Constructive feedback requested

[llowlife]

Remodeling an older dog house and kennel. Its split in half with windows in the center. Fully insulated. Probably leave the A/C in JIC. Also have a 2x6 foot heater panel Ill mount on the ceiling again JIC. It gets kinda chilly in Mn sometimes.

I have to close up some smaller holes as the building was a freeby 10 plus years ago. I did what I could but a Plumb and level were not a consideration to the original builder.

Have to build feeders, waterers, nesting boxes soon but no huge hurry as I bought some pullets that will be delivered around tax time. Also need to assess the ventilation. I will have an exhaust fan but that won't be the primary. A breeze is cheaper and trust me living on a hill is breezy.

I wish I had a better system of cleaning. Just the height of 5'6" is an issue considering my height. Oh well, live with it and make due.

The run was around 800 sq ft and had 3 feet of chainlink fencing attached to the inside under the ground. I was going to change it but a friend of mine is a 3rd generation trapper and he said the predators were more likely to dig back until they went under vs digging in farther. Im pendering that one. Im also building an attached run that is currently 350 sq ft. Im hoping to make that one over 500 but time wil tell. I will be putting a door inbetween the 2 runs. Im waiting for the frost to let a couple panels loose. Most everything is recycled. I hope to keep the cost below 200 turn key. One of the benefits to being a 3rd gen dumpster diver.

Im currently working on the "roof" for lack of a better word. Bald eagles are prolific here and perch in my very tall pine trees in the front yard. Im running yellow rope to hang nylon netting which is left over from wine making grapes. Sparrows and starlings can wipe out 75 plants in a weekend without them. My concern is letting the raptors know there is netting up. Well that covers it for now. As usual descriptive posts are a moot point without pics.

1 & 2. Obvious You can see the center panel that will become a door in pic 2
3. Looking in from the main entry door through the glass
4 & 5. Inside shots
6. Chicken door not 100% complete.
Constructive feedback encouraged.

 

[nuthatched]

Don't forget lots of ventilation, atleast 1 sq foot per bird.
Otherwise, it looks great.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Reinforce the chain link with hardware cloth from the ground up to 2 or 3 feet up, and build an apron around it. Otherwise raccoons may pull chickens through the chain link.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Highly recommend poop trays under the roosts. Also, where are your nests? Be sure they are lower than your roosts but not directly under them so the chickens don't poop in them. Are you going to seal your floor, paint it, or put vinyl down or something, to make it easy to clean? I sure wish I had!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Have to agree with Hardware cloth over chain link or windows.
You making a great coop !

 

[aart]

What's with the 'ceiling'?
Looks like it's sagging, or maybe that's an optical illusion.
Can it be removed?

Gambrel roofs are harder to ventilate and offer little to no protection for other opening for ventilation. Not sure the roof needs replacing, but.....I'll throw this up there, just because I like the concept:

 

[llowlife]

poop trays sound like a good idea
Putting down linoleum when I remove it from a rental. Have half a layer down now just because I had it but I will do the whole floor with 1 piece.

there is storage above the coop, that's why it's only 5+ feet high also why I have a beam in the center. For support. The outside roofline is straight. The osb inside is not perfect. Again the original builder didn't use a level, but is was structurally sound so I went with it.

it will be a bit more of a head scratcher for ventilation as I need to get it under the current ceiling. I am thinking maybe opening the hole in the door to a larger size. I'll just sit in there when it gets colder and brainstorm.

I do have ventilation fans at my disposal and will definitely install them. Using 1 sq ft per bird leads me to 10 sq ft of ventilation. That may be a tall order without a fan.

I have extra ridge vent material from building a couple garages over the last 2 summers. May explore that.

Hardware cloth will be going most everywhere. I'll be putting underground chain link around the coop itself.

No nests yet. Have a couple months yet. I may put some outside as well in the little "house" that's outside. Door on either and and they both lock.

There are always critters but I have a boerboel that keeps things pretty clear. If something doesn't belong there, it usually isn't there long. He seems to know the difference between domesticated and feral. It's what his breed has done for the last 400 years. We shall see.

 

[llowlife]

Sitting in the coop for some time thinking about the ventilation. Also trying to escape the 50 mph wind which is not uncommon where I live. Actually far too common. I need to work with 0 to 50 mph winds. I assumed that it would make a huge difference in the winter -20 degrees and nasty winds would have to have an effect on the coop?

I plan to put some small ventilation holes in, but my existing design has backed me into a corner. On one wall is a wall of glass. Inside but still a wall of glass. On the other side are roosts coupled with a low ceiling takes away alot of options.

I decided to add 2 smaller blower motors, roughly 100 cfm each. They also have 1500 watt heaters each so my plan for heat changed as well if needed. Thet are mounted outside the coop and the exhaust is a 8 inch covered flapped vent.

I will have to run another wire to the coop as I never intended to potentially use this much juice.