Should under the coop be closed off or left open?

Date sort Score sort
Shezadandy

Shezadandy

Crowing
7 Years
Sep 26, 2015
2,699
3,833
417
Portland OR
Hi Everyone! I'm new to BYC and chickens though have had horses for decades and goats for the last couple of years. Our first-ever chicks are due to arrive next week and we're working on their future chicken palace which is an 8x12 shed.

The shed/coop is up on pier blocks, and I'm looking for input on whether to close off the area under the shed. The floor frame and supports are treated lumber which is the only viable choice for our rainy climate. Will chickens amuse themselves by pecking at the wood (again, treated lumber underneath) and get sick?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
 
Attimus, Thank you. I would very much like to leave it open for them as we do have hawks around. Most of their future outdoor home pen is under densely branched evergreens which I hope will be a natural protection from a swooping hawk. Under the coop would be a perfect duck and cover area for the sunny part. Mostly I just want to make sure I'm not subjecting them to anything harmful with the treated wood, and on the other side of the coin, that they won't go to work on the wood! With the goats we've found that after we build something new, we have to goat-proof it with electric wire so they don't ruin their own shelter.
big_smile.png
 
Shezadandy said:
Attimus, Thank you. I would very much like to leave it open for them as we do have hawks around. Most of their future outdoor home pen is under densely branched evergreens which I hope will be a natural protection from a swooping hawk. Under the coop would be a perfect duck and cover area for the sunny part. Mostly I just want to make sure I'm not subjecting them to anything harmful with the treated wood, and on the other side of the coin, that they won't go to work on the wood! With the goats we've found that after we build something new, we have to goat-proof it with electric wire so they don't ruin their own shelter.
big_smile.png
Click to expand...
Hi and welcome!
Personally, as much as extra space as it would give my birds, I decided to close it in, because if they start laying eggs under there, I don't want to crawl in and get them, nor could I.
 
Raptors are known to have gone under coops after birds flee there, sometimes get caught under the coop - dead chicken in talons.
 
Thank you all for the warm welcome! Now I've got some things to think about to keep our future new little friends out of the talons.

The plan is to make an "L" shaped run on the outside of the goat pen which already has a 6ft chain link border, under the big trees to behind the goat house. (gray shed is replaced with new chicken palace, red shed is goat house). Especially now with the thought that birds of prey will chase chickens under the coop, covering as much as is financially feasible seems prudent, i.e unsupervised chickens would be in a 100% covered area.

Does anyone have experience with any particular material as a cover (good or bad)? My first thought is the heavier version of deer net.
 

Similar threads

D
DIY Coop and Run -- Design Feedback
Replies
8
Views
206
dvsmith
D
W
    • Like
Any reason to not allow chickens to crawl under shed/coop?
2
Replies
13
Views
2K
RogerChicken
R
E
    • Like
    • Love
Echo and Pan's Chicken Coop Build Blog
Replies
1
Views
232
cavemanrich
cavemanrich
B
    • Like
Need suggestions to keep coop warm in winter!
Replies
8
Views
2K
My Very First 6 Chickens
My Very First 6 Chickens
Sammster
    • Like
    • Love
Run-Pen Addition
Replies
5
Views
291
Sammster
Sammster

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom