I am getting ready to build an addition onto my coop i already have. I was wondering if anyone has used Lexicon (plexiglass) of knows if it would be as warm as the plastic drop cloth stuff on the sides of the coop in the winter? I normally use the heaviest mill drop cloth I can find & double it 4 or 5 times then nail it onto the sides of the coop over the wire. I was debating on using large pieces of lexicon this time so i could just screw the whole panel onto the side of the coop & still be able to see the chickens. Would this be as warm as the other? We have it on our sun room & it rarely gets below 45 out there but idk how warm the chicken coop stays.. never crawled in there with them to see. Must stay pretty warm bc i never had any of them get frost bite. Never even heard of chickens getting it till you guys were talking about it. The coop is going to be a concrete floor with wood frame sides with hardware wire attached to that. possibly going to fix it so i can do the deep liter method in that part. I am going to use an old wooden farm house screen door for the people door, idk that i will put a chicken door on it.. I think they can just walk in the people door. The ceiling will slope, 6 to 7 ft at teh front & 5 to 6 ft at the back with that plastic corrugated sheeting for teh roof unless i use plywood & trust it to hold my weight & nail on shingles. Not sure yet that i trust my building abilities enough to put all my weight on top of the roof line to shingle it. I do have the plywood & shingles already left over from when they redid the roof of the house. I am trying to use things around here so as to not spend as much money. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
new coop in the works
It would be hard to close the spaces in the plexiglass, but the wind is one of the big problems when it is cold and that will stop most. Covering the coop will stop heat loss I think it is a great idea as i put plywood around my run in the winter. February can get into the 20's so I put 1 layer of 6 mil plastic over the run and the coop stays pretty warm (around 10 degrees above the outside temp). I have a heated water container under the coop and the girls do fine.
It would be nice to have plexiglass to see them that is a very good idea,
-joe-.
The coop isn't air tight so small amounts of air I'm not worried about. We get down to zero here at times for a several days in a row sometimes below zero. I always used 5 to 6 layers of what I believe is the 6 mil plastic before with straw around the bottom of the coop since the old one is raised 2 feet off the ground. But each year i have to throw away the plastic bc its so wind beaten & dirty. I hate doing that. and i think u can buy different thicknesses of the lexicon also.
I'm no help here.. We don't have weather like that, just rain and wind.. so I really can't help much... Kinda feel helpless here.. :(
not helpless.. just take notes.. you might need them in the next few months. :o)
LOL LOL Good one Greykyttyn!!!!!!!!
:o)
I would go with the plexiglass. It will block the wind, at zero degrees, the windchill effect can bring the effect on their comb to 20 below. I purchased a digital min max thermometer for nine bucks from amazon last year. Worked out so well on seeing what is happening in the coop and greenhouse hat I bought two more to keep around full time. You can adjust the covering to maintain whatever range you want.
zz - we had record rain and wind for the last three months in new england... I'll take the cold. at least you can get outside.
I found this and am thinking of getting it to tell me how cold it is in the chicken area
http://digitalthermometers.net/ws-9116uwirelessthermometer.aspx
it can have up to 3 sensors
Edited to
Found a different webite that is better
http://www.lacrosse-psmall.com/lp-ws-9116u.html
This message was edited Jul 28, 2009 10:41 AM
MsJestr That is a really nice one! Great idea.
I had one from Walmart that I used for my Greenhouse.. it worked great and I think it was only like $12.97 ?? Anyway.. just thought I'd tell you.. Might be worth looking in to. Save on shipping at least..
The one I had only had one remote sensor, but it was expandable. The thing I liked the most was that it was consistent with the thermometer I had out there.. and it also recorded humidity. I can't remember the name of it.. but it's in the department with the outside thermometers where they sell the ones we use for the bators.
hmm have to look into that too. I was reading on another thread & i was wondering.. since I'd like to do deep litter method.. should i just pour a concrete safety wall around the outside to keep critters out, screwing my frame right into the concrete would that work just as well? less concrete i have to pour too.. any suggestions on that part?
