Note to self: DO NOT talk to hubby

[speedy2020]

Quote:
Your coop can easy fit 50 chickens. They need enough room to roost a night. You also don't need 1 nest box per chicken.

 

[Momagain1]

oh my I dare say, the coop cannot house 50 chickens!! 10x10 will not hold that many...not in IL weather w/the cold/snow/rain etc...

and we are doing 1 nest box per 4-5 chickens..so that'll be about 8 nest boxes..4 in a row/double stacked..

we are doing a 10x25 run, 6 ft one side 4 ft the opposite side....

triple berry cobbler done..ppl came, ate it, left...now i have nothing on the stove for dinner..he'll be done in 1/2 hr he said..so I'm guessing about 6pm instead of 5ish

 

[Dogfish]

Looked at your page, and the sructure looks pretty darned good. One suggestion, get that thing up off the ground onto some concrete pier blocks. I don't see pressure treated ground contact (PTGT) lumber being used for the base, and without that, the life of that shed will be short.

Before he adds the floor, buy three 4x4 PTGT posts the length of your coop. Buy 9-12 pier blocks. Use 3 to 4 per 4x4 post, preferably 4. Jack up one side, place pier blocks and 4x4 under the right wall, set it down. Jack up the other side, set the center pierblocks and 4x4, then set the left side pier blocks and 4x4. Lower into place.

That is the only issue I see. Plenty of ventilation along the eaves.

Tell him this tomorrow, when it isn't your anniversary.

My dad grew up in Rochester and Springfield. I spent many a summer there. You folks do have some humidity. I miss the fireflies and summer evening thunder/lightening storms.

 

[sourland]

Didn't read all of the posts but have a solution. Do not talk to us when we are working! Talk to us in preperation for the project or after the project is done, BUT DO NOT TALK TO US WHILE WE ARE WORKING. Sadly enough we become irrational.

Whenever my wife and I would start on a project such as wallpapering, the kids would immediately vacate the house.

We've been together 47+ years and it's still the same.

 

[Momagain1]

Quote:
He wont..floor already is in..he REFUSES to lift it..
but rest assured..the wood is treated!!!

we thought about putting hardware cloth at the top of the siding/under the roof; eaves?? to use ventilation...wdyt?

 

[baldessariclan]

Ahhh, marriage -- it isn't all about hapiness...

 

[SunnyDawn]

Great advice on this thread. I insisted that our coop be raised up (this can be done later after you've both had a chance to recover a bit). Not only does it reduce wood to earth contact but it gives our chickens a place to rest where it's shady during summer and dry during rainy days. Even pressure treated wood will have a shorter life when sitting on the ground. We used the cement piers too. They worked great! As far as hardware cloth goes, I use a sturdier 1" wire mesh (if snakes are a problem in your area I'd go smaller even) to cover the vents to keep out predators. Hardware cloth isn't very sturdy and some predators (racoons for instance) are realy good at tearing apart these flimsier materials.

I agree with sourland. Neither one of us are very good at being interrupted in the middle of a difficult project. Once DH was putting in a fence that was headed the wrong direction and ended up with a huge ugly zag at the end cause it didn't meet up with the post. When I tried to point this out to him, during construction, he got impatient with me so I left it alone. Later he came to me looking very embarrassed and said "you were right about our alignment, why did you let me keep going?", let him?!! I just shook my head and replied that it was easier to redo the fence than it was to redo a marriage.

It won't be that hard to redo any thing that absolutely doesn't work on this coop later too.
BTW, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! 77 hour long work week?!! When does the poor guy have time to sneeze?

 

[Dogfish]

Hardware cloth on the eave vents would be PERFECT.

If you cover your run, that coop will house MANY more than 40 chickens comfortably. Space per bird = Coop + run. Just build the structure for the run to hold snow load. It may require a solid side on the direction where your prevailing winds come from in the winter, with cut outs to reduce the wind load (think of vinyl signs with those little half moons cut in them). You don't want that wall to be a sail. You just want some wind break, and a way to limit snow from intruding into your run.

You are on the right track.

Sammiches, treats, beer.

 

[Spudd dud]

WOW, you mean you both were working outside ... together ..... on the chicken coop!

I don't think my wife picked up a hammer or a shingle the entire year I was constructing the small mansion next to my shed. That's awesome that you both were working on stuff together!

(Sorry Hiedi but its true)

Anyways my words of wisdom - just be happy that he was willing to work with you and he should be thrilled that you came out to help him.

Kris