Texas

but hot as he-l hill country, lol.
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Thought y’all might appreciate this🤣
 
Ha, now you sound exactly like me, lol. No car and places to go. My daugthers car broke down so she is using mine to get to work.

As for the coop. Yes, everything on any site is poorly made and expensive so my 22 yo son decided to start on one today as the afternoon was nice and he was off from work today. Rain starts tomorrow's for the rest of the week. I had already bought all the wood and hardy plank sheets I needed for something else I had built so he is using it he leftovers. He has the frame and wire mostly done. The floor in the nest box and inside the coop is hardy plank so I can wash it easy. It's just a temporary coop until we can figure out what to put around the pond to keep them safe. Then I may get some chickens to put in this one when the ducks are grown and in their new coop. This one is built solid. Nothing will get into it.

I'm still deciding on the roof though. I have leftover metal sheets from my new roof. There isn't a lot of shade where the pond is. Do you think metal would be OK. We get to 115° in the summer here. I don't want baked ducks, lol. If I were to paint the sheet metal what color reflects heat the best? I'm thinking of using hardy plank on the roof too but if something were to jump on it and break it I don't want my ducks hit with it. I will probably just put plywood, cover with tar paper and then the metal over it. If my son can't finish it soon then , yes, I have a handy man that I hire for my projects. He is my lifesaver in so many ways. I hope you got to work on your coop today. Post pictures please when you are done.
Yikes! Car troubles suck, hope it get's figured out soon! Someone just decided to accidently run off with my keys. 😅

That's great! Sounds like y'all got a solid plan structured! Good luck!

Ventilation is the main key with coops here in Texas. I haven't noticed any heightened heat under tin, but I also haven't used it as a roof for an enclosed space. I think it would be fine, but if you're not sure, a wood roof is also a perfectly fine way to go! The idea of plywood, tar paper, and metal sounds like a good one to me! As for paining, White is the best color to reflect heat. It's not able to absorb sunlight like darker colors do. Darker colors, like black, attract and absorb heat like crazy.


Consider a large dog kennel with chain link. Just cover the whole thing in hardware cloth, top to bottom and frame the door in so there are no gaps. Be sure and use hardware cloth on the top too. You can put a small shelter in the middle or in a corner.
👆 That's what my run is made out of. We got a 10x10, had it forever. It's held dogs, ducks, and now chickens. We got the lower two feet covered with small gap chicken wire, framed the door gaps a bit, and built a roof over it. Works perfectly in our little back yard.
 
You're right. But I'd give up pizza delivery for peace and quite (roosters, and other farm animals excluded) any day!
There is no delivery here, if you want it, you're driving to go get it, which is fine by me. Yes! Peace and quiet=happy, content, and a less stressful life!
 
It gets too hot here in South Texas Hill Country so can't have tin for a roof
I have a metal roof on my coop and my run and have had no issues. It is nice under my run roof in the summer, much like being in the shade of a tree. And in case you're wondering about location, I am pretty centrally located, and the last couple summer have seen temps exceed 110.
 
Interesting info, thank you. I read on a few reviews that the tin roof on their coop reflected the heat and killed their flock. I have no idea how big the coop was but I need to build mine around and over a pond. It's about a 10' x 5' x 2' deep pond so it's not big. It's for my ducks not chickens. I don't have any chickens but after my duck are grown I may attempt chickens.

You are so right. We don't get much rain and have been in a terrible drought for the past 15 years or so. Our heat is horrible as well. Well over 100° starting in May until September or October so I am very concerned about my ducks staying cool. Do ducks like mulch piles too? I'm trying to decide what to put on the ground around the pond for them too. Any suggestions for a roof and ground cover would be appreciated please. Thank you!
Poop stinks. Poop on the ground stinks.

I started with hard packed clay soil and the poop stank. I brought in shredded yard waste from the county dump for free. Think wood chips or mulch or compost. Depending on when and how long the pile had set, I was getting all three in the same used dog food bag that I filled up. Much easier for transporting than filling the bed of the truck, then wheel barrow then yard.

