Chicken coop question

[czechsonofagun]

I am building chicken coop now, using 2x4s, plywood and such. The roof rafters are 2x4s with plywood/shingles on top.
How about the space between rafters above the wall? Should i board it for safety or put some fencing up for safety and ventilation?
How well do you seal chicken house? If I just block those opening with fencing there will always be wentilation - maybe too much in winter?
Should I be able to completely close the coop to keep them warm?

Please advice, thanks.

 

[themichelob]

I think it depends on how many chickens in what size coop? They, and their waste, can give off a lot of heat in a small enclosed area, making ventilation very important. Are these chicks gonna be layers? Also figures into the equation. Regards, Mike

 

[forgeblast]

I have my area fenced in even the top over their run, so I leave their small coop door open all year long. One thing to worry about are squirrls, driving me crazy right now I have to fix a part of fencing they get in and eat some feed and eggs.

 

[Mousefield]

Even in winter you want to have some ventilation, usually chicken poo is damp and if you seal up the coop you will probably get mold/mildew. We lock our chickens up at night. We have mink and raccoons as well as hawks and eagles after them, given the chance. I covered all the window with wire mesh to keep them out. I did block the area between the rafters to keep all kinds of 4 legged critters out. The foundation and floor are cement. We have 85 eggs layers and 1 rooster. Hope this helps.

 

[nue2farm]

We built an eight by eight coop. It has a walk door on one end. I cut an eighteen inch by twelve inch door with hinges on the top. This door is near the floor, for the chickens. Later I cut a twenty four inch by twenty four inch window on the other wall, across from the chicken door. I put a double layer of 1" chicken wire over the window. Nothing is insulated. In warm weather I raise the door over the window. In winter I keep it closed. The chicken run is fenced and covered with chicken wire also. I let them out every morning to free range. I close the gate to the run every night. The coop is alsl mounted on 4x4 skids, should I ever need to move it. Has worked for eight years so far.

 

[dmccarty]

I think we will be getting chicks this weekend....

I have been mostly against this acquisition since I did not want to spend any/much money on the hutch and I did not have TIME to build anything anyway.

However, Chick Acquisition has been pushed hard by the wife and youngest kids. Last Friday we stopped at the local Community College which has a large fenced in garden area which includes two flocks of chickens. We talked with the lady that runs the garden area as well as looked around.

Both hutches were cheap with frames made of PVC. One was a hoop type of structure with metal roofing. The ends were open to the wind. The lady said the more you baby the chickens the more you have to baby the chickens. She feeds them morning and evening and makes sure they have plenty of water not ice. I was surprised at how open the coops were. The birds were out of the rain, it was raining/misting when we visited, so they did not get wet unless they wanted too but they were pretty exposed to the temperature. They had PLENTY of ventilation.

They looked just fine.

I found a hutch design over the weekend that uses 16'x4' cattle panels bent to form a U which rests on 2x4s. The design I saw was about 8'x8' and then covered with a tarp. I am going to build something similar because it is cheap, fast to build, and I can reuse everything if the chickens go away for any number of possible reasons.

The next link is not the design I found but pretty danged close. In the text he mentions if he was going to rebuild he would use cattle panels. He also had some other interesting ideas. I posted the link because the guy is in VT and the coop is pretty basic but works for him. I like the snow insulation. :laughing: You can see how much or how little ventilation he has on his hutches. He mentions using insulation but I would think the snow is holding in more heat than the human made insulation he used.

Chicken Hoop House | Sugar Mountain Farm

Later,
Dan

 

[czechsonofagun]

Thank you guys. I decided mash and a shutter will work best. We have a pond and snakes too plus all other VA creatures.
It is much easier to set it up now than trying to retrofit something later.

We have ordered 25 chicks, due in 4 weeks, figured i have more than that to finish it.

Side funny wife note - can you guess how many breeds are in thst pack of 25?

 

[forgeblast]

As far as animals, I really get a kick out the the chickens. They are not much work, and give us eggs. I have not bought eggs in over a year now its a great feelling walking past them in the grocery store.

