Chicken coop & Guinea coop. Recommended changes? Flooring?

[farmland1]

Hi,
Pictures of our coops below. Please let me know what changes need to be made to make them predator and weather safe.

Blue coop is for the chickens.
Gray coop for guineas.

We are painting the insides white and want to put down a waterproof/easy to clean flooring. Any suggestions on what to use?

Chicken coop concerns:
Ventilation - only at windows. do I need to add ventilation at the top?
Nest box doors - they pull open and I’m afraid they are easy access for a raccoon. Any advice?
Underneath Run - surrounded by hardware cloth but has doors on 3 sides with a latch. Could a raccoon open those?
Inside ramp/door: it’s secured only by a thin rope. I’m concerned this could be easy for a predator to break open.

Guinean coop concerns:
Ventilation - present along eaves and top.
Flooring - made of plywood. We are going to put down a sheet of thin plywood and cover it in waterproof flooring.
Walls -made of plywood. Can a predator chew through it?
Windows - lined with plastic.

We are lining all windows with cage wire stapled on the outside.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Dunno anything about guineas but as far as the chicken coop...

Yes you should aim for more ventilation up top, especially if you're likely to close the windows during winter storms. The space under the eaves above the windows would be an ideal spot for ventilation, as the roof overhang will protect it from wind and rain.

The nest box doors appear to be completely unsecured, so all a raccoon would need to do is pull to open. The latches on the space underneath... I can see a silver one that appears to be a barrel latch, which isn't raccoon secure. Latches should be two part, i.e. a gate latch with a carabiner through the lock hole, so both would need to be undone to get in.

What specifically is "cage wire?" For the windows, you don't want wire stapled on. It's the same with your undercoop mini run wire, it's stapled on and the openings are large enough for raccoons to reach in, weasels and snakes to crawl in, so it can be pulled off by bigger predators or breached without removal. So for security you really should have hardware cloth or welded wire no wider than 1/2" attached via screws and fender washers, or trim board screwed in over the wire edge.

 

[Penpal]

It looks like you have one top for all nest boxes. A top for each nest would be better. Also, put a little rope or hook and eye to hold the top open for you.

I agree with carabiner, I don't think a raccoon can open one.

Nice looking.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It looks like you have one top for all nest boxes. A top for each nest would be better. Also, put a little rope or hook and eye to hold the top open for you.

The nests appear to have access through the little white doors in the back of each one. But if the top lifts up too, that should be latched in place as well, even though it's less likely a raccoon can lift the whole panel if it's as big as it looks.

 

[farmland1]

Hi,
Pictures of our coops below. Please let me know what changes need to be made to make them predator and weather safe.

Blue coop is for the chickens.
Gray coop for guineas.

We are painting the insides white and want to put down a waterproof/easy to clean flooring. Any suggestions on what to use?

Chicken coop concerns:
Ventilation - only at windows. do I need to add ventilation at the top?
Nest box doors - they pull open and I’m afraid they are easy access for a raccoon. Any advice?
Underneath Run - surrounded by hardware cloth but has doors on 3 sides with a latch. Could a raccoon open those?
Inside ramp/door: it’s secured only by a thin rope. I’m concerned this could be easy for a predator to break open.

Guinean coop concerns:
Ventilation - present along eaves and top.
Flooring - made of plywood. We are going to put down a sheet of thin plywood and cover it in waterproof flooring.
Walls -made of plywood. Can a predator chew through it?
Windows - lined with plastic.

We are lining all windows with cage wire stapled on the outside.

Dunno anything about guineas but as far as the chicken coop...

Yes you should aim for more ventilation up top, especially if you're likely to close the windows during winter storms. The space under the eaves above the windows would be an ideal spot for ventilation, as the roof overhang will protect it from wind and rain.

The nest box doors appear to be completely unsecured, so all a raccoon would need to do is pull to open. The latches on the space underneath... I can see a silver one that appears to be a barrel latch, which isn't raccoon secure. Latches should be two part, i.e. a gate latch with a carabiner through the lock hole, so both would need to be undone to get in.

What specifically is "cage wire?" For the windows, you don't want wire stapled on. It's the same with your undercoop mini run wire, it's stapled on and the openings are large enough for raccoons to reach in, weasels and snakes to crawl in, so it can be pulled off by bigger predators or breached without removal. So for security you really should have hardware cloth or welded wire no wider than 1/2" attached via screws and fender washers, or trim board screwed in over the wire edge.

Thanks so much! This was really helpful.

What about the door on the floor of the chicken coop. It’s held shut with only a thin rope and there are gaps. I was thinking of adding a plywood door on a hinge on the floor of the coop to ensure a predators can’t get in, but will that create an injury hazard for the chickens?

 

[farmland1]

Thanks for the replies. What about the flooring of the guinea coop. It’s particle board. Can a predator chew thru it?

 

[wrathsfarm]

A better alternative would be 1/2 or 3/4 plywood. If they particle board is at least solid to walk on you could lay the plywood right over top to avoid the extra labor tearing it up as long you can easily locate your floor joists and using longer screws.
If you want to add a little more predator proofing lay your 1/2" hc down then the plywood over top.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Thanks so much! This was really helpful.

What about the door on the floor of the chicken coop. It’s held shut with only a thin rope and there are gaps. I was thinking of adding a plywood door on a hinge on the floor of the coop to ensure a predators can’t get in, but will that create an injury hazard for the chickens?

You could add trim to the perimeter to cover your gaps when closed. Putting your hinges on first under the trim. Opening it towards that back wall (hinges on long side) would give you an anchor point to hold it open.

I've never liked trap doors as they are a pain to keep the doorway clean of debris when closing and create a spot for possible injury when birds come down on hinges and latches from perches/roosts.
You could also add a 2x4 around the inside of your existing frame so that your plywood closes flush to floor, your hinges and latch would still be exposed tho.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks so much! This was really helpful.

What about the door on the floor of the chicken coop. It’s held shut with only a thin rope and there are gaps. I was thinking of adding a plywood door on a hinge on the floor of the coop to ensure a predators can’t get in, but will that create an injury hazard for the chickens?

I'm not very knowledgeable about trap door style pop doors but you could possibly look to switching to a chain instead, that gets secured well when closed? Gaps would likely need to get covered by some trim wood, to close them up. Wrathsfarm has some good advice!