I use straw to hold down the plastic when it gets into the 20's in the winter.. if you can pour concrete - that may be best - just leave drains so you don't have a bowl of water when it rains.
Thanks for that advice.. I'd not have thought of that.. & when it rains.. it pours.. we had 3 to 4 ft of water running thru that area this last spring, normally we only get a foot deep there. I have to make the ceilings high so that all the chickens roost high.. then they are always up out of the water.
my wife goes out with towels and a hair dryer after the really big downpours.. amazing how attached we become... for the run I ran 3' tall hardware wire bent into an "L" shape 2 feet tall with a 1 foot flap. I attached it with zip ties to my 6' chain link wall. I also buried the 1' flap a few inches under the dirt and popped sod right back over it. most of the grass stayed growing and you can no longer tell the fence goes under the ground. Many have tried but none got in. the door is a pvc square ziptied to the fence it clopses against a 12 x 2 board buried 6 inches deep and locks with clips from lowes - very cheap but it all looks and works good.
-joe-
:) i buried hardware wire 6 inches down with bricks on top of the wire, then filled the hole with dirt, then planted lilacs on top of that (lilacs love it!) still the first year (10 yrs ago) i had all kinds of critters getting into the run.. big critters to. 30 lb raccoons were getting into it still. I had the coop sitting in the middle of the run & still they were getting my chickens. never could figure out how they got in. There was no holes. Thats why i was going for a concrete this time. I figure I'll set my corner posts into the concrete & drop it about 3 inches into the ground to keep them out this time. (using the concrete wall not floor).
yes my chickens are spoiled.. i near got a speeding ticket coming home from KC one time bc the neighbors weren't answering the phone & it was pouring down rain here. I hit it in Lamar, 60 mph winds, hail & heavy rain. (no chance of rain that day) i had 23 chicks, 1 month old out in the yard. its a hard 2 hr drive from the south edge & I made it in 1 hr & 15 mins. Didn't beat the rain but my chicks didn't drown either bc the worst of it hit as we pulled in the drive. Mom looked so funny, she rarely helps with them & there she was with a walmart bag over her hair out helping me catch these chicks who thought the rain was lots of fun. took an hour with a blow drier & a heat lamp to dry them all off. That was the week we had 4 ft of water in the back yard & I live the side of a big hill. Missouri weather is always so much fun. What worries me the most is ice. We've never had chickens in ice storms like we've had the last 3 yrs. Thats one reason i want this new pen. I need to be able to secure it tight if we lose power for days. I need somewhere i can feed & water in the coop area, not letting them outside in the sleet. and sides straight enough i can stack straw clear to the roof line if need be to keep them warm.
I like ur coop. I used zip ties in lots of places on the older coop this last time. They worked great. The 13 yr old that was helping me thought of it. he didn't want to thread anymore wire thru the hardware wire to sew the pieces together. :)
I completely forgot about the ice storms.. we don't get them as bad as you, but haven't seen much of them in a few years.. coons can climb.. were they going over the top? if they didn't dig under - only skunks dig around here - they either pulled enough space from the door opening or went over the top. We only get coons around during spring and fall - luckily mostly going for garbage cans.. we are in the suburbs. I like the lilac idea.. I do need to spruce up the coop some...
Lilacs love chicken poo.. they were suppose to not bloom for like. 2 yrs or something after planting 1 yr old plants.. they bloomed the next year. Took these off a bush thats like 30 yrs old & only ever gotten 5 ft tall.. my lilacs are 10 to 12 ft tall. :) They love teh chicken pen & the chickens don't bother them a bit. I go keep them cut up around the bottoms to a foot high so i can see any misguided creatures lurking under them in the dark when i go to shut the coop up.
Coons couldn't go over the top.. had a wire roof on the run. never did figure it out.. i just took down the outside run bc of it & left the coop. With the hardware wire on the coop they can't get in now anyways. our coons never touch garbage cans.. they just go for the cat food & the chickens.
