post your chicken coop pictures here!

[TJordan]

I guess that's a possibility, it was originally a garden shed that I got off of craigslist and am in the process of converting to a coop. They might actually help in the summer as we can get pretty hot. Two windows face west and will get the afternoon sun.

Hummm get a tarp or sun shade to put above the west windows in the summer heat.

 

[lynnehd]

I really don't know if I need to worry so much about rain. We don't get much here on the high desert. I really think it's cute the way it looks in the outside (yes, I'm being a girl about it

) I have a ton to do this weekend so I'll see how far I get!

The C things are frames for shutters. The cedar boards are missing on those. Here is a picture of the one window with an intact shutter. I just have to replace the boards on the rest. The windows don't open, the shutters were just for aesthetics I'm sure. We get plenty of wind but not hurricane force winds that would break the windows!

I will do some thinking about how to set up the nesting boxes and roosts and take pictures when I'm done. Thanks for all the insight.

IDK if it is possible, but I'd remove the windows or glass panes and attach 1/2" hardware mesh on the inside. Then just use the shutters, or secure a piece of polycarbonate over the outside in bad weather.

 

[tumalochick]

IDK if it is possible, but I'd remove the windows or glass panes and attach 1/2"  hardware mesh on the inside. Then just use the shutters, or secure a piece of polycarbonate over the outside in bad weather. 

I'm pretty sure they would get way too cold as there are 6 windows total and we get pretty windy here. There are only about 6 weeks of real warm weather (80 or over at high). I'm more concerned with cold weather and wind/snow in the winter. The coop has open gable ends for ventilation.

 

[lynnehd]

I'm pretty sure they would get way too cold as there are 6 windows total and we get pretty windy here. There are only about 6 weeks of real warm weather (80 or over at high). I'm more concerned with cold weather and wind/snow in the winter. The coop has open gable ends for ventilation.

Sounds like you have thought about it. The heat can take them out much more quickly than the cold.
I would certainly not have them open in the freezing weather, necessarily ; thus the polycarbonate covers.
But I'm going to bet that you'll want those windows open in the summer if the sun hits them directly.
But shade cloth or lattice work over them will help as well if you leave them intact.

 

[bruceha2000]

I really don't know if I need to worry so much about rain. We don't get much here on the high desert. I really think it's cute the way it looks in the outside (yes, I'm being a girl about it

) I have a ton to do this weekend so I'll see how far I get!

The C things are frames for shutters. The cedar boards are missing on those. Here is a picture of the one window with an intact shutter. I just have to replace the boards on the rest. The windows don't open, the shutters were just for aesthetics I'm sure. We get plenty of wind but not hurricane force winds that would break the windows!

I will do some thinking about how to set up the nesting boxes and roosts and take pictures when I'm done. Thanks for all the insight.

I love the building

If it helps your "girlie" side any, architecturally speaking, board and batten siding has the narrow battens on the outside covering the gap between the wide boards. It would look weird if the battens were on the inside

I ASSUME (and maybe you mentioned it) there will be a run attached to the coop in some fashion. Maybe on the end wall where the people door is? If you leave one or both of them open all day during the hot part of the year, I think the coop will stay cool. Especially if the gable ends up top stay open and air can still come in through the gaps you don't cover. If the coop is situated such that the high summer sun hits the gable end windows mid-day (I doubt it would on the long walls) you could make those windows operable with 1/2" hardware cloth covering the openings or rig an awning.

Regarding the birds getting too cold, they won't, not where you live. I seriously doubt you get to -20F in the high desert with any regularity. In fact I suspect it rarely even gets down to 0F. My girls see those temperatures through the winter. Days when it doesn't go above 0F. They won't see temps above freezing for weeks (though this winter was a lot warmer than normal. Last winter we froze our butts off for 3 months. It hit 32F exactly twice and -10F or lower 12 times in February. The only time in the winter it is warmer in the barn and coop than outside is at the beginning when the ground temp is still releasing stored up heat. All that stored heat disappears long before it gets really cold. Then it is about the same temp both inside and out. The birds just fluff up.

 

[jdesiano1]

Hi guys. New to the Forum. Here is what we did. We took a prefab from TSC coated it in polyurethane and set it on top of riser/foundation. Hardware cloth surrounds run and runs under blocks and 1x6's. I plan on putting planters all around perimeter and if you look close you can see where hubby added handle so we can lift entire top of run to clean out. We have 6 hens on order.

 

[junebuggena]

Hi guys. New to the Forum. Here is what we did. We took a prefab from TSC coated it in polyurethane and set it on top of riser/foundation. Hardware cloth surrounds run and runs under blocks and 1x6's. I plan on putting planters all around perimeter and if you look close you can see where hubby added handle so we can lift entire top of run to clean out. We have 6 hens on order.

How do the get in and out of the coop, from the run? There isn't enough room for a gently sloped ramp, and there isn't enough room for them to jump and glide.

 

[jdesiano1]

How do the get in and out of the coop, from the run? There isn't enough room for a gently sloped ramp, and there isn't enough room for them to jump and glide.

Its hard to see but they have ramp from coop to a 10 in ledge then another gentle ramp

 

[jdesiano1]

Trying to look at it now, it may not even be up in that pic yet cause he was in there working on the feeders and waterers.

 

[yoda5947]

Not finished yet...my first one