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The queens are irked with me right now because I've moved all the non-Australorps whose eggs I can't tell from Australorp eggs to Camp Cockerel for a few days so that I can set a pure Australorp hatch tomorrow. They have to roost on the common roost with everyone else and they're NOT happy...

Here in the Steamy Southeast they'd really have to work at it to get frostbite in a well-ventilated coop. :) My queens (the SLWs, Victoria and Maria Theresa), are the ones who roost up next to the vent. During the two coldest nights this winter one of them decided to go use a lower roost. The...

They're very stubborn about roosting in the highest possible spot. I have two that insist on roosting on the diagonal brace, next to the vent even in the cold weather.

You should write this up as a Coop Page article and enter it into the current contest. :)

Looks great!

That's looking really good.

In Alabama you don't need a coop per se, just an open shelter -- which should keep the weight down. You could use free-standing perches instead of fastening them to the frame. The nests could be hung on the end wall if you make that of wood.

That looks like a great option -- roomy and airy. Just make sure to anchor it down so that the wind can't flip it.

Yes, have a look at my coop this past January: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/open-air-coop-in-the-snow.1508695/

I'm not talking about commercial chicken houses, I'm talking about common metal sheds and pole barns housing every kind of animal on farms of every size. :)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-tractor.69336/ https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/ https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-biddie-bordello-a-hoop-coop-run-combo.72189/...

YES! Though I must say that metal is not necessarily hot if proper airflow is provided for. Metal animal housing is very common here in the Steamy Southeast because it's resistant to both rot and termites. Airflow is key:

Anything but aromatic cedar and *maybe* possibly toxic black walnut should be fine. A lot of what I've got is sweet gum that was removed from our house site. :D

Yes, you need to move water away from the coop and run area and build up the level of the ground the chickens will be on. I would also suggest that once the chickens have enjoyed destroying the vegetation that you use coarse wood chips -- the sort you get from a tree-trimming service -- as...

Sounds like you ought to be able to combine ditching with fill to eliminate the standing water problem then.

Welcome to BYC! Here in the Steamy Southeast an Open Air coop is a great option and metal has the advantage of being termite-proof. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/ This is worrisome. Dry chickens are healthy chickens so, if at all...