Putting in the insulation depends on the wood underneath. With the Ohio winters, you don’t need insulation just good ventilation.
New garden shed to coop...design help?
- Thread starter Rc_Rosealetta
- Start date
Great find. Maybe not perfect with that low side wall but as you say, for that price you can't complain. That has tremendous possibilities.
If those louvers on the cupola actually keep rain out it should not be too hard to cut an opening under it. A cupola can give you great ventilation up high like that. You might need to cover that hole with hardware cloth against predators, but maybe not.
It looks like you may have a ridge vent. In summer that provides a lot of ventilation, about the best there is. Next to the lake where you are it could get blocked in snow so maybe not that reliable in winter. If you can get that cupola working for winter and with two gable vents front and back and with a ridge vent for summer I think you'd be set for ventilation. You can add a roof vent, powered or not, if you wish but with that cupola working I don't think it is necessary. If that is not a ridge vent but just a waterproofing cap for that joint a roof vent would be a good idea. If you were building from scratch I'd have other suggestions but your not.
You don't need to keep your chickens warm, you need to allow them to keep themselves warm with their down coats by giving them places to get out of a wind strong enough to ruffle their feathers and keep them dry. That's where ventilation comes in. They produce a lot of moisture from their breath, their poop, and any water you have in there. The risk is frostbite, where you live you should know the danger wet adds to frostbite risk. Decent ventilation gets that moist air out.
Since chickens keep themselves warm any heat benefit from those clear panels in the winter would be negligible in my opinion. They don't need any heat from them. Those two windows will let in all the light you need. With the door to the north that means those panels are facing east. That's not horrible in the summer, much better than south or west facing. I don't think it matters much if you cover them or not as long as you have really good ventilation in hot weather. I assume your windows will be open in summer for ventilation.
As for the insulation. You don't need it and chickens will eat it unless you cover it. That probably won't kill them but it isn't good for them. It will make a difference in the temperature inside, summer and winter. You may get more benefit in the summer. Does it need to be there? No. Enclosed places like that make a good pace for Mommy Mouse to raise a family, but since you have a floor you already have a place under that for her to use. Since it is probably less work and less expensive to take it down instead of covering it I'd probably take it down. You don't need it and the benefits are pretty minimal.
I'm not sure how wide those shelves are. Are you planning on making an area for storage in there? I find it convenient to have a place I can isolate chickens if I need to, either to help in integration of for an injured chicken. Before blindly ripping them out I'd consider if I could use them for something like that.
Chickens usually like to sleep on the highest place available. When deciding where to put things vertically I start at the floor. Decide where the top of any bedding will be. The pop door should be high enough so they can't scratch bedding out of it. Mine's about a foot above the coop floor.
Position your nests. Some people like the nests right on the floor. Others like them high enough that they don't have to bend over to gather eggs or clean the nests. Chickens don't care about that nearly as much as people do.
Then position the roosts. The roosts need to be noticeably higher than the nests so they are more likely to sleep on the roosts instead of in the nests. They poop a lot at night, you don't want poopy eggs. In a coop your size 12" higher should be enough. I like the roosts as low as reasonable for a couple of reasons. The higher the roosts the more clear space they need to land when they fly down. You don't want them banging into nests, feeders, waters, or walls. Also, a good time to check or treat your birds is at night when they are on the roosts. Keep things dark and use a small flashlight. You just pick them off of the roosts.
I like ventilation to be over their heads when they are on the roosts. If a wind is blowing in the right direction you can get a pretty strong breeze between your gable vents. With the roosts low enough that breeze won't touch them.
When laying out the inside of your coop think first about your comfort and convenience. Put the roosts where they won't block you from working in there. Will your pop door be opened from inside or outside? You need access. Your windows open from the inside, you need to be able to get to them. You may read that chickens like this or that. So what, they can adjust and won't even know it could have been different. If you are banging your head on a poopy roost when opening or closing the pop door you won't like it much and you'll have more trouble adjusting.
Good luck with it. I think you got something really nice.
If those louvers on the cupola actually keep rain out it should not be too hard to cut an opening under it. A cupola can give you great ventilation up high like that. You might need to cover that hole with hardware cloth against predators, but maybe not.
It looks like you may have a ridge vent. In summer that provides a lot of ventilation, about the best there is. Next to the lake where you are it could get blocked in snow so maybe not that reliable in winter. If you can get that cupola working for winter and with two gable vents front and back and with a ridge vent for summer I think you'd be set for ventilation. You can add a roof vent, powered or not, if you wish but with that cupola working I don't think it is necessary. If that is not a ridge vent but just a waterproofing cap for that joint a roof vent would be a good idea. If you were building from scratch I'd have other suggestions but your not.