Ice storms are sooo much fun. The coop is at the bottom of the backyard.. which is a hill (of course) so when it ices.. i have to tie a rope to the tree next to the back door so I can get back up the hill after feeding the animals. We are due for a lot of snow.. i'm praying for lots of snow.. i'd much rather have 30 inches of snow on the ground than 4 inches of ice. We lose electricity with snow too.. but at least i can get around without killing myself. evil thought... but i wonder what a chicken would do on ice.. mom waxed the front porch yesterday & Nutmeg couldn't stand up for anything.
that must be the funniest sight. I guess if you don't have hawks and coyote to come around, why have a run. Mine are only in it while we are at work. The neighborhood kids like to play with them - and leave the gates open.
good luck with the coop - I would go with Plexiglas windows in the straw piles ( might be able to wedge a sheet between bales) if you can really get that much - $7 per bale around here hay is better at 4$ - but still expensive.
nothing insulates better than straw.
nothing.
-joe-
$3 a bale for straw & lil sq bales of hay last yr were $7. :) thats why i use straw.
The neighbors always get a good laugh out of watching me try to get across the yard.. but its an older man with cancer so i figure if he's laughing at me at least he's enjoying part of his day.
I put the bales in garbage bags around the bottom of coop and holding plastic down over a greenhouse.. if they are tied tight you can use the straw for the girls when it warms up.
get a neighbor with a tractor to haul it down for you. But I guess part of the enjoyment is the labor.
shesh..idk what i'd do with a full round bale.. i was talking square bales. :)
I figured so, they fit in the large 55 gallon bags nicely. we have a lowes down the road and the big box is pretty cheap.. I buy 14 bales in the fall, bag them up, than stack them around everything. I can open a bag whenever I need to fill the coop. Using them uncovered seems a waste when using soo many. not necessarily pretty but the black plastic helps absorb the heat, but few neighbors are outside in the winter to complain.
hmm.. never thought about covering them.. i just stack them then use them in the flower beds in the spring to mix with our dirt unless the chickens want to scratch around in them eating bugs. Usually i have a few good mouse families living under them too. My neighbors can't see the coop for the lilac bushes so i can do whatever i want with it. Does the hay not mold in the bags? or catch fire? Idk what your temps are like but ours bounce around enough i wonder if they'd develop moisture.. i know the outside covered bales can sometimes here.. & they catch fire from the heat they produce.
I only bag them up in december or january and open and stack them in the back of my garage in march or april. we are warmer than you in the winter - only late january to early march is there a chance of temps getting below 20.... never heard of them catching fire but i imagine they good if covered in the summer. It's too cold to mold up - but i am careful to dry them out on the hot driveway before moving them to storage until it gets cold and I bag them up and stack them.
The mice can be cute, but lately I only see the ones the cat drags in.
-joe-
ya.. we only got really cold Jan thru April this year.. but its coming around again. I've seen snow before Halloween many times, Christmas in the 70's or in the teens with snow & snow on Easter many times. It just depends on what it decides to throw at us & when. yep Hay bales routinely catch fire all year long here. If they get the slightest bit damp they smolder whether covered with plastic of just stuffed into a barn. I've watched many barns burn down due to hay fires. Not much you can do about it. A small leak can cause just as much damage as putting up damp hay to begin with. Its the creepiest thing to see a barn on fire with it snowing really hard.
I haven't seen many live ones since i haven't had straw laying around. The cats drag in field rats all the time tho.
that's amazing. other than the outside bales getting warm in the spring, I never considered a fire. I imagine you need one nice pile. either that or I have been lucky. A campfire in the snow is beautiful.. a barn.. probably is too, sad - but pretty nice to view. we havn't got the snow we used to. but my sister is in wyoming a little north and to the left of you I think.... and after seeing her snow pics - I am glad not to be living in the plains.
Snow is amazing tho! I love to go sledding. One hay bale alone is more than enough. Some kid shot a roman candle into a barn full of hay on the 4th of July.. that was one big fire. Burnt for hours.
Sounds like you are in farm country. our bigger farms here are 5-10 acres. you have to drive 20 miles to start seeing anything real.
sorta.. i live just outside of town but we have 10 acres of our own, most places on this road have 10 + acres. So there is lots of farm land around here.