NY chicken lover!!!!

[Cass]

Started to build my chicken coop for my 6 chicks. What do you all think? Not finished yet but its coming along...

Great job. My only comment is the top of those nest boxes are going to get covered in Poop. If you can put a board up at an angle so they can't sit there it will solve the problem. If you want to use that space for chickens to chill out on, put a removeable board on top of that space so you can take it down and hose it off once in a while. (Beleive me, you won't regret anything you can remove and hose off. I wish my walls were removeable. They are GROSS! )

 

[matthewg325]

Great job.   My only comment is the top of those nest boxes are going to get covered in Poop.  If you can put a board up at an angle so they can't sit there it will solve the problem.  If you want to use that space for chickens to chill out on, put a removeable board on top of that space so you can take it down and hose it off once in a while.  (Beleive me, you won't regret anything you can remove and hose off.  I wish my walls were removeable.  They are GROSS! )

thanks didnt even think of that. Def dont want them to pooo all over the nest boxes

 

[armorfirelady]

I think I'm jealous!!!!  Good job!

Thanks I turned the back of my 100 year old shed into the coop. Im very pleased of the way it came out

Looks great & I love the fact your reusing something old. My only suggestion would be plenty of ventilation is needed for the heat of summer and to get rid of condensation during the winter

 

[matthewg325]

Looks great & I love the fact your reusing something old. My only suggestion would be plenty of ventilation is needed for the heat of summer and to get rid of condensation during the winter

Yea so far on the one side ive got about a 1 foot high by 9 foot long opening towards the top of the coop. I put wire mesh there from some old screens i had laying around just in case something somehow gets into my shed or the hens try to get out. Im trying to figure out away to directly vent the air out of the shed though

 

[rancher hicks]

Yea so far on the one side ive got about a 1 foot high by 9 foot long opening towards the top of the coop. I put wire mesh there from some old screens i had laying around just in case something somehow gets into my shed or the hens try to get out. Im trying to figure out away to directly vent the air out of the shed though

You'll want ot use hardware cloth. Screening will not be strong enough to keep critters out. You want ventilation near the top of the coop and two openings. One across from the other to get the cross ventilation and draw the warm moist air out and away. Chickens do not sweat but pant like a dog and exhale a great deal of moisture.

 

[dragonlord483]

Yea so far on the one side ive got about a 1 foot high by 9 foot long opening towards the top of the coop. I put wire mesh there from some old screens i had laying around just in case something somehow gets into my shed or the hens try to get out. Im trying to figure out away to directly vent the air out of the shed though

You'll want ot use hardware cloth. Screening will not be strong enough to keep critters out. You want ventilation near the top of the coop and two openings. One across from the other to get the cross ventilation and draw the warm moist air out and away.  Chickens do not sweat but pant like a dog and exhale a great deal of moisture. 

In an 8/8 coop with about 8ft roof how much. Ventilation should I need

 

[PhoredaBurds]

Even tho those guys are morons for dumping carcasses, it may be best case scenario. You know the birds were not sick and contagious & their meat was used so they were not killed in vane. Sorry to hear about the third turkey. Hope the rest if ur turkeys resist and stay healthy.

Started to build my chicken coop for my 6 chicks. What do you all think? Not finished yet but its coming along...

Looks great! Do u have any pics of the outside?

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: Looks great & I love the fact your reusing something old. My only suggestion would be plenty of ventilation is needed for the heat of summer and to get rid of condensation during the winter

Yes I like That idea too ...using something you have ...
Our coop is designed the same way ...it shares its front wall with the back wall with our shed .

ventilation - you could remove the old top board on the shed side ( the last one before the roof ) & replace it with hardware cloth

 

[huntin fool]

Quote: </p looks like your off to a good start, are you gonna add windows? is that 3 doors you have? 2 vents up high will give you the abilty to exhaust all that moisture laden air, the biggest cause of frostbite. normal thoughts might be to seal it up tight as a drum for winter, but thats a huge mistake, i have 19 birds, in 2 coops, the smaller coop has a spot underneath it protected by the wind but not sealed, and sometimes they will spend the night down there even when the temp is single digits, its a 4'x4' coop, with 2 old hens in it, the other coop is 10x10 with 11 birds in it, i have seen a little frostbite on some in the big coop but no frostbite on the 2 in the smaller coop, they dont even get their pop door closed at night! sorry i am rambling, what was my point? oh yeah, dont be afraid to make some good sized vents, just be sure the air can enter AND exit your coop , you can always cover up a vent thats too big, but your kinda screwed if its too small

 

[Metella]

Looks GREAT !

And yes, learn from us - a normal screen won't last a minute against a weasel or a raccoon - they will rip right in. Use hardware cloth .... and chickenwire is not for chickens .... I watched a fox chew right threw a section that was only a year old ! (I was right there - so swooped down on the fox once he munched out a few wires in seconds)

Mine have an open front all winter long with a deeper back - so how's that for not closed in ? Even in this hard and cold and long winter - no deaths and they are all plump and happy and can't wait to get out and start to free range - if the white ever leaves the ground.