pics of large coops suited for really cold weather?

[technodoll]

I

you guys!

I can salvage the new (free & recycled) windows we just put in the storage part of the coop a few weeks ago as well as a two swing doors for the outside run, but the rest goes in the trash heap next April - tired of seeing my hens not at their best due to lord knows what issues going on in there

While the demo & building work is being done, I can house the flock in the stables as there are no horses in it besides cold winter days - I scouted out two big boxes with windows that will do the trick. One problem down, many to go... LOL!

I'm scared to see what will scatter when we clean up the land

My contractor is coming by today or tomorrow to saw some holes in the top bits of two walls, we'll put up mesh to keep the rodents out and that will hopefully add a bit of much-needed ventilation for the winter. I also will have him build some proper roosts with 2" boards as the current system creates an impossible mess of poop to clean up.

I can't WAIT to start fresh - inheriting other people's crap is only good if it doesn't make your birds sick!

ps: i do see other people's cats around our property, no idea if they catch any rodents... our dogs already killed one of them, it was horrible - snapped the leash right out of my husband's hands, too.

pps: poured concrete floor or raised floor with insulation???

 

[LynneP]

Rodents gravitate to insulation, which need to be heavily sheathed. If you can swing it, go with poured concrete and make a rodent-proof drain in it.
We built in the former horse stall of a barn, not sure if that option applies to your stables. And Pat makes a solid suggestion about getting the rodents out sooner than later- you do not want the new coop to become their home. Since you are building new, you could designate space to a few cats, possible overhead and where your dog can't get them and they do not access the chickens directly. For the cost of some kibble, these little darlings will create a rodent free space, but you would have to clear out any poison first or use special traps, possibly provided by an exterminator. The poison is a hazard to the chickens too, of course. Starting on new ground will go a long way to giving you healthy chickens- it was standard procedure in the old days- build, treat the bedding and run then move the chickens in.

 

[possumqueen]

Quote:
You can use bait boxes. Build your own out of heavy wood. A bait box is about the size of a shoe box, with a front door at one end, a back door at the other end, and the bait in a little "inner room" that only the rodents can enter. You can make it with a hinged lid that you can lock, and you can put bait blocks in the inner room instead of pellets. The rodents can't drag a block out of the inner room, they have to nibble on it right there and then leave the box and go somewhere else to kick the bucket.

Bait is far more effective than cats. Modern bait formulations are made to that the rodents don't seem to catch on to the fact that they are dying off. Rodents bring all their families to the boxes to "dine out." You won't get them all before spring, but you'll sure get a good number of them, so that come time to tear down the building you won't have an exodus.

ps: don't forget, BYC is addicted to pics. We will DEMAND pics of your new place. And we know (approximately) where you live!

 

[technodoll]

LOL i promise you pics from the bulldozing to the erection of the new building!!

looove taking and sharing pics, no worries

but... it's a long way to April...

 

[possumqueen]

Hey, trust me, April ain't THAT far off! If my own recent experience is any indication, you gotta lotta studying to do! Fortunately, it involves a lot of cruisin' BYC. It's more fun than looking at seed catalogs, and that's saying a lot.

And by the way there's a thread in the coop section that shows a guy's new coop that he designed with "google sketchup." Look that up and see what you think!

 

[patandchickens]

Oh yes, by all means do your level best to poison out the rats before you bulldoze or you will be sorrrrr-rrryyyy. (Even so, do not be thinking that bulldozing will get rid of the rats and mice. It will merely disperse the problem to other buildings and brushpiles and such.) Peanutbutter with enough dry plaster of paris powder mixed in to make a very stiff paste, rolled into marble-sized balls, works pretty well and has no residual effect on anyting that eats a rat that ate the bait. (Although make sure to keep the plaster-of-paris bait out of the way of any dogs). Most cats don't do much against rats, rats are too big and fierce and cats are not that stupid. (Tho a few cats *are* decent ratters, not in the league of small terrier dogs)

I would go with the slab floor, if you have any choice at all. Rodents WILL just move back into an insulated raised floor, eventually; and you will lose the thermal mass advantage of the ground. It would not hurt to insulate the outside edges of the slab if you can, but do not insulate OVER the slab except for the bedding you use (and you will bed deeper in winter than in summer).

I had thought of a raised coop with some sort of insulated flooring, we have some spare tiles that we could put on the floor with heating wires under to provide warmth in the winter - would that work?? Or would we lose all the heat through the floor?

No, but you would lose all your money through the hydro bill

Really, you do NOT want to put yourself in the position of trying to heat the whole coop electrically. If you want to heat the whole coop do it with solar and thermal mass; if you just want to have insurance in case chickens start having problems in very very cold weather, a lightbulb in an enclosed 'coop within the coop' or hover over the roost is a much more cost-effective solution.

If you are on a budget, I would suggest leaving the walls open and uninsulated for now; then over next spring and summer and fall you can be scrounging insulation material and plywood to install yourself (dead easy to do). If you can afford 6" stud walls it would still be best to do so, though, as that can't easily be retrofit. If you take the coop apart yourself to some degree you may well be able to salvage some of the materials and save money that way.

Pat​

 

[possumqueen]

One of the things you can do BEFORE you pour the concrete slab is lay down some thick plastic sheeting. It will keep moisture from coming up from the ground through the concrete floor. Dry floor=warm floor, especially if you have south facing windows to bring in winter sun and heat that floor in the daytime.

patandchickens, I had never heard of your rat bait recipe! What a cool idea!

 

[technodoll]

I'm getting me some POP and baiting the vermin this weekend!

They are avoiding poison pellets and traps, so it's time to bring out the wham bam thank you ma'am!

My contractor builds houses for a living, so I'll definitely get the message across that the floor needs to be dry. Will probably end up tiling over the concrete as we have a bunch of spare tiles around, that should help dry up the cement and help with coop cleaning...

Do chickens mind scooting around on woodchip bedding over tiled floors??

 

[Rogue Rooster]

Technodoll
When i built our coop I hinged 1/2 of the rear wall, allowing me to pick it up. I then designed the inside of the coop so nothing touch's the floor, roosts, water,nest box's feeder. Now all I have to do too clean coop is open the back,push all debris out the back on to a tarp and it drag to the garden. I can clean the chicken house in less than 10 minutes, works like a charm.

I also put the vents in the gable ends with shutters on them so they can be closed in cold weather. good luck with your project looking forward to see it.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

What about a couple of Muscovy ducks?

Quote:
She can't have cats, her dogs kill them and she's allergic to them................read that in her Rat posting!