Woods-style house in the winter

[bluebirdnanny]

And soooo worth building! Gets bitter cold here and mine did fine in it even though I did not fully complete it!!!!

Only problem was a bear that broke in the front screened area for the feed in the can. I reinforced that with concrete reinforcing wire panel between the hardware cloth wire and a layer on the outside. No more problems!!

But that wasn't inherent to the design but hungry wildlife around here, with four cubs coming out of hibernation.

 

[Arielle]

holy cow--you are NOW bear proof.

DH bought the supplies to build the second section of the house. We have 3half built wood style houses. All the littles are in one house and they need a little more space.

The one chosen for expansion ( finishing, lol) is a bit dark because of the wooded location rather than a field. SO we are adding a few more windows than the original design. Using the ground as the floor rather than the wooden floor does change the way the floor material decomposes and is rather interesting. It is moist not dry. I have another couple coops with a floor and the bedding in those stay rather dry. Just an observation I thought worth sharing.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

holy cow--you are NOW bear proof.

DH bought the supplies to build the second section of the house. We have 3half built wood style houses. All the littles are in one house and they need a little more space.

The one chosen for expansion ( finishing, lol) is a bit dark because of the wooded location rather than a field. SO we are adding a few more windows than the original design. Using the ground as the floor rather than the wooden floor does change the way the floor material decomposes and is rather interesting. It is moist not dry. I have another couple coops with a floor and the bedding in those stay rather dry. Just an observation I thought worth sharing.

Well I don't know if anything is PROOF if they are real hungry but no problems since here. I wish I could afford to do more coops. Maybe I will inherit something one day and finish off the one I have properly. Ah big dreams for such a small income.... barely making it with assistance from TruNorth for utilities.

 

[Arielle]

I decided that i would like ti be more self sufficient. Meaning we only buy when necessary, look for free stuff all the time, try to be more frgal, and use less than I used to. And most if all learn ti produce my iwn healthy food.

I'm glad you can do what you can with what you have to work with.Hope the bear has been bested by your efforts to secure the birds. Fingers crossed!

 

[bruceha2000]

Roosts are 30" high. More inside pics of the coop are on pg4 of this thread.

Hate to necro the thread but it looked to still be active in the last couple of months so a question:
Is the 30" height specific? My girls all use the 4' high roosts, ignoring the 2' one using it only to stage their hop up higher. It LOOKS like the roosts could be some higher and not risk the chickens heads being too close to the roof.

 

[aart]

Quote: But why bother?

 

[bruceha2000]

Because if they are higher:

• it is easier to rake under them every morning.
• you can then make the nest boxes higher so the chickens can use the space underneath and it is easier for taller people to collect eggs.

 

[JackE]

Because if they are higher:

• it is easier to rake under them every morning.
• you can then make the nest boxes higher so the chickens can use the space underneath and it is easier for taller people to collect eggs.

Coop was built, according to plans. That's the height called for, and so that's where they went. You could probably raise the roosts, if you wanted to. But the birds may run into problems crashing into things, or just hitting the floor from higher heights. I have a few, when they come off the roost, it's almost like a barely controlled crash. As far as raking/cleaning under the roosts goes, the roost boards sit in notches, and are easy to remove, if you want to get under them. And I'm not raking under there every morning anyway.

Higher nestboxes would be a good thing. But it's not that big a deal, and I'm not exactly a midget.

 

[Old Philosopher]

That open air design is something I never would have thought of. Basically, with that they hardly need a run/yard. I believe you that temps in the teens and single-digits might be okay, but here we can see -20F, down to -35F. When it gets that cold, my bird are hermetically sealed (sic) in their insulated coop. I don't usually have to worry about frozen waterers unless the temps stay in the teens for days on end (quite common), and I just use rubber pans & change the water daily. I've tried several DIY heater ideas, but none can combat really cold temps. I even tried wrapping a hanging waterer with heat tape. The water in the can didn't freeze, but the water in the pan sure did!

 

[Molpet]

That open air design is something I never would have thought of. Basically, with that they hardly need a run/yard. I believe you that temps in the teens and single-digits might be okay, but here we can see -20F, down to -35F. When it gets that cold, my bird are hermetically sealed (sic) in their insulated coop. I don't usually have to worry about frozen waterers unless the temps stay in the teens for days on end (quite common), and I just use rubber pans & change the water daily. I've tried several DIY heater ideas, but none can combat really cold temps. I even tried wrapping a hanging waterer with heat tape. The water in the can didn't freeze, but the water in the pan sure did!

they were used in those temps ; pg 4 Post 33 is a link to the book