Chickens and all things fowl..........

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

That is one nice shed. Something that size could prolly hold up to 50 chickens! How many do you intend to have all told? Are you going to build you own nest boxes or buy them? I think your girls are going to love digging around under there. Do you intend to free range or are you going to pen them in? So many questions, sorry, I'm just curious.

[hsehntr98]

Joyce I have 25 chicks ordered and 15 guinea keets ordered and they will all be here by June 8. I have nesting boxes that my husband ordered that I have to put together and they will be put on the left side of the building as you enter the door. I plan on free ranging and penning them in. They will penned in until spring when I expand the garden and can put an additional fence up to block a corner of the yard so they can free range without being bothered by the dogs. Do you think I should insulate the building? There are two windows so that I have cross ventilation to keep the smell down. I talked to an electrician today and he will come out Monday or Tuesday to look into getting electricity out to it. I hope I don't have to wait until the snow is gone before he can get the power out there.

[Tex]

We don't have electric or insulation in ours. Power would be nice sometimes, but you can get by without if need be. We raise our chicks in the barn though, so they can be under heat lamps though. The grown birds don't have near the needs that chicks do.

That will make a nice coop that can hold a helluva lot of birds. Be sure to have a place where the guineas can roost up high. They like almost any place that is high, whereas the chickens aren't quite so picky.



Tex

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

I would put some insulation in between the ceiling joists; but then you have to decide if you want to close that in because you don't want your girls to be breathing in the insulation. I don't think it would be very hard to do with a few sheets of plywood or osb; but it is an added expense and work on your part. I think it would be a good investment. A quick question, are there regular screens on the windows. If so you might consider replacing them with hardware cloth that will hold up better to predators.

[hsehntr98]

good suggestion on the window screens. could I put the hardware cloth over the entire window on the outside so that I can still raise the windows with the small screens to keep out additional bugs and still get ventilation? will the guineas go into the coop at night?

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

I think your idea with the windows is great. It solves the problem with predators while still allowing for ventilation. Speaking of venting, I noticed in the first picture that the rear vent looks partially blocked. Is that so or does it just look that way? It seems to me for a shed/coop as large as yours you might want a bit more venting for the colder months. The girls like fresh air even in the winter.
In my experience, once the guinea keats are big enough to be out on their own, they don't mix well with the chickens. You could have an entirely different result. I have heard tell of people that don't have any problems mixing them but I don't. Maybe someone else here can advise you on that. So needless to say my guineas roost in our trees, not in the coop.
Have you given any thought to flying predators if you're going to range your girls? We have both Cooper and Red-Tailed hawks in our area that can be a problem at times. I've never witnessed it but I think they have gotten more than a few of our guineas over the years.

[hsehntr98]

I have seen some hawks but mostly ravens and turkey buzzards. Well I have plenty of trees for them to roost in but how do you feed them if they are in the trees? I will check out the vents when the electrician comes.

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

Well, they don't live in the trees. They seem to know when to come around when I put their feed out. I have a long trough type feeder that I fill twice a day and place on a low stone wall we have toward the back of our property and they come running! To tell you the truth, most of the time I don't really know where they are. They just wander around. They are VERY independent. I see them more this time of year than any other. We have a row of tall pine trees along the back of our property and if I look carefully I can usually see them roosting up in them in groups of 3 & 4. They're kinda protected up there and seem happy enough. As I said in an earlier post somehow they figured out how to go through the pet door in the garage and when the weather is particularly bad they go in there. To look at them you wouldn't think they were very smart but they have a very strong survival instinct. My husband, Chuck, jokes that at the end of the world there will be cockroaches & guinea hens. Compared to them my chickens are spoiled rotten. They're so prissy that a light dusting of snow on the ground is enough to get them to not want to leave the coop!

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

Another thought occurred to me. Do you intend to put some sort of moisture barrier or flooring down? I think in the long run it would certainly save you alot of work. Even putting down an inexpensive piece of linoleum would help in cleanup. Just my 2 cents. Please tell me to shut up if my suggestions annoy you.

[hsehntr98]

Joyce I was looking into linoleum, but what I have found appears to tear easily. My thought is to put additional plywood down and paint it with a primer to help keep the mess from ruining the original flooring. Also was wondering if you think that instead of using the heavier wire on the windows, do you think I could get away with using chicken wire? Your suggestions don't annoy me, they are helpful and they make me think outside the coop.

