Plastic or not plastic, unheated chicken coop

[maria01]

why should it be isolated?

 

[AndersS]

Okay, then I have to rethink... as I said, I was planning to skip the barrier since the space will not be heated.

Eh, it works perfectly. It's not a residential building you're constructing, and my opinion is "never any plastic in unheated space." I have my outbuildings built that way, and it works perfectly even with mineral wool, as long as it's moisture-proof.

 

[Mazen]

Eh, it works perfectly. It's not a residential house you're building and my opinion is "never any plastic in an unheated space." I have my outbuildings built like that and they work perfectly well even with mineral wool, as long as you have it rodent-proof.

Exactly my thought, to skip the plastic so it can ventilate through.

Then I'll go as planned but plan the ventilation better.

 

[Daniel 109]

In a chicken coop, there is moisture stress from the inside.

 

[AndersS]

Exactly my thought, to skip plastic so it can ventilate, then I'll proceed as planned, need to take a round and plan the ventilation better..

I would use sheet material and seal the joints, not for air but to prevent mites from finding spaces. So minimize joints and other areas where pests can use as a habitat.
Link to one of Martin's chicken breeds
http://kulturhons.se/raser/silveruddsbla-2/

 

[SågspånPappspikEternit]

Formplyfa (a little expensive) or some kind of smooth sheet metal (may be cheaper) is recommended for the inner walls.

If you want Swedish country chickens, many breeds with local adaptation, there is the Svenska Lanthönsklubben at www.kackel.se .

 

[Mazen]

Formplyfa (a bit expensive) or some form of smooth sheet metal (can be cheaper) is recommended for the interior walls.

If you want Swedish country chickens, lots of breeds with local adaptation, there is the Svenska Lanthönsklubben at www.kackel.se .

Formplyfa (a bit expensive) or some form of smooth sheet metal (can be cheaper) is recommended for the interior walls.

If you want Swedish country chickens, lots of breeds with local adaptation, there is the Svenska Lanthönsklubben at www.kackel.se .

K-plyfa is planned and I think the owners were planning to paint it (but maybe that's a bad idea?)

 

[AndersS]

How is the space intended to be cleaned?
And what should be on the floor?

 

[Mazen]

How is the space intended to be cleaned?
And what will be on the floor?

It's not intended to be rinsed off otherwise I don't know how the owners have thought about that part..
The proposal that's up is a sheet and vinyl flooring or possibly a plank floor..

 

[Dalbotant]

The most important thing is still the size. It doesn't matter how many chickens you plan for - there always ends up being more in the chicken coop for some strange reason. For example, I was supposed to have five, but now there are ten out here and plans for more. (I have different breeds to get different egg colors.)

Moreover, there are often restrictions on outdoor time nowadays, for example right now. You can only keep them inside or possibly outside if you have them under a roof there. So it's better to have a larger house so they can walk around inside without getting bored to death = greater risk of pecking and other nonsense if they're cramped in a small area for too long. They often don't want to go out if it's freezing or pouring rain either, so always good to have a big chicken coop.

 

[SågspånPappspikEternit]

It's not meant to be rinsed off otherwise I don't know how the owners have thought about that part..
The proposal that is up is boards and plastic mat or plank floor..

As flooring, I think concrete flooring is the best by far. Secondly, if you can't/won't pour a slab, you can use smooth concrete tiles. We've laid 40x40 cm concrete tiles for one of our groups with poultry, works very well and easy to clean. It also doesn't get slippery for either animals or humans. A plastic mat risks becoming terribly slippery, and a wooden floor is difficult to keep clean.

This thing with mice again... you don't have to invite them (a feeder that's full at night) or make it easy for them (insulation in the walls that's easy for mice to build nests in), but that a few mice come to the hen house is more or less unavoidable and not a disaster. Chickens actually hunt and eat mice. They even hunt in flocks!

I've been a chicken owner for about 15 years, and it's almost impossible to imagine a life without them !

 

[mlkjhr]

No plastic and hens have survived historically in uninsulated hen houses. But insulation in the walls alone does no harm, it's enough to have it windproof on the outside of the insulation. But there should also be ventilation. With natural draft, add a roof cowl for the best outflow. And as noted, make sure to seal and install rodent barriers.

If you're planning to have vents with insect nets, position them so they’re easy to clean. The dust that accumulates in a hen house can clog the vents quite quickly if using insect nets. Speaking from experience! ;-)

 

[Mazen]

As a floor, I think concrete floors are by far the best. As a second option, if you can't/won't cast a slab, you can use smooth concrete slabs. We have laid 40x40 cm concrete slabs in one of our poultry groups, works very well and easy to clean. Also doesn't become slippery for either animals or humans. A plastic mat risks becoming horribly slippery, and a wooden floor is difficult to keep clean.

Hm.. a concrete floor would be optimal but here we're talking about a smaller shed model with a frame on leca or slabs.
Maybe I can level the floor
Or lay slabs on the floor..

 

[SågspånPappspikEternit]

A simple foundation of (plastered?) lecablock that the walls rest on, a padded (or firmly tamped with a lower level of ambition) gravel bed inside with concrete slabs laid as the floor.

 

[Mazen]

A simple foundation of (plastered?) lecablock on which the walls rest, a compacted (or tightly stamped with a lower level of ambition) gravel bed inside with concrete slabs laid as flooring.

Yes, that would be a possibility as it would still need to be excavated and leveled for the leca/slabs.
I need to investigate the conditions further because I don't want to build a construction that risks settling...

Thanks for all the answers.. at least it won't be any plastic