Woods Style Open Air Chicken Coops

[swar40]

I would suggest: make it bigger than you think you need! Make it walk in! You will want more birds.
I keep supplies on my nest boxes, they act like a shelfView attachment 1238160

If you get snow you could cover or just net the run. i don't have a covered run and I am from the Northern Rockies. We get 3-5 feet of snow on average. I just toss hay over part of it so my birds can choose whether or not to enjoy the snow.

I love the deep litter method. It conserves and produces extra heat. It is proven to be better, even for small chicks. I only strip clean my coop twice a year. I absolutely love it. It is cheaper for me.

Have you ever had issues with mites or lice using the deep litter method? That is my only concern.

 

[lazy gardener]

IMO, DLM prevents issues with mites and lice. Since switching to DLM I've never had issues. I did have a mite infestation once when I was using shavings.

 

[JackE]

If you are going to have a wood floor in the coop, you are not going to have a true, working deep litter. Need to have a dirt floor, to have a true 'DeepLitter'. I have, what I call a modified deep litter. Between coop cleanouts, I just add bag after bag of pine shavings, as the old stuff breaks down. To keep it well mixed, I'll throw a handful or two of scratch in there, and the chickens will do a great job of turning it on their own.

 

[Welshies]

Have you ever had issues with mites or lice using the deep litter method? That is my only concern.

Nope.

If you are going to have a wood floor in the coop, you are not going to have a true, working deep litter. Need to have a dirt floor, to have a true 'DeepLitter'. I have, what I call a modified deep litter.

I don't have a dirt floor. Just a wood one. I use straw, hay, and shavings. I only use 100% shavings in summer.

 

[swar40]

Nope.

I don't have a dirt floor. Just a wood one. I use straw, hay, and shavings. I only use 100% shavings in summer.

What kind of shavings do you use?

 

[Welshies]

What kind of shavings do you use?

Pine. Cedar are toxic.

 

[swar40]

There is a lot of planning that should go into it. Proper planning can save you a lot of heartburn, in the future. On this forum, you can read many, many stories of failure, due to bad planning. Build it right, the Wood's is the best, IMO, coop, your chickens can have.

The division/litter board is not totally necessary. I put it in originally, with the idea of keeping the pine shavings from the blowing rain. But that idea evolved to keeping the chickens from dragging the bedding out the popdoor. Rain blows into the side windows, and the screen door, in the warmer months, when everything is open. But it's not an issue at all, because the coop drys out fast, very fast.

I built my coop 8X16', to make it easier to use 4X8' sheets of plywood. And yes, it works perfectly, as the book says it would. In 8yrs, this coop has seen temps from just over 100F, to -10F. I've been in the coop with 30mph+ winds, blowing directly at the open front. And it's as calm in there as you sitting in your living room watching TV. None of my chickens have ever suffered from frostbite, or any kind of respiratory problems.

I don't know if you've seen my coop's page. The link below shows it off. On pg 4 you can see interior pics.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/woods-style-house-in-the-winter.445004/

After looking at your pictures again, the only thing I cant figure out is how to do the monitor windows so they can be open or closed without a ladder?

 

[Sophocles]

I remember reading that the advised minimal depth in a Woods coop is 14 ft., no?

Anyone have a different experience with that?

 

[JackE]

After looking at your pictures again, the only thing I cant figure out is how to do the monitor windows so they can be open or closed without a ladder?

No ladder needed, I can just reach up and open and shut the windows necessary. Not as high as it looks in the pic.

 

[swar40]

No ladder needed, I can just reach up and open and shut the windows necessary. Not as high as it looks in the pic.

Do yours open in? And how do you keep them open. This is the one part of the book when I read it that was really confusing.