UPDATE:
We just went through our second winter in Northern NH with this coop. It is uninsulated, we do not provide extra heat, and there is a wire mesh door that stays uncovered all winter.
To anyone looking to take on this setup here are my suggestions:
- DO go with a hardware cloth door. No matter the climate, your chickens will thank you for the extra ventilation.
- DON'T skip building a foundation of some sort (be it pressure treated lumber, etc...) We get really bad seepage when it rains, and the bedding in turns absorbs that water. Wet bedding = smelly. This year we are lifting it up and building a pressure treated lumber foundation. It would have been easier to do when we first installed it.
- If the coop is in a shaded area, DON'T go with sand as a base for the run. Sand is great for an area that gets sun so that it can dry out, but in a Forest nook, sand just gets wet and musty. We ended up covering the run with 5" of pine mulch. Of course the chickens stirred it all together, but the mulch at least absorbed some of the water.
- DO build a covered portion of the run, especially if you live in a place that it snows. Our chickens hate the snow.
Hope this helps someone looking to build!
t's beautiful! What are it's dimensions? Looks to be a good size. How many chickens do you think would be comfortable in it if they "free range" during the day? I WANT ONE!
My future chickens want one!
