Planning a first coop build

[Newtothis]

Hiya folks

I'm thinking of building a coop to start my hen keeping, and have been looking through the helpful advice on the forum.
I have a couple of questions though...

1. I plan to use Onuline for the roof as people are saying there is less chance of red mite then. There will be up and down bits on the front and back wall. Do these need to be blocked up? or can I use them for the ventilation? If so will I need extra vents as well?

2. Some people are also saying that a bit of kitchen lino on the floor makes the cleaning easier. Is this OK or will red mite hide under there?

I may be getting a little over excited about mite but it sounds so uncomfortable for the hens and I'd like to limit it as much as possible.

Look forward to your wise words.

David

[grenhouse]

Hiya David,

Depends on the size of the gaps, with mine I blocked them and then put in ventilation (with a sliding shutter for colder nights). Others may have used the gaps as ventilation though.

Lino in the bottom is a good idea, don't fix it to the base as it is much easier to clean if you can just fold it up and pull it out then wipe clean.

The thing about mites is that you can do loads to prevent it (as I did, no felt etc) and then got them pretty bad this year! Fortunately with diatom and poultry shield and regular (everyday!) cleaning I managed to get rid of the things!

Steve

[Bramble-Poultry]

red mite will populate any crevice it can find, even into the hinges on the doors. Onduline is great as a roofing material and yes we leave the gaps at the top as this aids ventilation. However, we also tend to install vents a bit lower down with a sliding shutter over them as steve says above. the reason for this is that in the winter all the heat they produce will go out through the top, so we open up the sliding vents which are about 4" below the roof and block up the onduline. this will create a cushion of air above the birds to keep them a bit warmer

Dont be tempted to just block up the onduline without additional vents however as birds produce a lot of moisture when they breathe and without vents you will encourage mould which can lead to aspergillosis and worse.

As for lino, as long as you regularly dust underneath to remove red mite it will be fine. We tend to line our poultry crates with lino as we can then just jet wash them out and it does make cleaning easier. You could even have a couple of spare pieces so that you take a dirty one out, dust the floor and replace with a spare, giving you time to clean the old lino piece at your leisure.

Dont get all fanatical about red mite. No matter what you do, or how clean you are, you will get red mite. Prevention is normally the cure but with this little pest, effective treatment is never far behind!

[jessmorris]

Hello David,
I think you can buy shaped pieces of 'stuff' to block the gaps left by the Onduline corrugations in Wickes...I used plywood for my roof and then Onduline on top of that. The ply still split with the wet tho' which is annoying. I don't think I left enough of an Onduline overhang to protect the ply.
Good luck with your project - one tip, make a nice big door to give you easy access to all corners of your coop, otherwise you'll be doin' contortions every time you have to clean it out!
JM

[chris]

Jess- a flat covered sheet of ply (i.e. creating a box - with onduline on top of that?)

I use onduline on my current coop (the roof area was covered with mesh first to stop rats/whatever climbing in the onduline gaps), without any other vents - but it is a 5' high bike shed.

I'm about to create the roof for my new coop, probably going to reuse the onduline off the converted bike shed. I've not decided if I'm going to create a sliding vent yet, as my roof has a frame, raised up which has given my an inch gap at either side. I'm planning on leaving the pophole open all the time (it's not facing any direction where wind can drive rain in this time around) too, but this summer if need be I'll cut a sliding vent in the front of it too... depends really if I get some more chickens then yes I'll add a vent now as more birds = more heat generated.

BTW - the onduline fixing nails are really expensive. I just screwed through the onduline, and then put a blob of silicon on top underneath the screw before I tightened it to aid creating a waterproof seal (although the heat from the friction seemed to melt a seal of the bitumen around the screw anyway).

I'll also be creocoting the seems of my coop to help with mite prevention.. I did my whole current coop which took AGES to dry, so this time I'll be a little less liberal

[vicky]

I've left the onduline gaps as they are for ventilation, if rats ever become a problem I can easily retro fit weldmesh/chicken wire.
I have some rather funky lino too - wood effect! It does make cleaning out easier as it can be scrubbed and left to dry in the sun. I had red mite a few years ago and eventually found them holed up on the base of the feeder - sneaky wotsits!
I painted the inside of my coop white to make it easier to see any problems.
We also make our coop big enough to stand in - makes cleaning out less painful on the back!

