“Solar Powered Chickens” coop, coop-design, solar, aviary, chickens
It’s a smashing success. Ace just built this Chickens solarium/aviary for Bert and the hens. It’s connected to the coop inside the pole barn via a skyway with a gravity airlock. The coop always remains above freezing day/night. The Solarium gets too hot during the day, heating the coop for free in the process. At night the solarium cools to the ambient temperature, but the insulated coop stays warm. In summer there are numerous vents and windows and it keeps the coop cooler by keeping the hot sun off the shed wall and dissipating the heat. 
The floor of the solarium is covered with 5” of dry sand so is like a huge litter box for very easy cleaning with a long handled rake/scoop. The Chickens are free to roam the yard anytime except on days when the temp does not get above 20 deg the Chickens will be confined to the draft free warm solarium where they can still fly just a bit and take sun-baths. The Chicken door is a sliding glass door.
Today it’s 30 deg but the aviary air temp is 82 in the shade, 122 in the sun. It will double as a “greenhouse” for plants in the Spring. In Minnesota it can get down to minus 40 (C and F deg).
Houses should be build like this.
UPDATE 10/2010 - Solar Aviary addition
The entire aviary-coop is mouse proof. Even on a overcast day the temp is 10-15 degrees warmer, with sun 60-90 degrees inside. When the sun comes up a thermostat/fan blows hot air from the aviary into the insulated coop so the coop stays warm the next night without any additional head source. It remains above freezing for almost no expense ($5 per year for elec heat at temps lower than 20 below, otherwise free)
With twice the floor space the Chickens are very content to stay in the aviary when the weather it too nasty for them outside. The sand floor is very quick and easy to clean and keeps it very sanitary for the Chickens, and it also acts a bit like a heat sync to store heat for evening.
The sand floor has roofing "Ice-Shield" for a waterproof basin for the sand. The Chickens love to take dirt-baths and lounge around in the sun.
For INFO and specs on the insulated coop inside the pole barn, see :
http://bertthemensachicken.multiply.com/journal/item/190/What_happens_in_the_Coop_stays_in_the_CoopView the Chickens in the back yard anytime via Live Chicken Cam... you control the camera
http://bertthemensachicken.multiply.com/journal/item/217/CONTROL_Berts_CHICKEN_CAM_search_for_Chickens.
(The title refers to the fertilizer).
This is my HI-TECH HOME. We're probably the most pampered Chickens around. The coop has to withstand temps from minus 40 to 120 above.
For Winter: It has thermostatically controlled radiant floor heating for the Minnesota Winters. The fully insulated coop never goes below freezing and the nests stay at 45 deg so the water does not need to be heated. Thanks to the gravity air lock to the outside thru the skyway (Door is always open), the expense of heating is a mere $5 per year. With a small draft-free muffin fan providing negative air pressure, frost never forms around the doors, and all ammonia laden exhaust is ducted to the outside, also removing dust and the very high humidity (98% down to 45%). In Winter I use a 40 watt standard light bulb on a timer which adds a bit of extra heat.
Summer: On 100 deg Summer days, a programmed set-back thermostat cooling system with cool air ducted from the cool cement floor in back, keeps the temp between 73 and 86 degrees even though the pole barn which contains the Coop, reaches 120 deg. On really hot days the coop is always cooler than outside in the shade. When the large cooling fan is not needed, a small muffin fan is automatically switched on to force a small amount of fresh air in which is then vented outside thru the skyway. Wireless remote alarms sound if the temperature exceeds the set limits (32-86). Summer and Winter, the inside always has 13 hours of “Daylight” on timers (for maximum egg production). In Summer I use a 25 watt (3watt) LED bulb on a timer which add NO heat to the coop. During the day, the lights are automatically switched off and soft outside light is provided thru the skyway (somewhat darkened, good for nesting).
30 remote controlled wireless color cameras monitor inside the coop and the entire yard, front/back. The remote controlled pan/tilt cameras are all wired to the computer for broadcast on the internet, and also to every TV/VCR/DVD recorder. This also provides CCTV surveillance of the entire property, all activity anywhere day or night can be recorded on the computer or VCR. From any TV, we can watch the full-time “Chicken Channel”. At nite the infra-red cameras allows a normal view even with no light at all, or just a small 1.5 watt nite light. It’s easy to see on TV the instant any eggs are laid and need collecting.
Cleaning is nearly automatic. All “fertilizer” drops into the waterproof hopper where it then falls into the trough. Every 2 weeks or so the trough is slid out and a clean trough put in it’s place. The trough is emptied into the compost pile. If necessary, the hopper is easily cleaned with a “Mr Swifter” using paper towels. The inside of the coop is always shiny clean white with no “aroma” at all. It helps keep the Chicken healthy and free of any diseases or ailments. The coop is designed so it would need no attention/cleaning at all for up to a month if desired. It has automatic food/water.
UPDATE : THis picture is before the Solar Aviary addition,
(Ace L ) ----- Although Chickens don't like snow, the cold doesn't bother them so they are free to leave the coop and roam around the back yard all day (Our Roving Lawn Ornaments). Below 10~ degrees, their combs can freeze so then they are not allowed outside. They LOVE to eat any bugs they can find (we have none left) and they also cultivate all the weeds. Unfortunately, they also LOVE tomatoes in the garden. They have no fear of machinery and the lawnmower discharge will send them rolling across the yard (Scrambled eggs). I have to be careful while using the leaf blower and the weed whacker (naked Chickens). When I'm working on things/equipment, they will climb all over my tools and equipment, they are very curious and get in my way, I have to keep pushing them aside. Sometimes they will land on my shoulder or on my head. Bert (the rooster) gets very upset whenever one of the hens is missing and crows until they are all together again. They keep us entertained. The German Shepherd Diesel, and the Cat Tuna, and the Chickens, are all good friends.
Bert’s coop works so well. It’s –20F outside tonight with a wind chill of –40F but the coop is 35F and the nests are 45F, with NO external heat supply. Just heat from the Chickens. with a tiny exhaust fan to keep the humidity down to 50%. By morning it would be a bit colder so just for overnight Ace put in a 80watt hair curler to supplement heat just for tonight. Today it was –5F, but the solar powered aviary was 65F and 100+ in the sun, which warms up the coop too... All for free. In Summer the coop stays 4 degrees cooler than the outside temp. These are some lucky Chickens.
