Chicken coop/run 2024: The Planning

[MightyChickenJF]

Sorry y'all, internet connection is being funky. Pic of run:

 

[Penpal]

They should like that, but they would also like a little tree or a couple of bushes for shade and hiding

 

[fuzzi]

Ventilation: standard house eaves ventilation at top of walls.

Bedding: probably fine pine shavings for coop. Run will be natural.

Whew, a lot of 100°F days out there!

Aside from that, we're in the same USDA zone 8a.

You're going to want maximum ventilation and shade for the summer, you can always put up plastic during the winter. I've seen people put a shade cloth over their coop with a gap of a foot or more between the roof and the shade cloth.

I recall reading here some builds that were in hot places. I will see if I can find them.

Your chicken wire will keep the chickens in, but dogs or wild predators can rip through it. You might consider installing a couple feet of hardware cloth on the outside to help protect your flock.

 

[fuzzi]

Here's one of the builds I was remembering:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

You can adapt some of the design elements for maximum ventilation during the summer.

Also, the author added this comment:

MUCH needed update..... this coop did indeed NOT have enough ventilation.... go figure. We ended up cutting a good chunk out of each of the three sides of the plywood, covering the hole in hardware cloth, and using the cut piece of plywood as a shutter/protector from rain.

 

[MightyChickenJF]

Whew, a lot of 100°F days out there!

Aside from that, we're in the same USDA zone 8a.

You're going to want maximum ventilation and shade for the summer, you can always put up plastic during the winter. I've seen people put a shade cloth over their coop with a gap of a foot or more between the roof and the shade cloth.

I recall reading here some builds that were in hot places. I will see if I can find them.

Your chicken wire will keep the chickens in, but dogs or wild predators can rip through it. You might consider installing a couple feet of hardware cloth on the outside to help protect your flock.

The problem is essentially the weather extremes we have here. In summer, very broiling hot. In winter, bitter cold, albeit not as cold as some other places. I will need a way to keep the chickens cool in the summer and protected from cold and snow in the winter. The link in your second post was to a coop in South Texas, a desert environment where extreme heat and humidity are the biggest issues, since the winters are mild. Here, we have heat but it's dry heat. In the winter several inches of snow per storm is normal, although with global warming the amount of snow has gone down although it still gets really cold. The likely solution is to have the wall ventilation cutouts on hinges, so the chickens don't broil alive in July yet the hinged wood can be closed in winter to keep temps higher in the coop.

There aren't much in the way of land based predators such as canines (which would include foxes and wolves along with dogs), roaming domestic felines, or other ground predators that would rip through wire. The area has a rancher with superior grazing rights, so there are cows here in spring and early summer. Another area resident pastures horses and alpacas here too. That's a lot of incentive to keep ground predators away. The big concern here, as far as I can tell, are avian predators, mainly hawks and vultures. Thus the cloth roof on the run.

 

[fuzzi]

The problem is essentially the weather extremes we have here. In summer, very broiling hot. In winter, bitter cold, albeit not as cold as some other places. I will need a way to keep the chickens cool in the summer and protected from cold and snow in the winter. The link in your second post was to a coop in South Texas, a desert environment where extreme heat and humidity are the biggest issues, since the winters are mild. Here, we have heat but it's dry heat. In the winter several inches of snow per storm is normal, although with global warming the amount of snow has gone down although it still gets really cold. The likely solution is to have the wall ventilation cutouts on hinges, so the chickens don't broil alive in July yet the hinged wood can be closed in winter to keep temps higher in the coop.

There aren't much in the way of land based predators such as canines (which would include foxes and wolves along with dogs), roaming domestic felines, or other ground predators that would rip through wire. The area has a rancher with superior grazing rights, so there are cows here in spring and early summer. Another area resident pastures horses and alpacas here too. That's a lot of incentive to keep ground predators away. The big concern here, as far as I can tell, are avian predators, mainly hawks and vultures. Thus the cloth roof on the run.

The Texas link was for a chicken coop and run in extreme heat. Whether you have humid or dry heat you'll still need ventilation and shade.

I have read here on BYC that insulation isn't a good idea, it attracts rats and mice.

With winter you can cover or wrap the sides to keep the worst of the cold and snow out of the coop and run, but you still need ventilation. As long as the chickens have a dry and draft free place to roost they can handle cold.