The Victory House

[Howard E]

Victory has been declared.......at least for now.

Will eventually change some things around, but new replacement birds were getting out of control in their garage brooder, so threw together some doors in great haste and moved them in.



This will be temporary digs for about 20 pullets until they are ready to join the old girls. Will keep notes on how it does and make changes as needed later.

It turns out the Victory house is actually a half scale model of the old Quizzenberry fool proof house, which was also popular about the same time as the Woods house was being promoted. The "fool proof" house was a competing design. It may not look like it, but there is a lot going on here. I made some changes, like putting the windows on the inside and making them sliders vs. opening out. I live in a high wind area and would expect windows of the other design to be ripped right off.

Also used metal siding and roof, both of which are insulated. Sides and back wall also lined with plywood. On a day when it was 82 out, actually cooler inside than outside....even with the dark metal siding.

Can already see some areas to make changes and improvements, but so far, so good!

 

[JDN]

Victory has been declared.......at least for now.

Will eventually change some things around, but new replacement birds were getting out of control in their garage brooder, so threw together some doors in great haste and moved them in.

View attachment 1391162 View attachment 1391161 View attachment 1391164 View attachment 1391165 View attachment 1391163

This will be temporary digs for about 20 pullets until they are ready to join the old girls. Will keep notes on how it does and make changes as needed later.

It turns out the Victory house is actually a half scale model of the old Quizzenberry fool proof house, which was also popular about the same time as the Woods house was being promoted. The "fool proof" house was a competing design. It may not look like it, but there is a lot going on here. I made some changes, like putting the windows on the inside and making them sliders vs. opening out. I live in a high wind area and would expect windows of the other design to be ripped right off.

Also used metal siding and roof, both of which are insulated. Sides and back wall also lined with plywood. On a day when it was 82 out, actually cooler inside than outside....even with the dark metal siding.

Can already see some areas to make changes and improvements, but so far, so good!

Thanks so much for posting this. I had been looking at the plans on the NDSU website and wanted to see what it would look like fully built. Looking at the coop, I might plan one similar with permanently open windows.

 

[Howard E]

Permanently open windows? As in no actual window frames and panes.....only screened openings?

The two windows on this house both open and can be removed entirely......slide them to the middle and lift them out, leaving just a screened in opening. But in a blow, it will rain in through the opening in that configuration, so if you were expecting rough weather, you can slide them closed to keep the rain from blowing in, although floor is pressure treated, so should not matter if floor and litter gets wet. Also in the winter (we went to -10F last winter), windows can be left closed, which will cut down on drafts.

Still has ample ventilation. Two gable vents in front and entire front eave area is cage wire and wide open. In summer configuration, so is back eave. In winter, back eave can be closed up. (that was a design feature of the "fool proof" house).

Rule of thumb for ventilation is to have a minimum of 1 sq ft ventilation per 10 sf of floor area. This is 48 sf, so should have about 5 sf of ventilation at all times. This one has about 6 sf, and with windows wide open that goes to 14 sf, or nearly 3X what is recommended.

I was worried about not having enough light, but in daylight hours, there is ample indirect or shaded light, which birds seem to prefer over direct sunlight......at least when it's warm out. In winter, when sun hangs low, winter sun will shine in all the way to the back, warming things up and keeping it dried out.

 

[Howard E]

Also, while I have been around a lot of metal buildings, this was the first time I built a shed using the stuff. One obvious thing I overlooked was that since these metal sheets come in widths of 3 feet, any shed built using metal should be made in multiples of 3. So instead of 6' x 8', this shed should have been made as a 6' x 9'. I left a lot of expensive waste on the ground because of that. Building as a 6' x 9' would also help with the side door.....would allow it to be wider and taller.

The other thing I learned was to install all the base trim BEFORE you go shopping for your metal siding. Buy your siding from an outfit that supplies the pole barn builders and they will cut it for you to exact dimensions. That way you don't have to cut anything and there will be zero waste. All you have to do is lay it on the wall and screw it in place.

That is an experience thing........part of what I would do different next time. So far, I like and would use it again.....but there is a learning curve to working with metal siding and trim.

