Greenhouses and Chickens

[Biddy Brooder]

Lookin good!

[Silkie Sue]

The panels were 4' x 16' from TSC but when i bought them they were $20 a piece. now they are $60. i ratchet strapped the ends to make the curve and set them up side by side. we then staked 2"x 6" boards into the ground on either side and i built the door. it has been up now for about 4 or 5 years and the stakes need a pounding but it has held up well. i also now have a tarp over it that i can pull back in nice weather.

[Ontario Chick]

Yup, that's the one I copied, still marvel at how much more pleasure poultry keeping has been with this addition to the barn.
Sue, my chickens thank you. :)

[Silkie Sue]

Tell your chickens.. "They are very welcome"
Glad i could help
looking at those pics reminds me of how much i miss the grass lol

[Biddy Brooder]

That some smexy run there Silkie. At $20 a panel I may have been able to pull that off however, at 60 bones my garden/run is way too big and I really just cannot afford those panels. One way or another, I'm going to pull this off.

[Ontario Chick]

QR_BBPOST I'll get back to this hopefully tomorrow night to explain better, but this is what I did:

DSC08828.JPG

ALIM2420.JPG

ALIM2421.JPG

ALIM2424.JPG

ALIM2425.JPG

ALIM2426.JPG

First picture is a crappy view from the back...there are two chicken hatches on either side that open out into small secure runs, which can open out into the larger communal area enclosed by trampoline netting.

Wow, thats some ambitious project, how nice to have an outside run on the inside, looks great!

[windwalkingwolf]

OK, so, I used a greenhouse frame I had given to me, I forget exact dimensions but I think 16' x '50' x 12'. Coops built at the back on either side with enough room between to get a wheelbarrow down. Large (free lol) panes of glass in the coop roofs to let light in. The cover of the greenhouse is stretch wrap meant for covering boats for winter--it allows enough light in for the plants (they did great in there!) but not so much that it turns into an oven. Though it did get quite hot. At the very back between coops, is a screen storm door, hung upside down so the window could be opened top down instead of bottom up. I figured if it got too hot in there at night and I had to leave the window open, having the window at the top would help stymie predators and let more heat out. Also, the coops have openable windows to let hot air out and breeze in, as well as vents at the top/side over the man door. Patio door at the front of the greenhouse with dog-proof screen. I learned the hard way that you can't let birds out into the greenhouse part when there's plants in it--I put a hen out there to brood her chicks, and she hopped up on the plant tables and shredded the tomato plants for her brood to eat. ALL the tomato plants, and there were about a hundred. And when she ran out of those, the pumpkin, peppers, etc. etc.. Tomato plants in moderation are fine for them to eat, but a steady diet didn't sit well and several of the chicks died. With front doors wide open, she refused to take the chicks outside, because she wanted the darn tomato plants I guess. My bad. But anyway, these coops worked GREAT for the birds, loads of natural light kept them laying all winter except when molting, and loads of ventilation kept the coops pretty dry except during the freak flood one Spring. AND, water in the coops or greenhouse hardly ever froze. I never removed snow off it in winter--the heat of the birds melted most of it except in extreme cold, where it would form an ice skin and snow on top added insulation. It was a good thing, too, because the cat, and then the goats kept climbing the outside and putting slices in the plastic. After I added a pig pen on the one side of the greenhouse part, the added heat of the pigs meant that water dishes on the floor never froze, even with the extended -35 to -40 temps we had a couple years ago. That greenhouse/coop has been up 4 or 5 years now, same plastic covering (still holding!). I haven't yet disassembled it and brought it over from my other property, but I will, it was great to be able to keep my birds warm in winter. Only things I would do differently is use French or better yet, Dutch doors instead of patio doors. Because of the heat inside, I was constantly having to chip ice away from the doors in order to get in. It would melt down into the channels and re-freeze, and either stick the doors shut despite silicone spray, or actually lift the doors out of the track. And also, I would use hardware cloth or weld wire instead of screen, simply because in the winter, screens will load up with frozen condensation and block airflow, and have to be cleaned off daily--if not, the whole inside of the plastic will load up with frozen condensation, and when you go in and create air currents, it will 'snow' on you LOL. Kind of an interesting experience to be snowed on while indoors, but in the interest of keeping coops as dry as possible, you need lots of ventilation. Poultry create a lot of humidity, which is bad in winter and not great in summer, either.

[Biddy Brooder]

QR_BBPOST .. you need lots of ventilation. Poultry create a lot of humidity, which is bad in winter and not great in summer, either.

Awesome!

How would you improve on the ventilation?

[baronrenfrew]

windwalkingwolf: if you are moving the greenhouse this year then let me know. I'll give you a day of work so I can have some hands on experience with taking one down and setting it up. This rig looks just right for my future use.

[Ontario Chick]

QR_BBPOST windwalkingwolf: if you are moving the greenhouse this year then let me know. I'll give you a day of work so I can have some hands on experience with taking one down and setting it up. This rig looks just right for my future use.

......and we will need pictures of that....
I volunteer for that job!!!