Sort of remodeling my coop? Need input.

[AngelinaThePekin8]

I wouldn't block the cracks the snow is coming in until you add ventilation to at least replace the cracks.

Three good ways to do ventilation are: raise the roof so air can come in between the walls and the roof. Or raise part of the roof in a monitor style or cupola. Or open one side of the coop.

I am not sure if you can change the roof; possibly raise it a few inches?

I did the open side method. It works when the rest of the coop is pretty much air tight. It also needs to be deep enough for how wide (maybe also how high) it is. 8 feet of open width per 12 feet of depth works. So does 6 feet of open width per 10 feet of depth. I haven't seen it scaled any smaller than that; it might need to be at least a minimum depth to work well for chickens.

There are no drafts because air has no opening to flow out so it can't rush in. The chickens breath out moist air which is warm so it rises. This pulls air in from the bottom on the open side. As the warm air cools, it flows out the top of the open side but no faster than the chickens breath rises. Well, on sunny days it flows a little faster from the sun warming the air but still no draft.

I don't know all the details of the other two good ways but in both cases, wide eaves work well to shelter the open areas so snow and rain are blocked. Think a foot or more of roof overhang.

You might add hurricane ties to hold the roof on. And to hold the coop to the foundation or the coop to the skids and to anchor the skids. Or posts or piers or whatever your foundation is.

Yeah, I wasn't planning on closing up all the cracks until I figure out the ventilation, and i was thinking of making an open side or something like that. And I don't know currently what the foundation is I guess, Idk I will try and get pictures of under the coop tomorrow.
I have been thinking that I could make a all year round hardware cloth door, that maybe could be covered for specific types of weather. The red outline would be hardware cloth or something along those lines.

And I was thinking that for now just drilling some holes high up on the wall until I can make a hardware cloth door? Or whatever I decide to do.

 

[3KillerBs]

It sometimes gets to be a foot deep I believe. And we get daily winds of 20 to 30 even 40 mph hour winds, recently we have gotten 60mph gusts.

So definitely nothing lightweight or jury-rigged. Which throws out one of my possible suggestions.

Cattle-panel hoop coops are wind resistant when correctly oriented so that the wind flows over the curve rather than against the end and they'll take a fair amount of snow load.

I have been thinking that I could make a all year round hardware cloth door, that maybe could be covered for specific types of weather. The red outline would be hardware cloth or something along those lines.

If you can only put in a little ventilation without letting too much weather in, put it as high up in the roofpeak so that the stale air can get out without the wind blowing on the roost.

 

[saysfaa]

I would take the entire front of the coop off. Then use your pallets to extend each side out to the front by about five or six feet - with solid walls so take apart enough pallets to cover the openings between the slats or stack straw bales or mulch hay bales up along the outside. Use more pallets as rafters for the roof of the front extension. You might need a pallet parallel to the walls in the middle to support it. Don't worry about foundation until the weather warms up.

I would screw metal lath panels across the front for predator protection (less expensive and more effective than hardware cloth - which would also work). I would probably make a lath or hardware cloth apron across at least the front also for predator protection.

Then cover all the vent holes on all the sides and the back at least until the weather warms up significantly. My first choice would be to stack straw bales or mulch hay bales around the back and side opposite the nest box if you have access to the bales for a reasonable price. Shower curtains are often suggested; that probably works too. I used pool noodles but my holes were not within reach of the chickens. Bags of pine shavings could work for a few weeks.

The bales would not be my first choice if this were October - too inviting for field mice and such. But they will not be looking for winter homes this time of year.

This will get the ventilation you need while keeping the weather out.

I've build dozens of these pallet or straw bales or pallet and straw bale structures for hutches for calves - they take maybe a half hour or less to build if you tie them together with binder twine. Longer of course if you screw them together. The snow comes in a few inches at the most, usually. It won't damage the boards of your current coop in case you want to use them when you redo your coop when the weather warms up.

 

[saysfaa]

This is in the ball park (barely, lol) of what I was thinking
It is from https://permies.com/t/6026/Lil-Strawbale-Chicken-Shanty-Prairie

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

I cleaned out as much poop as I could out of the coop today, and put some more pine shavings in there.
And I was thinking of making a temporary pallet coop for the ducks, something simple.
I will post a not so good picture of our most recent pallet coop that we took down.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Here it is at least just the entrance to it that is I don't have many photos of it, there is a pronghorn in the background.

Turkey hen or Turkey butt, was broody in this picture.

And this is between the two window wells which is where the pallet coop was. It was not a very fancy looking coop it was kind of an eye sore, but I don't really care how it looks as long as it is safe for them. But that coop wasn't it was really hard to clean all the poop out so it like never happened and it didn't even have a door, so anything could of just walked in. But nothing ever really did until one night a swift fox came along and tried to have duck dinner but that didn't work for it.

For the ventilation i was thinking of drilling holes or something like that above the chicken door. And I really want to work on the temporary pallet coop for the ducks today, because Kiki and a lot of the other chickens seem be getting a little worse. Almost to the point where they are starting to breath through there mouths. So any suggestions on how to go about making a quick and easy not tearing apart pallets coop that is predator proofed would be very much appreciated. I want to have it done at most by tomorrow. I don't care if I have to go out in 12 degree weather to build it. It is sunny right now though so it isn't to bad, and I am not even sure if it is twelve degrees out there right now. It was when I fed the chickens and ducks.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

I only grabbed two pallets from the pallet pile that is currently a snow drift for the most part. but I will get more tomorrow. What size should I make this pallet coop, it is only going to be temporary and it is supposed to hold 8 ducks. I was thinking of grabbing about ten pallets I will post photos of the pallets as well once I get them out. And I am not going to worry bout covering the ground with wood or anything. I am going to put wood shavings down on the dirt though once it is up.

 

[3KillerBs]

What size should I make this pallet coop, it is only going to be temporary and it is supposed to hold 8 ducks. I

Can you achieve some approximation of 4x8?

My brooder would hold 8 adult hens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Can you achieve some approximation of 4x8?

My brooder would hold 8 adult hens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

Yes, I believe I can. And what do you think I should do to keep smaller predators out and big predators? I am not thinking any will show up but I don't want to risk anything either. I will try and take pictures of the coop as I am building it. I don't know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, I hope I can build the pallet coop tomorrow or at least start it or something.
Edit: we got 30mph winds and blowing snow today, it was 20 degrees almost the whole day. It was sunny all day as well.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes, I believe I can. And what do you think I should do to keep smaller predators out and big predators? I am not thinking any will show up but I don't want to risk anything either. I will try and take pictures of the coop as I am building it. I don't know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, I hope I can build the pallet coop tomorrow or at least start it or something.

The standard answer is hardware cloth. Someone above mentioned metal lathe.

2x4 wire plus 1" chicken wire can work.

I had my non-predator-proof builds last summer inside an electric fence.

What do you have available?