Revamping old coop

[washingtonannie]

Our neighbor is giving us his old wooden chicken coop. It's 4 feet deep by 6 1/2 feet wide with the nesting boxes on an upper shelf. It's made of plywood with two upswinging doors in the back for egg gathering and cleaning. There is no ventilation in it currently. Can I add two small ventilation grills on the upper ends near the roofline? Also, is it advisable to add insulation covered by plywood on the inside for winterizing? We're in the Puget Sound area where it can get very cold.

 

[daryl]

well something to look at is draft free coop.. meaning is the cold wind this winter just going to blow right in the coop, if so then there is a problem. most chicken can handel cold ,but not cold draft blowing on them all night they can freeze there little combs off..so the answer is YES insulate you will be glad you did it now and not when it's -12 outside.,

 

[Greenwood Chick]

Glad you're here Annie! I'm up north of Bellingham. You may as well do the insulating, otherwise, you know this winter you'll be biting your nails... wondering if you should have...

 

[washingtonannie]

Thanks. I kinda figured it would be wisest to insulate. Thankfully it won't take much work or $$ to insulate the small building.

 

[JoeP]

Did the person your getting it from have problems before?

 

[washingtonannie]

Quote:
He said that it did get a bit cold for the chickens in the winter. Last week three hens took shelter in the coop from the 100+ temps last week and died (he'd forgotten to let them out of the pen into the more shaded run). Thus they've given up on raising chickens.

I purchased some simple vents today to put near the roofline to prevent further heat disasters. While I want to make sure the chickens are comfy enough during the winter, I don't want to spend more than is wise.

 

[fowler_chick]

i'd look at freecycle.org in your area to see if any one in your area has some left over from a finished job....