You don't need to keep your chickens warm, you need to allow them to keep themselves warm with their down coats by giving them places to get out of a wind strong enough to ruffle their feathers and keep them dry. That's where ventilation comes in. They produce a lot of moisture from their breath, their poop, and any water you have in there. The risk is frostbite, where you live you should know the danger wet adds to frostbite risk. Decent ventilation gets that moist air out.
Since chickens keep themselves warm any heat benefit from those clear panels in the winter would be negligible in my opinion. They don't need any heat from them. Those two windows will let in all the light you need. With the door to the north that means those panels are facing east. That's not horrible in the summer, much better than south or west facing. I don't think it matters much if you cover them or not as long as you have really good ventilation in hot weather. I assume your windows will be open in summer for ventilation.
As for the insulation. You don't need it and chickens will eat it unless you cover it. That probably won't kill them but it isn't good for them. It will make a difference in the temperature inside, summer and winter. You may get more benefit in the summer. Does it need to be there? No. Enclosed places like that make a good pace for Mommy Mouse to raise a family, but since you have a floor you already have a place under that for her to use. Since it is probably less work and less expensive to take it down instead of covering it I'd probably take it down. You don't need it and the benefits are pretty minimal.
I'm not sure how wide those shelves are. Are you planning on making an area for storage in there? I find it convenient to have a place I can isolate chickens if I need to, either to help in integration of for an injured chicken. Before blindly ripping them out I'd consider if I could use them for something like that.
Chickens usually like to sleep on the highest place available. When deciding where to put things vertically I start at the floor. Decide where the top of any bedding will be. The pop door should be high enough so they can't scratch bedding out of it. Mine's about a foot above the coop floor.
Position your nests. Some people like the nests right on the floor. Others like them high enough that they don't have to bend over to gather eggs or clean the nests. Chickens don't care about that nearly as much as people do.
Then position the roosts. The roosts need to be noticeably higher than the nests so they are more likely to sleep on the roosts instead of in the nests. They poop a lot at night, you don't want poopy eggs. In a coop your size 12" higher should be enough. I like the roosts as low as reasonable for a couple of reasons. The higher the roosts the more clear space they need to land when they fly down. You don't want them banging into nests, feeders, waters, or walls. Also, a good time to check or treat your birds is at night when they are on the roosts. Keep things dark and use a small flashlight. You just pick them off of the roosts.
I like ventilation to be over their heads when they are on the roosts. If a wind is blowing in the right direction you can get a pretty strong breeze between your gable vents. With the roosts low enough that breeze won't touch them.
When laying out the inside of your coop think first about your comfort and convenience. Put the roosts where they won't block you from working in there. Will your pop door be opened from inside or outside? You need access. Your windows open from the inside, you need to be able to get to them. You may read that chickens like this or that. So what, they can adjust and won't even know it could have been different. If you are banging your head on a poopy roost when opening or closing the pop door you won't like it much and you'll have more trouble adjusting.
Good luck with it. I think you got something really nice.
Leave it out. It's not needed and it's just a complication and expense having to cover it.
Mutchi
Crowing
I agree
- Thread starter
- #16
Rc_Rosealetta
In the Brooder
Glad everyone recommended taking out the old insulation. There was A LOT of it and I found a giant ant’s best in the deeper layers. Got it all cleaned out. Larger workbench is 24” wide. Smaller on is 12”. Both sit 34” from the floor. Floor space is about 89” length and 89” width. Only one area that looks to be getting moisture and I know which board on the outside is the culprit.
Good news is the ridge vent is a true ridge vent too.
Overall this took me 4 hours to clean out.
Good news is the ridge vent is a true ridge vent too.
Overall this took me 4 hours to clean out.
Attachments
Looks great! And fantastic that it has a working ridge vent.
Looks like a great find for conversion!
- Thread starter
- #19
Rc_Rosealetta
In the Brooder
MissE
Crowing
How wide is that handrail? The rounded edges look nice, but if it's not 3-4 inches wide it may not be wide enough.
Is there any way to cover the clear portion of the roof in the summer and uncover it in the winter? They may appreciate the extra light in December, but the heat would be too much during the warmer months. If it wasn't so slanted I would just put foam insulation over it from the inside, but you don't want that within their reach. They eat the weirdest things.
Very cute building with plenty of places to add ventilation.
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