First of all, I just wanted to say hello and thank you for all the information on the site. I've gleaned so much information just from scouring the posts. It's definitely helped calm my pre-chick arrival anxiety a bit! I've been a chicken lover my entire life, but was never able to take the plunge. Until now! I've researched until I've gone cross-eyed, but now I'm starting to panic.
We're going to get a head start on the coop, in case of error (which is sure to happen around here!), and having never built a chicken coop before, I'm a bit worried. We had found a design and plans that seemed like they would work perfectly for our future pets, which will be free ranging most of the time. The coop and run would be triangular in shape and more than enough room for the 5 hens once they mature. My worry comes from looking around at many pictures of various coops and not seeing a single one that has a similar design. This gave me cause for pause because perhaps this design isn't as great as I had thought. Since we have yet to start, changing gears would not be a huge problem at this point.
Another question I have is about cold weather. Now, we live in Asheville North Carolina and our winters could hardly be called harsh, but mother nature does tend to throw us a few curve balls with unexpected cold and snow, usually toward spring. I've made sure to choose winter hardy chickens (because I'm such a worry wart!), but wanted to ask if I needed extra percautions. I had scoffed at the idea of insulating the coop originally, but the closer it gets to the day my babies arrive, the more second-guessing I seem to be doing. I figure that as long as they are away from drafts, all will be well considering we hardly ever dip into the teens over winter, with only a few exceptions on particulary cold February nights.
So, help! From a worried mom-to-be who would much prefer to give over to the excitement.
Thank you guys!
Jessica
Edited because I realised I have just one more question! Ventilation. The coop will have a screened in hatch window (with cross ventilation) which will be perfect for warmer weather, but I just realised the coop will not be properly ventilated in the winter, when I have to close the hatch window because of drafts. Of course a soffit would be ideal, but I'm not sure how we'd go about it with this particular design. Any other suggestions? Thanks!
We're going to get a head start on the coop, in case of error (which is sure to happen around here!), and having never built a chicken coop before, I'm a bit worried. We had found a design and plans that seemed like they would work perfectly for our future pets, which will be free ranging most of the time. The coop and run would be triangular in shape and more than enough room for the 5 hens once they mature. My worry comes from looking around at many pictures of various coops and not seeing a single one that has a similar design. This gave me cause for pause because perhaps this design isn't as great as I had thought. Since we have yet to start, changing gears would not be a huge problem at this point.
Another question I have is about cold weather. Now, we live in Asheville North Carolina and our winters could hardly be called harsh, but mother nature does tend to throw us a few curve balls with unexpected cold and snow, usually toward spring. I've made sure to choose winter hardy chickens (because I'm such a worry wart!), but wanted to ask if I needed extra percautions. I had scoffed at the idea of insulating the coop originally, but the closer it gets to the day my babies arrive, the more second-guessing I seem to be doing. I figure that as long as they are away from drafts, all will be well considering we hardly ever dip into the teens over winter, with only a few exceptions on particulary cold February nights.
So, help! From a worried mom-to-be who would much prefer to give over to the excitement.
Thank you guys!
Jessica
Edited because I realised I have just one more question! Ventilation. The coop will have a screened in hatch window (with cross ventilation) which will be perfect for warmer weather, but I just realised the coop will not be properly ventilated in the winter, when I have to close the hatch window because of drafts. Of course a soffit would be ideal, but I'm not sure how we'd go about it with this particular design. Any other suggestions? Thanks!
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