Starting a coop build, it is my first build and first chickens so feedback is very welcome

[saysfaa]

Ah, yes....I use bulk furnace filter to block snow and slow down winds.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ventilation-baffling.75434/

I saw that but couldn't find any in local stores. Then I looked around the place to see what I already had that might work.

 

[saysfaa]

Well, the inside got soaked to about 3' in from the open south door. We had the strongest wind I have ever seen here blowing from the south and steady rain alternating with downpour. All day and most of the night.

The good news is it soaked only the top half of the bedding. And, even better, all of the bedding dried out over the next four or five days even though I didn't turn it or scatter the sunflower seeds over to get the pullets to turn it. This even though we had cold, wet air and more rain and snow for all of those days.

So, I think half of the plan will work. The part where any rain or snow that does get in will not cause problems.

I just need to put the east side windows in and block the south side eaves to keep the wind from blowing in the open door.

The residents had a REALLY lot to say about it, though. They didn't seem bothered (harmed) by it, just bothered (gossipy) by the differences.

 

[3KillerBs]

The residents had a REALLY lot to say about it, though. They didn't seem bothered (harmed) by it, just bothered (gossipy) by the differences.

My birds hold me PERSONALLY responsible for the weather and complain if it's not to their liking.

 

[saysfaa]

The windows are in as of a couple of weeks ago.
I meant to take the screens out to put the windows in but I ended up using the old windows I already had. The old windows are a little narrower and somewhat shorter than the ones I intended to buy. They just fit inside the screen frames widthwise. They are still open above the window frame; I may block that off later.

The old windows had considerable rot. I dug it out with a screwdriver, filled it with wood putty in many layers, and put two coats of paint on it. It is a rough job all around because winter was pressing. The paint was left over from another project so isn't the best match but the chickens thought it was okay until spring.

 

[LabMomma]

You will want to make sure that your roosting bars are stair stepped and not on top of each other, and you will also want your nesting boxes to be atleast 12x12x12" but if you plan on having bigger breeds, then they will have to be 14x14x14"

 

[aart]

They are still open above the window frame; I may block that off later.

I would, especially if water/moisture can get in there.
Can put a drip edge in with the space filler.
Are the windows operable, maybe not for now?

 

[saysfaa]

They are mostly wedged in. Also a few screws into the screen frames that stick out in front of the window frames.

They do not open but are easy to take out. I didn't plan to take them out until spring. Maybe I should to check how much moisture gets trapped behind them. The wall edge around the window hole is covered with black jack 57 because it isn't easy to put a sloped ledge there - on top or bottom of the window. Hopefully, that is temporary as I have various trim pieces to play with.

On nice days, I open the doors like in this picture.

 

[saysfaa]

The last major element is installed - the crates are in under a slant board to convert the community nest to nest boxes as was the plan to begin with. The crates are 12"x14"x18" each. By 14", I mean 14" or 15", I can't remember which.

The little tweaky things left might be considered maintenance as much as build. Things like the slant board not needing the tall posts so I'll cut them off, and maybe move the stair rails over.

Spice and Nutmeg checked it out immediately. Mocha and either Coco or Pepper each laid an egg in it today.

The open door works so far; I don't think I will need to go to the back up plan to convert it to a standard Woods Fresh Air (open air) plan. But we haven't had colder than 19F or more than four or five inches of snow and most of that came gently so that isn't certain yet.

I regret that it isn't bigger. I thought it was generous space for four to six hens. Now that they are full size, I can see it is minimal space. It is working but it seems tight even with pullets that grew up together and get along well.

Other than that and some quality issues (such as lots of very large knots), I am very pleased with it.

 

[saysfaa]

The first snow fall with a lot of wind from the southeast (the most vulnerable direction and about as stiff as wind gets around here) came along. After several hours, there was a dusting inside.

So, I blocked the gap at the top of the windows. I agreed with aart that it needed to be done but other things had priority.

I also filled a few cracks in the blocking of the eaves. I didn't have full sized pool noodles to cut the right size so it has more cracks than I like. Side note: I didn't know there are two grades of pool noodles; mine were better than the ones I found at a resale shop to finish the job.

I can still feel some air moving, but very little. Hopefully it is little enough to not matter. I have one more biggish gap - where the battan making the overlap on the double door is short. If that isn't enough, there is the ridge vent. The original plan was to block it but I think it is somewhat blocked by dust so I'm hoping to not have to think of something for it.

The chickens are happy. They are busy checking out each snow spot.

 

[saysfaa]

Update now that we have been through some cold, some snow, and some wind... in various combinations.

It works.

No signs of frostbite, not even on the Leghorns. Temps have been mostly in the twenties F, with dips into the teens.

I've been doing just a bit of extra maintenance as far as snow. If the wind is really strong while it is snowing heavily, I get a little more than a dusting. This picture is the morning after we got 9" of snow in one day with a high wind. The extra maintenance is I skimmed one shovelful of snow/bedding up and threw it over the garden fence 10 feet away.

It has been windy without snowing and snowing without being windy and only once has there been even a few traces of snow. That was also just inside the open side.

I noticed the snow on the roof will melt along the opening line of the ridge vent before it melts above/below that by just a tiny bit. So I thought I might have to block that too. That was the original plan, I just didn't get to it yet. Now, I think it is working well enough that I will leave it.

Two other tweaks since I last updated - I built a doorstop along the top of the south door (the one that stays open all the time). It is pretty simple - hurricane straps attach to a 1x3ish sized piece of scrap wood and to each rafter. It wasn't so simple to install. I had to take all the screws off the front half of the entire piece of hardware cloth covering the eaves over the door to get to the rafter end of the hurricane straps. Cutting a slit through the hardware cloth was easy with tin snips.

The bottom of the door is held in place by cement blocks. I left the pole to brace the middle although I'm sure it isn't needed.

The other tweak is stuffing some strips of old socks as rags into a couple of the biggest holes around the top plates (essentially between the top of the walls and the underside of the roof). That wouldn't be needed if I had started with whole pool noodles instead of pieces of pool noodles to block the eaves.