Asking input on quick buy fix for a coop addition

[Bertie-Merle]

You're welcome.

Have you read these articles?

Repecka Illustrates Coop Ventilation

Hot Climate Chicken Housing and Care

I am going to read those A.S.A.P. ... thank you for pointing them out to me. I most certainly do appreciate the need for lots of ventilation in this terribly humid sub-tropical climate, especially the importance of cross-flow. I know that's one of the first things people gave advice about here on BYC during the past couple of "freak freezes" down here ... that the humidity is much more dangerous than the cold itself.

You folks are great. I appreciate all of the kind help and wise advice! Truly! ; -)

 

[3KillerBs]

I am going to read those A.S.A.P. ... thank you for pointing them out to me. I most certainly do appreciate the need for lots of ventilation in this terribly humid sub-tropical climate, especially the importance of cross-flow. I know that's one of the first things people gave advice about here on BYC during the past couple of "freak freezes" down here ... that the humidity is much more dangerous than the cold itself.

You folks are great. I appreciate all of the kind help and wise advice! Truly! ; -)

We're passing on what those who came before taught us.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I'd love to see a pic of "Laudie Merle" if you get a chance!

Thanks for sharing that, Happy Hen Lover!

Here she is as the curious onlooker

Grown up

A pretty "smokey pearl" is the breed she is lays brown eggs.

 

[fuzzi]

I am going to read those A.S.A.P. ... thank you for pointing them out to me. I most certainly do appreciate the need for lots of ventilation in this terribly humid sub-tropical climate, especially the importance of cross-flow. I know that's one of the first things people gave advice about here on BYC during the past couple of "freak freezes" down here ... that the humidity is much more dangerous than the cold itself.

You folks are great. I appreciate all of the kind help and wise advice! Truly! ; -)

How's it coming along?

I made a hoop coop after getting advice here, too. I'm a grandma with limited skills, so if I could do it, you probably could as well.

 

[Bertie-Merle]

How's it coming along?

I made a hoop coop after getting advice here, too. I'm a grandma with limited skills, so if I could do it, you probably could as well.

Thanks for asking, "fuzzi"!

Well, I decided for my current issue and for future use when adding new poults or if isolation is needed, etc. to order a small coop with a small contained run for ~6 chickens ... which should actually work for two, if you know catch my drift on how they over-estimate the bird capacity.

I made this choice because the "be-atchy bird" tension in the evening has ramped up against my ~15 wk old Blue Wyandotte and her sister newbie Buff-Orpington with my three established older R.I. Reds. My three Easter-Eggers/"mutt" Americanas haven't had a problem with the new girls, but the Reds are a different story! So, I'm going to go through the whole pre- waterproofing and then assembly process with a kit again, as lame as I know that sounds, in the interest of expediency.

One of the factors in that decision is that I live only ~25 miles inland of the Gulf of Mexico, and know well that a hurricane is possible every year. If need be I can relocate both my existing coop and a new small coop under a patio area in my backyard that has a solid roof over it and three stone walls. It will be a very tight fit, but they'll be as protected as possible and they'll still have fresh air and light, as opposed to trying to drag their homes into my barn.

That said, my go-forward plan is to still build the hoop coop, because I love the idea that they are light-weight and therefore nearly as moveable as a "coop tractor" setup, maybe even more so, and largely because I think it would be a great dual-use base for a greenhouse set-up to both shade my vegetables from the wicked Texas sun in the summer and as a seedling greenhouse in the winter, with just some cover material changes from landscaping fabric to plastic and also work for chickens. The downside, if used for the chickens, is that it would be gone in short order in a hurricane. Dead plants I can deal with .... "The Girls" are a completely different story. ; -}

So, if you have any tips or pieces of advice to give me on your hoop-coop build I'd love to hear them!

Thanks so much, Fuzzi!

 

[Bertie-Merle]

Wow! I've never seen that beautiful color before! Well, I'd say this lady is well named and gorgeous! Thanks for sending the pics! ; -)

 

[Bertie-Merle]

You're welcome.

