New Alaskan breeders coop - finally!!! (pics)

[Mrs MIA]

Thank you... I think so, too. I don't ever want to have to leave!

 

[UrbanMama]

Tori....absolutely beautiful!

 

[speckledhen]

Beautiful, Tori! I'd love that Adirondack siding on my house! Just the look I love.

 

[Solsken Farm]

I think I saw an elf! Surely this is where Santa lives! Looks great, Tori! You must be thrilled.

 

[momofdrew]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Quote:
Just remember, the chickens aren't affected as much by the windchill. True, you don't want to leave them out on windy days, but when there's no wind, they're fine.

We don't get wind chill like you do but so far my birds still stay out ranging even with 30 MPH wind... Saturday was wicked cold[for here] and I made them go into their run by mid afternoon to very loud objections...​

 

[Mrs MIA]

I should have specified COLD and windy days.

My girls don't mind the wind at all in the summer, but we do get blustery days, and days of hurricane-force winds, but they're smart enough to stay inside on their own.

 

[cheeze]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

This is going to be our new breeder coop/pens - a whopping 12'x20' insulated building with pens running off each side. There is one 4x8' room as a brooder, and I have stacked brooders for chicks that will go there. It's fashioned after a horse barn, in a way - walkway down the middle with pens on either side. They're small - 4x4' square inside, with 4x? outdoor wired runs. I made the walls 8' tall, because no matter how tall I make them, we bonk our heads on ceilings and such. Plus there will be room up high for storage. There will, hopefully some day, be an arctic entry on it, too, for biosecurity and keeping heat-loss down. Once it's completed, we'll be dropping an insulated ceiling to keep the heat lower for our extreme winter temps (-30 to -40°F). Cup-waterers will be run along both runs, and the entire coop will be wired for heat - just enough to keep eggs/water from freezing. In the summer, the flooring is vinyl and easy to clean. In the winter, deep shavings to help insulate. It's south-facing so in the winter it will get some sun. In the summer, the sun is high enough that the trees will block most of it. So... here it is so far... I'm darn proud of hubby for all his help with this.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/P3300005.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/P4120005.jpg
(I love the nail-gun! and it's an optical illusion... it really is squared up!

)
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/P4130008.jpg
(The windows came from a building facing the runway at the AFB in Anchorage...

... double-paned and sound-proof!!!)

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/4-18-08coop.jpg

We're about 90% framed in now - waiting on siding to be delivered (rough-cut, a.k.a. cheap, wood), and I'm working on the inside pens now. I predict another trip to Home Depot reallllll soon.

Ahh finally someone who knows how to frame up a building. VERY nice keep up the good work .​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Thank you Cheeze!

It's almost done!!!

 

[chickiebaby]

Mrs AK: foget the birdies - how 'bout running a B&B for all your friends here in on BYC? We don't need much besides water and maybe some suet every now and then . . . Run a light or two out there, let me look out those nice picture windows, and I'm good!

 

[BFeathered]

Wow, Tori, that's one gorgeous coop and a fantabulous place to live -- congratulations! One question.... we visited Talkeetna a few years ago (almost didn't get on the train back home!) and were told by some "local characters" that it was a quaint little drinking town with a climbing problem... is it? Of course we really didn't want to leave your beautiful state, and now you built that lovely building for your birds... think a couple of camp cots would fit in there too? I bet you could charge B & B prices year-round for the extra income and chicken-care help