Chicken coop question?

[Nicole3350]

I'm new to having chickens and plan on making our Milk house into our coop,it is a cinder block house it has windows for air circulation that can be open and closed and shelves to be used for nesting boxes all I need to do is add a roost for my girls. My father in law said he didn't think it would be a good choice to use for a coop. Anyone else think it a bad idea?. I don't want to hurt my girls, help!

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Did he give you a reason why he thought it was a bad choice?

 

[Nicole3350]

He said the milk house wouldn't have great ventilation unlike a coop made from wood...

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

No wood or block would not make a difference. The windows would be the key. Because I assume the house is air tight, you would want to leave the windows cracked all year. At most you would only shut them during storms. It is best for the birds if the ventilation is above their roosts (but no air hitting them directly), so if you can open the top of the windows that would be ideal. Is the floor dirt or concrete? I use our barn to house my chickens over winter, the floor is concrete so I lay down a deep layer of straw on the floor to keep it cleaner and give them something to root through during winter storms (I throw treats like vegetable scraps and corn around for them to find)
Make certain as well that the windows are covered with something strong, like hardware cloth, so no predators can get in.

 

[Nicole3350]

Ok great!..the windows when open,tilt in from the top and they have screens, so I may have to change that to something different. The floor is cements, so I will use straw. I plan on making a roost that catches the waste so that I can add it to my garden

. Thank you for all the great information, I'm so excited to finish my chicks coop! Thanks again!

 

[mdrake1984]

You could even use one of the automatic chicken doors on the windows so they would open in the morning and close at night. My birds hate drafts at night so i had to make a shutter for the front...

 

[Nicole3350]

No wood or block would not make a difference. The windows would be the key. Because I assume the house is air tight, you would want to leave the windows cracked all year. At most you would only shut them during storms. It is best for the birds if the ventilation is above their roosts (but no air hitting them directly), so if you can open the top of the windows that would be ideal. Is the floor dirt or concrete? I use our barn to house my chickens over winter, the floor is concrete so I lay down a deep layer of straw on the floor to keep it cleaner and give them something to root through during winter storms (I throw treats like vegetable scraps and corn around for them to find)
Make certain as well that the windows are covered with something strong, like hardware cloth, so no predators can get in.

Here's my chicken coop, we still need to replace the roof and build an enclosed run but my girls are in there now and love it!
For some reason it didn't post the picture I added..hmm

 

[Nicole3350]

It won't let me post a picture

 

[MoonShadows]

It won't let me post a picture

If you are on Widows 10 and Edge browser, you won't be able to post pictures. It just not allow it. Try using a different browser...even the old IE, Chrome, Firefox, etc.

 

[junebuggena]

Considering that you're in Michigan, you are going to need more ventilation than a few windows can provide. The biggest issue with cold-weather climates is frostbite. And that is usually caused by inadequate ventilation. Moisture in air needs to be able to escape or it will condense and freeze on combs. You'll need lots of venting to move the air, above roosting height.