JagZilla
Chirping
I picked up 4 pullets at Tractor Supply this past weekend (2 production Reds, and 2 Buckeyes), with intentions of building up to a suburban backyard flock of 12-16 laying hens in the next couple years. Although I've never owned chickens before, I've been thinking about it for a few years. In preparation, I've quietly stalked this site, and other chicken sites for about a year, finally joining the forums here a few months ago. I've also bought Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, [URL='https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1118982789/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1']Raising Chickens For Dummies,[URL='https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0470598964/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1'] Building Chicken Coops For Dummies, and, [URL='https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097217706X/?tag=backy-20']Fresh-Air Poultry Houses: The Classic Guide to Open-Front Chicken Coops for Healthier Poultry.[/URL][/URL][/URL]
I've been leaning heavily toward building a small Woods style coop as described in Fresh-Air Poultry Houses: The Classic Guide to Open-Front Chicken Coops for Healthier Poultry. However, living in Central Mississippi, where we have mild Winters (lows in the 20s-40s most of the winter, and only a handful of single digit nights in the 20 years that I've lived here), and daytime Summer temps in the high 90s-low 100s with 95+% humidity, my main concern is in keeping my girls cool, rather than worrying about frostbite. The Woods Coop is better ventilated than most conventional coops, but, it was deigned for more northern climates, and may still fall short of being "Ideal", for use here in the deep, sweaty South.
In chapter 7 of the book, the author writes a couple pages regarding some coop design drawings he did for a then-prominent poultry journalist named H. Hudson Stoddard, who had recently moved to Texas. The Stoddard design is even more open and ventilated than the Woods design, and, holds a great deal of appeal to me. It's believed that Stoddard died before building one of these coops, and, I don't know if anyone has built this style coop in the 100 or so years since the author designed it. Still, I think it would be an ideal design for the type weather we have here, in Mississippi.
The original design is 10ft wide and 16ft deep. and, calls for it to be built on a concrete slab. However, in order to minimize the footprint, and to scale it to the potential size of my flock, my version would be 6ft wide, and, 10ft deep, the same as the smallest Woods coop illustrated in the book. Another variance from the original, is that I would elevate it on 4x4 posts, about 2ft above the ground, so that area underneath it acts as the main portion of the shaded outside run.
Does anyone have experience with such an open design in the South? Any ideas, or, constructive criticism anyone can give me before I go further with my planning, purchasing, and construction? I would rather avoid making expensive mistakes on this project.
For anyone unfamiliar with this unusual design, I've included a front 3/4 view (South-facing front, and East-facing side), and the rear (north-facing) view, from the book.
Thanks
I've been leaning heavily toward building a small Woods style coop as described in Fresh-Air Poultry Houses: The Classic Guide to Open-Front Chicken Coops for Healthier Poultry. However, living in Central Mississippi, where we have mild Winters (lows in the 20s-40s most of the winter, and only a handful of single digit nights in the 20 years that I've lived here), and daytime Summer temps in the high 90s-low 100s with 95+% humidity, my main concern is in keeping my girls cool, rather than worrying about frostbite. The Woods Coop is better ventilated than most conventional coops, but, it was deigned for more northern climates, and may still fall short of being "Ideal", for use here in the deep, sweaty South.
In chapter 7 of the book, the author writes a couple pages regarding some coop design drawings he did for a then-prominent poultry journalist named H. Hudson Stoddard, who had recently moved to Texas. The Stoddard design is even more open and ventilated than the Woods design, and, holds a great deal of appeal to me. It's believed that Stoddard died before building one of these coops, and, I don't know if anyone has built this style coop in the 100 or so years since the author designed it. Still, I think it would be an ideal design for the type weather we have here, in Mississippi.
The original design is 10ft wide and 16ft deep. and, calls for it to be built on a concrete slab. However, in order to minimize the footprint, and to scale it to the potential size of my flock, my version would be 6ft wide, and, 10ft deep, the same as the smallest Woods coop illustrated in the book. Another variance from the original, is that I would elevate it on 4x4 posts, about 2ft above the ground, so that area underneath it acts as the main portion of the shaded outside run.
Does anyone have experience with such an open design in the South? Any ideas, or, constructive criticism anyone can give me before I go further with my planning, purchasing, and construction? I would rather avoid making expensive mistakes on this project.
For anyone unfamiliar with this unusual design, I've included a front 3/4 view (South-facing front, and East-facing side), and the rear (north-facing) view, from the book.
Thanks
just need some steps.
