Snowy Winter worthy Coops

[21hens-incharge]

Okay No wire floor! I am thinking plywood with vinyl flooring. I just need to get to home Depot.

Another question ground level vs Raised coops. Pros & cons?

Having used both types....

Raised gives the space under for chickens to use for shade or weather protection, mice are less likely to get in, can be torn down or moved fairly easily, and uses less materials to build.

Raised is a pain for the human to get eggs or birds out from under, venting is a pain to do, is restricted in footprint without more extreme support (even then restricted because tending still has to happen), the human is stuck in the weather to tend cleaning or birds, unless properly built and heavy as heck wind can tip them.

Walk in gives more space for stepping in out of the weather to tend birds, with a taller roof venting is easy, hard for the win d to grab and tip, can be built big or added onto as needed, more space for roost placement, easier to clean and can be repurposed as a garden shed if chickens don't work out.

Walk ins don't allow chicken access underneath (unless built that way), if not blocked a chicken MIGHT decide underneath is a great place to go broody, requires more materials to build, not easily torn down or moved.

Personally I like walk ins. I do see where raised can work well and may be needed due to space constraints.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I also have raised and walk-in. I have the underneath blocked off with hardware cloth so that the chickens can't go under and a predator can't get under either.
I get more wind from the West or Southwest so I have my coop up against the east side of my detached garage, it's a great windbreaker

 

[Ted Brown]

Right, so your design doesn't apply to "Snowy Winter" .

Well, gee, aart, sorry for throwing my 2 cents in and bothering you with wasting your precious time reading it.

One of the things that I most appreciate about BYC is the very few times that folks feel the need to criticize comments made by others regardless of the provocation. I hope that we retain this characteristic as it is, in my experience, one of few sites with it.

 

[Alaskan]

I originally wanted to do the hardware cloth floor so the poop fals through

I worry the poo would stick to the wire. I highly recommend poop shelves.

I can't decide on My best noxes. I know I need to do the roll away egg because recently we have had an egg eating problem

great idea for cold climates especially if you have electricity to the coop. Stick a heat tape in the middle of pipe insulation. The eggs roll up against the pipe insulation and stay warm enough to not freeze.

Another question ground level vs Raised coops. Pros & cons?

Raised coop, that you can walk in, is GREAT if you have lots of snow. Then even with deep snow you do not have to shovel the door free.

If you decide to let chickens get under the coop, make the coop high enough that you aren't cursing when they decide to lay under the coop.... or crawl under then die.

A raised coop would benefit from an insulated floor, but if you insulate you have to make sure rodents don't nest in it, and chickens can't eat it. Easiest thing is build a floor frame, lay tiny hole hardware cloth, insulation, plywood floor.

 

[Alaskan]

oh, I have a cold/snowy climate coop page

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/