt, if it was MY MOM who fell in the snow, I could be persuaded to advocate for it at this point. Please, be careful.

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2005/12/winter-hen-coop.html

 

[trulyviolet]

Quote:
my old pen looked a bit like that last year
i found that i had to tarp it over and pitch the roof
as the snow load here started to bring down the wire, and ice built up so i couldn't get the door open without chopping. so there were all these odd upright boards holding up the tarps.
every time i got another sag, i could prop a 2X4 under it

and by spring part of the flight netting had given out completely, where leaves had collected. i couldn't reach it so the leaves had to stay there until spring when i got dh to pull the netting and wire off the top for me

last winter was a rough one for me
and i only had to go out twice a day for water and food for the ducks

i don't know how well i am going to do this....
but i intend on trying as hard as i can to get something secure and sturdy made for my birds

btw, my chickens are buff orpingtons, the sweetiest birds
and my ducks are blue eyed muscovy
(they all have the prettiest blue eyes!, with white feathers and their red carunkling....they are very patriotic ducks)
the girls fly down the hill after me, but the drake is standoffish and i have to put his crate in the wheelbarrow to take him in and out



thank you all so much

vi

 

[chickbliss7]

It sounds like you could use a Lifeline--sort of a necklace with a button you can push to summon help. My mother had one and used it when she fell and couldn't get up. Is there a person nearby who can check on you, or better yet, a young person who could haul your water and heavy stuff? Check with local schools and I'll bet you could hire someone inexpensively. We used a material called polycarbonate, a corrugated plastic, for the roof of our chicken pen. There are different grades, but I recall one that withstands heavy loads of snow. Haven't had to check that since we live in California! Just cut it to the size you want and use the special screws to keep in place. Please be careful.

 

[BaronRenfrew]

for a quick winter pen, you could stack hay or straw bales to make a shed (stacked like bricks), and put plywood on top for a roof. you use stakes of some sort through the bales for stiffness

I got this from a book somewhere (Chicken tractor?)

I don't know if this is too much of a project for you

I would suggest one thing: bring the birds in or leave them out. A drastic change of temps will make them sick. As long as they have some sort of shed they can take the cold.

Or find another farmer and put them in his/her barn.

good luck and godspeed, Bert

 

[trulyviolet]

i put two xpens ( left over from when our dog was alive)
one is taller then the other
i zip tied them together with the taller one to the back
i laid a latice panel over the top and zip tied that all around (except for one place so i had a 'door')
i covered that with heavy plastic that i use as mulch in the garden
which i clothes pinned to the latice and the wire of the xpens
then laid 2X8 blocks of wood over it (running from top to bottom so it drains)

i put a pallet with plywood at one end, and filled the temporary pen with dried leaves

i am bringing them in the house at night

this held up to some seriously nasty weather we had the other day!
i was surprised as we had hail, sleet, snow, and rain all at once plus high winds
i don't think it will hold a snow load but if i keep it cleaned off there shouldn't be too much of a problem

we live in a weird area, this past summer when i had a summer cold and a high fever, i asked a neighbor to help me bring in the ducklings, he refused ( even though he eventually got two of the ducklings!)
so i won't ask again
if they are all up close to the house.......i can manage without too much problem
it's going up and down that hill

monday, and tuesday we had a terrible storm, the original pen flooded so bad it looked like a river and a pond in there

that is the reason that i put that temporary pen together tuesday. (just before the storm started for tuesday and i am still not sure how i did managed it! i picked up a 4X8 foot peice of latice and lifted it up to lay it on the top!, but i was desperate)

i was out there today to the old pen and it is STILL got some flooded spots

thankfully the rest of the week was dryer and today is pretty warm
i could clean the crates everyone has been sleeping in at night

really there needs to be an Ikea for poultry housing
modular pens at reasonable costs?

the haybales would be a wonderful idea if we could afford them.....and if we didn't have some seriously nasty predators
hay bales here are about 9.00 a bale..... and that is bedding
feed hay is more


thank you all so very much


vi

vi