 

[Howard E]

Victory house has been populated for about a week now. Birds are 4 weeks old and as of last night, all of them spent the night on the roost bars. That is about 2 to 3 weeks ahead of the last bunch, which stayed huddled on the ground until 7 or 8 weeks. These bars are about 6 inches lower than those were. Still, they are nearly 3 feet off the deck. These guys are using the water bucket as an intermediate step, but one RIR managed to hop flat footed from the floor to the window ledge and can do it with ease. No ramps needed for these kids.

So another feature I put in this house was metal siding......for a durable, maintenance free exterior.....but that normally has issues with the sun and heat in the summer and cold in winter. So this one got a lining of 1/2" foil faced polyiso board insulation. Installed so there is a 1 1/2" air gap between the metal and insulation. Then to protect the insulation from the birds, a 3/8" liner of plywood for the interior. Roof metal is a reflective bright white, but is insulated too.

So around 10 AM this morning, with morning sun shining directly on the side....red metal was so hot you could not put your hand on it. Yet inside wall was as cool as the opposite wall in the shade. Without the insulation, metal would heat up the interior to make it a sweat box death trap. With it.....nice place to be.



So when winter rolls around, I would expect this to reverse. Each bird generates about the same amount of radiant heat as a 10 watt night light. So 10 birds.....about what a 100 watt bulb would put out. Retained inside by the insulation, interior may heat up as much as 10 to 15 degrees or more over the outside. A big deal when it's -20F outside.

Also, tall side with windows faces south. That wall was NOT insulated. In summer, it is shaded by the roof overhang. In winter, sun will shine on dark metal siding....and stream through the windows....and combined, may heat up (and dry out) the interior by a whole lot. Maybe 30 degrees or more.

Point being that while this may appear to be a plain Jane ho hum building, it also retains a lot of design features that are tailored to the comfort and safety of chickens. Subtle stuff you can't see......but there just the same.

Whatever you build........be thinking how you can incorporate some of this in yours. It really does matter and will make a difference.

 

[Howard E]

Birds exposed to the great outdoors, and reluctant to leave the nice interior. First day, one of them was pushed out by those crowding in from behind, but quickly forced it's way back in. By the second day, most had been lured outside by the salad bar......but still spend most of the day inside.

This is how I train them to always return to the house......they spend at least a week inside before being allowed outside. Even then it is only a small playpen of a few feet, so they get a lot of practice running in and out of that pop door. Inside is home sweet home and they feel safe and secure in there. So they always go back in there when the sun goes down.

 

[Basement_Poultry]

Nice Job! I was inspired by the same design. See post here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-old-coop-built.1250998/#post-20069481
Cheers to Victory Poultry Houses!

 

[grnidone]

A tease.........still in progress.....but getting there.

View attachment 1345427 View attachment 1345428

I have a nasty habit of overbuilding?

No kidding. That cool has better Windows than my house. LOL.

I'm having a check or a time reading the list of supplies...can someone retype?

 

[Howard E]

If you enlarge it enough, it may be legible. However, I didn't follow that list. I more or less "freelanced" it, changing some construction methods and using different materials, like insulation and metal siding. I can probably provide more and better pictures and a somewhat complete summary of the materials I used if you are thinking of building one and need the help.

Methods and materials would also differ a bit if you wanted to include an attached run on the side.

 

[Molpet]

Was watching a program on what the US citizens did leading up to and through WW II, and with everything in short supply, how urban folks were pressed into planting gardens, etc. for food. They were the Victory gardens (and Victory just about everything else). An extension of that was the need and desire for urban back lot chickens. But they needed a house to raise them. Enter the Victory House.......

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/aben-plans/nd727-15-1.pdf

While certainly plain Jane in appearance, it has all the essentials for raising about a dozen birds....more than enough to keep a family in eggs. Even if not this, use it as a guide for what a chicken house should be. Doll it up if you want cute, but do take a look. Simple to build and functional.

From this, either let them out into the fenced in yard or build an attached run of the same or larger size. Just replace the sides with wire. Same roof line with a pop door connecting the house and run.

To improve on this, move the door from the center off to the right (east) side, and put in a 3rd window. Perhaps the windows could be made 2X this size and include plenty of ventilation. In climate zones 6 and warmer, you could replace the front door with nothing but wire to really open it up.

Or go for the Woods 6' x 10'.

But in any case, if at all possible, if you need a chicken house for a small flock......forget the dinky, poorly built death traps. Go for the Victory!

does this say 2x4 for the bottom runner