[redman2006]

hsehntr,
just a few thoughts, 1/2 inch hailscreen is heavy and durable, much more so than chicken wire.
Prime the floor, but if that is treated wood, make sure it is 100% dry before you do so or the paint will not stick. Also do so up the walls a ways as well.
If you bed it with shavings and keep in cleaned, as large as that shed is, you will have no issues with rot or moisture build up from droppings. If you do, it will be under the waterer, the roost, along the edges where it is hard to clean, or where you have a leak from the roof or an open window. A second layer, if you do have a leak, will serve to catch and hold moisture between the layers. If you do put a second one down, caulk between and around each sheet and use a treated plywood.

Just my thoughts, but then my birds live in a dirt floored A frame made of leftover lumber, a few sheets of tin and a few more of clear corrugated plastic. They would consider your coop to be the Taj. My birds are from the wrong side of the tracks when compared to yours. Maybe some day they can move on up and play the Jefferson's theme song in a coop like that. LOL

[Tex]

If you put something down on the floor, such as linoleum, keep in mind that it will need to be removed and checked for moisture and rot occasionally, and you will still have to spend time cleaning up all the chicken litter. Another option would be to cover the floor with an industrial paint type sealant to protect it from wear and moisture. Then you could simply use sawdust to help act as an insulation in the winter. When it is time to clean the coop out, scoop sawdust, poop and all up and put in the compost pile. We usually clean ours in the spring and don't worry with putting down any sawdust or shavings for the warm months.

As far as window coverings, the hardware mesh is a good idea, but chicken wire will work as well. Whatever you decide to use, cut it into pieces the same size as the frame that goes around the window. Staple it onto the frame being very liberal with the staples. You want to make it wildlife proof. After the pieces are over the windows, Cut some 1x's or 2x's the same size as the frame and then screw over the perimeter of the wire or mesh covering the window.

I would advise against using an actual insulation in the coop for a couple different reasons.
First, as time goes on, many people tend to pay less and less attention to the actual condition of the coop. If a leak develops, you end up with wet insulation and rot. Also, if things are not kept in good repair, and chicken coops do take a beating, especially from rats and mice who also live there, the insulation can cause respiratory problems for the chickens.

Insulation will help to hold heat in during the winter, but it does the same in the summer too. Heat rises and will be trapped/held beneath the insulated roof. Unfortunately, chickens like to roost off the ground. That means it will be pretty hot and possibly uncomfortable for them during the summer months. Chickens have feathers and are made to live without all the creature comforts man thinks they need. Our little coop doesn't have any insulation, but even when the temps have dropped down into the negative 30's, as long as they were cooped up and had the doors shut, they did just fine. If you are concerned though, go ahead and run a heat lamp for them. We raise our chicks in the barn and all they have ever got was a heat lamp. The chickens out in the coop never got anything other than one another's company.

Try not to over-think things. They are just chickens and have made it just fine for a very long time by being treated as the livestock they are. It is real easy to get caught up in spending money to do things we might think they need, but they can be a really economical asset to have around as long as we don't make pets of them.




Tex

[southernmom]

Amen, Tex.

[hsehntr98]

Red : as far as I can tell it is 3/4" plywood that is untreated. I have a product called Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 water based primer. Mold & mildew resistant film & rust inhibitive. I planed on caulking between the boards and around the edge to help keep water/moisture from going below to the original floor. If your chickens want to Move On Up they can come anytime
Thanks for your suggestions.

Tex: I had planned on putting 1x2 strips over the wire when I get it attached to the windows and around the base of the coop once I have that closed in so they have a place to get out of the sun and to dust bathe. I had thought about insulating the coop but then decided that would probably not be a good idea plus it would cost me more money. Once I get things done inside, which I hope tp have done by this weekend or the beginning of next I will take pictures and post them. Thanks for your suggestions.

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

they make me think outside the coop. [/QUOTE]

I love that, outside the coop! Another thing Chuck suggested about the floor. You might consider painting the floor with what is called porch paint (I don't know what it's really called). It's formulated so that it is waterproof. That would certainly help with when you clean the coop.

I would not use chicken wire on the windows. It's OK for keeping the chickens in but it will not keep most predators out. Foxes, raccoons, coyotes and and I don't know how many other large big-toothed animals will just chew through it. Also, if you have weasels or mink in your area they will crawl through any opening they can fit their heads through - they are scarily amazing in that way. If you're planning to keep your chicks in the coop from the time they arrive, they will make tasty little snacks if you're only using chicken wire. I know the hardware cloth is expensive but it will last forever and you won't be sorry in the long run.