Whole buncha questions

[3KillerBs]

Any opinions as well about whether using that design without a hen house floor would keep the chickens warm enough?

I can't answer any of the engineering things, but we don't need to keep chickens warm. We just need to keep them dry and out of the wind and their feathers keep them warm.

I'm not understanding from your description if the walls around the roosting area go all the way to the ground or not. If they do, then there's no need for a floor because there won't be any way for the wind to come in underneath them.

 

[Hamstermann]

I'm not understanding from your description if the walls around the roosting area go all the way to the ground or not. If they do, then there's no need for a floor because there won't be any way for the wind to come in underneath them.

I was thinking of still having the hen house suspended two feet above ground, the bottom of the nesting boxes even with the bottom of the walls, and the roosts coplanar with the top of the nesting boxes or an inch or two above them, I would have enough vertical space between the roosts and the top of the walls to hopefully block the wind (15 inches or so), but no bottom and no top besides the corrugated roofing (with hardware cloth attached to the gaps between joist bases and arms and around the perimeter to prevent predators). That way it's lighter and all the droppings hit the ground so they can decompose since deep bedding method doesn't compost anything due to no soil contact and no moisture. I was thinking it was less maintenance that way since we're either moving the coop nearly daily so it shouldn't be too hard on the grass, or leaving it one area over winter to compost.

 

[3KillerBs]

I was thinking of still having the hen house suspended two feet above ground, the bottom of the nesting boxes even with the bottom of the walls, and the roosts coplanar with the top of the nesting boxes or an inch or two above them, I would have enough vertical space between the roosts and the top of the walls to hopefully block the wind (15 inches or so), but no bottom and no top besides the corrugated roofing (with hardware cloth attached to the gaps between joist bases and arms and around the perimeter to prevent predators). That way it's lighter and all the droppings hit the ground so they can decompose since deep bedding method doesn't compost anything due to no soil contact and no moisture. I was thinking it was less maintenance that way since we're either moving the coop nearly daily so it shouldn't be too hard on the grass, or leaving it one area over winter to compost.

This is one of those big "Climate Matters" situations.

The problem is the winter winds coming up underneath the birds on their roosts to ruffle their feathers and prevent them from retaining heat on cold nights.

Here are some bad crayon drawings I made in Paint.

First, the desirable airflow for a normal coop. You may have seen this already -- I forget what I've talked about in various threads.

See the airflow moving primarily up at roof level with a gentle rise from below taking the moisture and ammonia away.

Next, what you'd get with walls that don't go all the way to the ground.

See much more air rushing in from below in addition to the gentle rise.

This is a hen in a skirt sitting on her roost in the first coop.

See how her skirt hangs undisturbed so that air trapped under the skirt is warmed by her body and no heat is lost?

This is a hen in a skirt in the second coop.

Now we have a Marilyn on the subway grating effect. No insulation and all the heat getting away. This is the "draft" that you're always being warned against in re: coops being draft-free.

So, what you need are *either* a floor in the elevated coop *or* walls all the way to the ground so that your chickens don't get their feathers ruffled and their body heat stolen.

 

[Hamstermann]

Haha..that's a great explanation and made me laugh. Thanks!

and thanks @U_Stormcrow for the engineering explanations too.

Between the two of you, it sounds like the design I'm using is strong enough but still needs a hen house floor if I don't want to spend more on lumber and siding to extend the walls to the floor.

I appreciate your help!

 

[3KillerBs]

Haha..that's a great explanation and made me laugh. Thanks!

and thanks @U_Stormcrow for the engineering explanations too.

Between the two of you, it sounds like the design I'm using is strong enough but still needs a hen house floor if I don't want to spend more on lumber and siding to extend the walls to the floor.

I appreciate your help!

Because I'm in a blistering hot climate I think a lot about ventilation and airflow.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Because I'm in a blistering hot climate I think a lot about ventilation and airflow.

and I'm in a blistering humid environment (its only 91 today, not hot yet) and spend much more time thinking about doing a thing than going out in 90% humidity and doing the thing! Also, I really like to understand how things work - so I tend to research first. In air conditioning.

 

[Hamstermann]

More questions!

Roof: I'm trying to decide between corrugated polycarbonate and asphalt shingles. The shingles are easier to get hold of and the systems cost about the same when I did the comparison but the proper way to install shingles leaves the nails protruding through the bottom of the roof and I don't want my girls impaling themselves when jumping or flying. Is there a building code approved way to shingle without this danger?

