Under the Roost...

[Folly's place]

I agree that wall insulation can turn into a rodent hotel; it did here! And the rats or mice can chew through particle board, or enter through small openings at edges.
Where insulation helps, IMO, is in the ceiling, to reduce overheating in the summer. Is your coop shaded, south side and west sides at least during the warm weather?
And definitely more ventilation!
Mary

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm in the south, so I can't speak to issues about those temperatures, but you might find my article on coop ventilation helpful. I consulted with cold-climate people to make sure I had the information right for severe winters.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[saysfaa]

We didn't have a plan other than wanting it 12" below the roost and about 12-18" clearance behind and in front of the roost. Also to have some lip around it to keep the pdz in.

Anyway, we just kept adding legs and framing until it didn't wobble when we tested it.

We used 1x4 boards for the walls of the tray. The 4 inch was more than is needed but the narrower options were very nearly as much and not as straight. We didn't bother to rip them. We don't have a table saw, we are pretty good with a skill saw but it just wasn't worth it. We only needed three boards anyway, instead of two if we had ripped them.

The floor of the poop board is a piece of scrap plywood we had laying around. It is screwed to the legs and to small bracing pieces. I regret the smaller bracing pieces inside. They held the walls square while we put it together and then there didn't seem to be a reason to take them out. Over the winter, I found the reason - the pdz shifts off it to deeper part unless the pdz is much deeper than it othrwise needs to be. That is a problem because they like to roost over the thin spot and the poop froze to the board.

The front leg and middle leg are scraps from the throw away bin at home depot. I think they keep the metal bands from digging into the lumber; that is why they have a grove down one side.

The back legs are scraps of 2x4 cut to fit between the horizontal part of frame of the shed and the bottom of the tray part. Plus a few shims where the scrap wasn't long enough.

My special addition is a stair rail over the front edge. I found a few feet of it in the 75% off bin. Later I found a longer piece among scraps of moulding at an estate sale. It gives them a much more comfortable edge to walk on.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

At the risk of information overload I will add pics on my roof ventilation system. I live in UP Michigan, heavy snow, very cold. I have a fiberglass utility shed that I repurposed. I cut a series of vent holds in ceiling and covered with 1/2in hardware cloth. Then DH built rafters for a metal roof with lots of overhang. I have windows on the east, west and large windows on the south plus pop door leading to covered enclosed run. With driving rain and severe storms I have only had to close windows once (big overhang). It stays cool in summer, snow will slide right off. hot air from birds and poop warmth rise to vent at the ceiling. This took 1 day to build. I included pic of poop boards, too

 

[Auntiejessi3]