Have you read these articles?

Repecka Illustrates Coop Ventilation

Hot Climate Chicken Housing and Care

Yes, I have, and I apologize for the late response. I'm still getting used to how the message format and notifications work here, so sorry about that.

I absolutely agree about the fact that swamp coolers and misting are the worst thing you can try to do here to cool down ..... I camp a lot and know that even fans don't do much to help in July - November, but misters make it like boiling in Hell on steroids! That only works where their is an ability for the ambient air to absorb and evaporate that same moisture ... and here, well, let's kindly say that the ambient air humidity hovers around 120%! ; -)

So, I've been good with my first coop because it has a LOT of air gap at the top where it meets the corrugated UV plastic roof and has a "ridge vent" also, in addition to a sliding vent with wire covering about 4: down from the roof joists. It is is great for airflow and keeping the rain out, but not so good with wasps getting in. Every morning when I clean the sleep coop I have to check for and often have to tear down "beginner" paper wasp nests at the apex of the inside of the roof in the resting/coop area .... then I spray a diluted peppermint and tea-tree oil solution, but leave that airflow area open for just the reasons you mentioned.

I can't tell well from the diagrams and pictures if this new coop has that type of "soffit ventilation", but I'm going to drill holes/vents into that same area and cover with wire mesh if needed. That is SUCH an important point along the southern Gulf Coast and a lot of the southern East Coast!

EXECELLENT points! And I LOVE the @Repecka article ... is is a piece of genius and I love the illustrations ... which are both funny and super instructive!


Thanks so much to all of you who have given great advice ... your time and kindness and consideration is invaluable. ; -)

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm still getting used to how the message format and notifications work here,

What happens is that if you miss one notice the software won't send any more notices until you've read the thread.

What I do is to go to my "Watched Threads" list (under the forums tab), and check for unread threads at least once a week.

 

[fuzzi]

Thanks for asking, "fuzzi"!

Well, I decided for my current issue and for future use when adding new poults or if isolation is needed, etc. to order a small coop with a small contained run for ~6 chickens ... which should actually work for two, if you know catch my drift on how they over-estimate the bird capacity.

I made this choice because the "be-atchy bird" tension in the evening has ramped up against my ~15 wk old Blue Wyandotte and her sister newbie Buff-Orpington with my three established older R.I. Reds. My three Easter-Eggers/"mutt" Americanas haven't had a problem with the new girls, but the Reds are a different story! So, I'm going to go through the whole pre- waterproofing and then assembly process with a kit again, as lame as I know that sounds, in the interest of expediency.

One of the factors in that decision is that I live only ~25 miles inland of the Gulf of Mexico, and know well that a hurricane is possible every year. If need be I can relocate both my existing coop and a new small coop under a patio area in my backyard that has a solid roof over it and three stone walls. It will be a very tight fit, but they'll be as protected as possible and they'll still have fresh air and light, as opposed to trying to drag their homes into my barn.

That said, my go-forward plan is to still build the hoop coop, because I love the idea that they are light-weight and therefore nearly as moveable as a "coop tractor" setup, maybe even more so, and largely because I think it would be a great dual-use base for a greenhouse set-up to both shade my vegetables from the wicked Texas sun in the summer and as a seedling greenhouse in the winter, with just some cover material changes from landscaping fabric to plastic and also work for chickens. The downside, if used for the chickens, is that it would be gone in short order in a hurricane. Dead plants I can deal with .... "The Girls" are a completely different story. ; -}

So, if you have any tips or pieces of advice to give me on your hoop-coop build I'd love to hear them!

Thanks so much, Fuzzi!

We are also in a hurricane prone area, but nothing has direct hit over Cat 1 in years.

If we got a hurricane I'd probably put my girls in the shed (I have a Graceland that is 16' long) in crates. However, I also would remove my tarp and make sure my ground anchors were in deep. That reminds me, I've not yet secured the four corners...

My coop build is in my chicken journal thread. I created a timeline with links to the process, I'll link it here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fuzzis-chicken-journal.1550586/post-26670993