Arizona Coops???

Most any coop design you come across will be fine for your area. You wont need to worry much about keeping them warm. Shade is a big deal for our chickens here in AZ. If you are going to keep them in a run, I would suggest you plan on roof, or shade cloth to give them someplace out of the sun. I covered one of my runs with metal roofing and the other with 80% shade cloth. The 80% still isn't dark enough for shade on the hottest days. Welcome and good luck to you.


Here is a tractor I made out of scraps. Only big enough for a couple of birds. Just an idea you may be able to adapt for yourself.

This is Bob and he ain't happy.

 

You are best to put the coop in the shade and then have part of the run area in the shade also.

 

Quote:bob always make me laugh when i see him in there!!!!!!


p.s. randy i lost about 6 of the silkies due to a temp. increase. so ill see what hatched for ya

 

Quote:Good point. I forgot some people have trees big enough to cast a shadow out there.

 

We built a 3-sided coop because I figured it would be too hot for the chickens to sleep in a fully enclosed coop during our hot summers. We also built our coop/run under large trees for shade.


This pic was taken before the nestboxes were built. You can see more pictures of the coop and of the nestboxes on my BYC page.

 

Lots of shade, lots of water. Be sure and have several sources of water available in shaded areas just in case one gets turned over. Miss watering them once and you are out of business.

Water left in the sun can get too hot to drink.

Set off the lawn sprinkler a couple of times during the day.

Sheet metal gets too hot to make a coop, it is a real oven. It you use it to make a shade, make sure it is high enough off the ground. A high shade is a cool shade.

We used to make our coops out of palm fronds, palapas are what they are called. No walls, just roofs of palm fronds. Let the wind blow through them. You can get them free. Cheap and easy.

Rufus

 

This is what I ended up using for mine in Florida, though in the pic I have my winter clear "cold weather" panels that I bolt on still in place. But when they are off, there is hardware cloth behind the lattice panels so it nice and airy in the heat, which is 9 months of the year. The back is lattice panels as well and opens, too.




Orchidchick