If I go with corrugated I will have to special order the closure strips and ridge cap, which adds about a week and a half before I can get my girls in their coop. They're already almost 7 weeks old and too big for the 55 gallon tote we keep them in at night and the 2 foot wide by 4 foot long run they're in in the daytime. Also, I've heard that predators can bite through plastic corrugations and that they go brittle after a few years. Can anyone confirm or disprove that?

Electricity in the coop: I was thinking of wiring an outlet or two to an extension cord and running it to the house. Those outlets will power a couple of cameras and a thermobrick that I'd plug a fish tank heater into to keep my water from freezing in the winter. If anyone has done this, can you show me pictures and/or explain how you did it safely? The extension cord would be plugged into a GFI circuit in my house so I'm not worried about that, but by the time I have a junction box with an outlet in it and an "in use" cover on top of that, things get stacked pretty deep and it gets unwieldy. How did you solve that safely?

 

[3KillerBs]

More questions!

Roof: I'm trying to decide between corrugated polycarbonate and asphalt shingles. The shingles are easier to get hold of and the systems cost about the same when I did the comparison but the proper way to install shingles leaves the nails protruding through the bottom of the roof and I don't want my girls impaling themselves when jumping or flying. Is there a building code approved way to shingle without this danger?

If I go with corrugated I will have to special order the closure strips and ridge cap, which adds about a week and a half before I can get my girls in their coop. They're already almost 7 weeks old and too big for the 55 gallon tote we keep them in at night and the 2 foot wide by 4 foot long run they're in in the daytime. Also, I've heard that predators can bite through plastic corrugations and that they go brittle after a few years. Can anyone confirm or disprove that?

Electricity in the coop: I was thinking of wiring an outlet or two to an extension cord and running it to the house. Those outlets will power a couple of cameras and a thermobrick that I'd plug a fish tank heater into to keep my water from freezing in the winter. If anyone has done this, can you show me pictures and/or explain how you did it safely? The extension cord would be plugged into a GFI circuit in my house so I'm not worried about that, but by the time I have a junction box with an outlet in it and an "in use" cover on top of that, things get stacked pretty deep and it gets unwieldy. How did you solve that safely?

I am unfamiliar with corrugated roofing -- we used metal and loved it.

However, chickens are exceedingly unlikely to jump/fly up to bump against the roof unless it's extremely low.

I leave all wiring to my DH, who is experienced with it. Putting an outlet on an extension sounds shaky to me. You can get heavy-duty extensions with multiple plug sockets on the end. DH has one that I have occasionally borrowed when I needed dual heat in the brooder.

https://www.harborfreight.com/50-ft...xtension-cord-with-indicator-light-62903.html

 

[Hamstermann]

I am unfamiliar with corrugated roofing -- we used metal and loved it.

However, chickens are exceedingly unlikely to jump/fly up to bump against the roof unless it's extremely low.

I leave all wiring to my DH, who is experienced with it. Putting an outlet on an extension sounds shaky to me. You can get heavy-duty extensions with multiple plug sockets on the end. DH has one that I have occasionally borrowed when I needed dual heat in the brooder.

https://www.harborfreight.com/50-ft...xtension-cord-with-indicator-light-62903.html

Thanks for the link. The outlets on the extension cord shouldn't be dangerous, just awkward in how much space it takes up on the wall. It's the same principles as outlets in the walls of a house or on the walls of a shed - a box mounted to (or inside) a wall where the wire connections are made so that they're shielded from weather or interference. It's just that instead of house wire going to the next outlet or a power source, it's a thicker cord that's more protected/tough and plugs into an outlet at the house rather than being wired to it internally on that end.

As far as height of the roof, it's roughly 7.5 feet from ground to peak in the run. It's about two and a half feet from hen house floor to roost in the hen house and then about 3 feet from roost to peak. The hen house without the roof is 5 feet wide by 4 feet deep by about 4 feet tall.

I'll post pictures when I can and hopefully be able to add measurements to them.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for the link. The outlets on the extension cord shouldn't be dangerous, just awkward in how much space it takes up on the wall. It's the same principles as outlets in the walls of a house or on the walls of a shed - a box mounted to (or inside) a wall where the wire connections are made so that they're shielded from weather or interference. It's just that instead of house wire going to the next outlet or a power source, it's a thicker cord that's more protected/tough and plugs into an outlet at the house rather than being wired to it internally on that end.

As far as height of the roof, it's roughly 7.5 feet from ground to peak in the run. It's about two and a half feet from hen house floor to roost in the hen house and then about 3 feet from roost to peak. The hen house without the roof is 5 feet wide by 4 feet deep by about 4 feet tall.

I'll post pictures when I can and hopefully be able to add measurements to them.

Photos would be helpful.

I don't see my chickens shooting up to roof level (though a young Marans hen did try to roost on a beam for a few nights one time).