After 2 years, the run/yard has transformed from hard pack clay to living loam with no stink. The chickens still poop everywhere but there is enough life in the soil that devours the stink that everything is glorious and green.

Bananas are heavy feeders. Chickens are heavy poopers (and so are ducks). Match made in heaven. Get carbon down in the yard to absorb the stink. Wood chips, compost, yard waste, leaves, grass clippings, junk mail, boxes, cardboard, hay, straw, twigs and kitchen scraps are all good. My yard ate the first six inches of wood chips in 6 months, it was hungry and the hard packed clay turned into beautiful dirt. The chickens went from a bare run to me having to mow the grass in it.

Plant shrubs or trees for shade and hawk protection. You need heavy feeders around the pond to soak up the nitrogen waste because the duck poop will over fertilize the pond and you will have an algal bloom. Get duck weed (invasive to Texas so you can't buy it but check the local waterways before the county sprays) or water hyacinth (invasive to Texas, read the laws) or another native water plant.

As with all pets, ya gotta deal with the poop.
 
Where is the article on the hoop house on this site, please? I can't find it.
Hey, sorry. Most of the time I'm eon the BYC app on my phone, and I am not smart enough to figure out how to link things that way. (Or more accurately, get the link to the article I want.)

This article is good: Hoop Coop

This seems to just be more ideas about hoop coops, but I think it might be helpful to you: top 10 hoop coop ideas
 
Poop stinks. Poop on the ground stinks.

I started with hard packed clay soil and the poop stank. I brought in shredded yard waste from the county dump for free. Think wood chips or mulch or compost. Depending on when and how long the pile had set, I was getting all three in the same used dog food bag that I filled up. Much easier for transporting than filling the bed of the truck, then wheel barrow then yard.

After 2 years, the run/yard has transformed from hard pack clay to living loam with no stink. The chickens still poop everywhere but there is enough life in the soil that devours the stink that everything is glorious and green.

Bananas are heavy feeders. Chickens are heavy poopers (and so are ducks). Match made in heaven. Get carbon down in the yard to absorb the stink. Wood chips, compost, yard waste, leaves, grass clippings, junk mail, boxes, cardboard, hay, straw, twigs and kitchen scraps are all good. My yard ate the first six inches of wood chips in 6 months, it was hungry and the hard packed clay turned into beautiful dirt. The chickens went from a bare run to me having to mow the grass in it.

Plant shrubs or trees for shade and hawk protection. You need heavy feeders around the pond to soak up the nitrogen waste because the duck poop will over fertilize the pond and you will have an algal bloom. Get duck weed (invasive to Texas so you can't buy it but check the local waterways before the county sprays) or water hyacinth (invasive to Texas, read the laws) or another native water plant.

As with all pets, ya gotta deal with the poop.
We're actually planning on making a stream out of our duck pond water so that we can use it to water a greenhouse. Duck poop is (pound for pound) one of the best fertilizers out there.

Maybe I'll start throwing my compost pile into my chicken run. Most of it is wood shavings from the coop anyway. I don't have much in the way of greenery up here unless I grow it. ....Basically everything here is hard packed clay, and the plains around here are about a two step away from being desert.
 
We're actually planning on making a stream out of our duck pond water so that we can use it to water a greenhouse. Duck poop is (pound for pound) one of the best fertilizers out there.

Maybe I'll start throwing my compost pile into my chicken run. Most of it is wood shavings from the coop anyway. I don't have much in the way of greenery up here unless I grow it. ....Basically everything here is hard packed clay, and the plains around here are about a two step away from being desert.
I would encourage you to add the coop cleanout a compost pile in the chicken yard. The chickens will stir and aerate it. The little rain you get will hold in the piles. Magic will happen. After 3-6 months, I open the compost pile sides (4 pallets wired together) and the chickens knock it down around the bananas. I use the good stuff for the garden and the rest eventually gets scooped into the next compost pile.

My chicken yard is messy in the winter, but come summer, it is lush and green and dense!
 

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