[Newtothis]

However, we also tend to install vents a bit lower down with a sliding shutter over them as steve says above. the reason for this is that in the winter all the heat they produce will go out through the top, so we open up the sliding vents which are about 4" below the roof and block up the onduline. this will create a cushion of air above the birds to keep them a bit warmer

Ok Bramble, I'll add this to my plan, maybe as a glazed panel over a weld mesh opening to give more light in the coop? Is light an advantage?

(the roof area was covered with mesh first to stop rats/whatever climbing in the onduline gaps)

Sounds like a good idea - will do.

BTW - the onduline fixing nails are really expensive. I just screwed through the onduline, and then put a blob of silicon on top underneath the screw before I tightened it to aid creating a waterproof seal (although the heat from the friction seemed to melt a seal of the bitumen around the screw anyway).

Great tip Chris - thanks!

David

[chris]

Ok Bramble, I'll add this to my plan, maybe as a glazed panel over a weld mesh opening to give more light in the coop? Is light an advantage?
David

They like to nest / lay in dark, quiet places - I was just reading another forum about chickens digging under a coop so they could lay somewhere dark.. However, that said, sometimes light it used to extend the 'daylight' hours to encourage laying year round - however, I'd guess this is for more intensive egg production/people who want to force them to lay all the time. So i'm not sure a window in required, mine don't have it - they were 17 weeks old in oct 2010 when I got them, and have laid through the winter, even on the harshest of days - as in your other post they are hybrids though, so that's what they're bred for.. The timing of me getting them probably was to due with them laying through the start of the winter though.

In my new coop, they dont' have any windows - they really tend to go in there to roost, or lay.. Other times they're out and about. First time mine saw snow they stayed in the coop for a day, I chucked one out of the coop, and she almost vanished in the snow - was funny seeing her head like a periscope. She flew straight back in.. the next day they were out and about eating the snow and clucking happily again. I think I asked about windows in my original post about converting a shed into a coop and was told it's not needed - so that's why I didn't bother. I had big plans the first time around, and basically was advised just to keep it simple. The chickens don't care what the house looks like, as long as it's draught free, and isn't damp or ridden with pests they'll be happy.

[chris]

Oh yes, one more thing to add - when / if you cut the onduline with a saw, you'll find the teeth get gunked up. I found that if I ran a screw along the saw blade, as if you were sharpening a knife with a steele then the grooves on the screw dragged the bitumen bits out from the teeth.

You may find that once you've finished your coop and you have the chickens you may make small alterations to improve access/cleaning/what not.. first time around there's always something you (i.e. I) forget

[Hilary B]

If the whole house is dark, through absence of window, the chooks are more likely to lay eggs in all sorts of places. If there is a bit of daylight, but the actual nestbox is dark, it encourages them laying there (and reduces the risk of them sleeping in there and making it filthy).

[Newtothis]

I asked because I've seen adverts for houses that look like little chicken cttages with windows in. I don't wan to add if not needed.

David

[Newtothis]

My spelling was awful in that last post!

[RichmondHens]

The fancy looking houses are often not the most practical. They look pretty in the garden but the ones I've seen look like they would be a nightmare to clean and a haven for red mite. Keep it simple is the motto - a box like structure with as few joints as possible and plenty of access for mucking out, handling birds etc is the best.

[jessmorris]

Hello Chris,
yes to go back to your question of many posts ago, I made a simple box coop with a ply roof which is Cuprinolled. I then put Onduline on top of this to give an overhang and keep the ply dry. I live in a rainy part of Britain and even with the Onduline the ply has started to split...(It was the pricey 12mm ply too!)
My coop is a bit too light for laying hens I think and doesn't have nest boxes that stick out the side because these were too complex for me to master with my carpentry skills. The first hen to start laying this year has chosen a guinea pig hutch where the sleeping part is quite dark and has a nice straw bed. She lays in there every day.

Incidentally I have found that guinea pig/rabbit hutches are very useful broody/very young chick/convalescence/new hen temp introductory coops (for bantams at any rate!). I put Onduline on these roofs too, held down by bricks! (Wickes does quite well out of me!)

JM