 

[20 20]

I went with ventilation at the top for our coop. seems to work good and they where happy this winter. I let ours free range, today let them out but they decided there was to much snow on the ground so they played for a bit and went back in. Our chickens will actually come up to us and ask, through body language, to be picked up. Folks that have visited think it's funny.

 

[Sutol]

I would vent the top and just keep the draught off the chichensn they will be ok.

Fox had two of ours the other night, first time we didn't lock them upo for ages, how did the bloody fox know?

Only the one in the middle (lucky) left now

 

[Mousefield]

I went with ventilation at the top for our coop. seems to work good and they where happy this winter. I let ours free range, today let them out but they decided there was to much snow on the ground so they played for a bit and went back in. Our chickens will actually come up to us and ask, through body language, to be picked up. Folks that have visited think it's funny.

I did the same, about 18" X 24" covered by heavy wire mesh. It is located at the high point of the inside wall, almost 12ft up. We have 4 windows in the coop, depending on the weather outside we do partly close them but leave them open at least 2" to help with ventilation.

 

[RobertBrown]

Prokop,
I designed a coop using information gleened from this very informative website: Coop Designs

I felt it was key to have the coop set up right from the beginning. It's something that has to be cleaned and maintained regularly, so a proper design will save a lot of time over the long run.
Hope this helps

 

[brokenknee]

Downloaded these plans from backyardchicken. I haven't built it yet, my dog killed the three chickens we had last year. I am going to try 6 more this year, just won't be able to free range them with the dog around.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25809725/Chicken Coop/chicken coop.pdf

 

[tallyho8]

Side funny wife note - can you guess how many breeds are in that pack of 25?

I guess 12. The last time I ordered 25 chicks I had 13 different types. :confused2:

 

[20 20]

Fox had two of ours the other night, first time we didn't lock them upo for ages, how did the bloody fox know?

I'd bet that ole fox knows more about what's going on at your house then you do. Most animals don't concern themselves with time lines when they're looking at a buffet. Sure they'll go elsewhere and get a happy meal but they won't forget where the steak(chicken)house is.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Actually 8 breeds. I would stick to two or three max since from my understanding of things i believe the bigger group is better, but the wife had such a merry time with the catalog - I let her go off.

Building the coop to make for efficcient operation is the most time consuming part. I want it very accessible when open - to get in with a power washer once a year, litter box under roosting bars and I want it to look good too.

Will post pix eventually.

Thnx for the support guys.

 

[bigbull338]

the best thing for the eves is hardware clothe.an hardware clothe for the windows as well.frame it with 2 by 4s an use sheet iron for the sides an roof.

 

[tcreeley]

Provide plenty of nesting boxes to collect your eggs. You'll be getting eggs this fall.
I insulated my 8x12 chicken coop for my 12 barred rocks. (walls, ceiling, floor). The temp can easily get down to 15 -20 below. I've got a lowered ceiling with a vented air pocket above. I've got a 3" vent pipe to get rid of the excess moisture through the ceiling above. I have a heated base 8 gallon water tank/fountain for them and a 100 watt ceramic infrared heater to take the edge off. Their 4-5 inches of build up on the floor provides warmth as well. I shut them in at night against the racoons. I have two large insulated glass windows (yard sale) for light and summer ventilation.
Good luck. Before I insulated I used to see frost bite blackened combs after real cold days.

 

[MotorSeven]

Czeh, I left a 1" space between rafters for ventilation, but I did put 1/2" foam board down under the tin to keep them warmer in winter/cooler in summer.

As for predators, I can say without a doubt the best prevention is an electric fence around the coop. I lost a ton of birds over the years until I went eeeee-lectric.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/199912-solid-cedar-predator-resistant-chicken.html

 

[tcreeley]

Czeh, I left a 1" space between rafters for ventilation, but I did put 1/2" foam board down under the tin to keep them warmer in winter/cooler in summer.

As for predators, I can say without a doubt the best prevention is an electric fence around the coop. I lost a ton of birds over the years until I went eeeee-lectric.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/199912-solid-cedar-predator-resistant-chicken.html

I think weasels can get through a 1" space. I'd consider some hardware cloth over that to allow the air without the vermin!