tl,dr: how much “wall” to cover? Goals are flexibility in roosting options, protection from heat and from drafts in cooler weather, maintaining lots of ventilation above
Hi all,
Our little flock is growing! Now three 7- month olds, all laying, and two newly-integrated 11- and 9-week olds.
Run is 8’x15’, completely wrapped in 19-gauge 1/2” hardware cloth, including aprons, and locked up at night. Inside the run at one end is a 4’4’, ~3’ high platform on which sits a Nestera coop, size large. Which the girls love, btw, and isn’t open for discussion.
The other 4’x4’ corner at that same end has an L-shaped (two legs) 2x4 roost that they perch on sometimes during the day and have started sleeping on during warm nights, but still sleeping in the coop when it’s cool or too windy. It’s an open area on the sides, just the framing and HWC.
There’s heavy-duty tarp over this end of the run. A metal shed roof (only sloping in one direction) is planned for the whole run, and the low end will overhang the long 15’ frontage. They spend most of the day in partitioned areas of the small back yard, “yard-ranging.”
Brief break for pictures:
View of the end under discussion. That far end faces SSW, the open corner on the right faces west:
The other end, where the littles started out:
OK, so what I want to do is wrap the sides of the coop end in partly solid material, maybe corrugated PVC panels, and partly open-ish (lattice, bamboo shades) that can by replaced with clear plastic for winter sun when the cold weather finally returns. They can each choose to roost in either the Nestera cave or the open roosts; that’s their decisions. Primary emphasis is on having no drafts, especially at roost and other hang-out levels.
There will be tons of ventilation above, as the metal roof will sit above the current HWC ceiling, with gaps at the top of the walls, and the side open to the rest of the run will remain, well, open.
The HWC wall area between the 2x8 trim at the bottom and the top frame is 76” high, or 6’4”. The end wall is 8’ side to side, and the side walls would be between 4’ and 8’ wide, probably more like 5’.
I have ideas on what I’d like to have permanently solid wall and what would be swapped out seasonally, but I’d love any fresh ideas from the imaginative and/or experienced members of the BYC hive brain.
If relevant, breeds are Barred Rock x1, Buff Orp x1, Easter Egger x2, and Speckled Sussex x1.
Hi all,
Our little flock is growing! Now three 7- month olds, all laying, and two newly-integrated 11- and 9-week olds.
Run is 8’x15’, completely wrapped in 19-gauge 1/2” hardware cloth, including aprons, and locked up at night. Inside the run at one end is a 4’4’, ~3’ high platform on which sits a Nestera coop, size large. Which the girls love, btw, and isn’t open for discussion.
The other 4’x4’ corner at that same end has an L-shaped (two legs) 2x4 roost that they perch on sometimes during the day and have started sleeping on during warm nights, but still sleeping in the coop when it’s cool or too windy. It’s an open area on the sides, just the framing and HWC.
There’s heavy-duty tarp over this end of the run. A metal shed roof (only sloping in one direction) is planned for the whole run, and the low end will overhang the long 15’ frontage. They spend most of the day in partitioned areas of the small back yard, “yard-ranging.”
Brief break for pictures:
View of the end under discussion. That far end faces SSW, the open corner on the right faces west:
The other end, where the littles started out:
OK, so what I want to do is wrap the sides of the coop end in partly solid material, maybe corrugated PVC panels, and partly open-ish (lattice, bamboo shades) that can by replaced with clear plastic for winter sun when the cold weather finally returns. They can each choose to roost in either the Nestera cave or the open roosts; that’s their decisions. Primary emphasis is on having no drafts, especially at roost and other hang-out levels.
There will be tons of ventilation above, as the metal roof will sit above the current HWC ceiling, with gaps at the top of the walls, and the side open to the rest of the run will remain, well, open.
The HWC wall area between the 2x8 trim at the bottom and the top frame is 76” high, or 6’4”. The end wall is 8’ side to side, and the side walls would be between 4’ and 8’ wide, probably more like 5’.
I have ideas on what I’d like to have permanently solid wall and what would be swapped out seasonally, but I’d love any fresh ideas from the imaginative and/or experienced members of the BYC hive brain.
If relevant, breeds are Barred Rock x1, Buff Orp x1, Easter Egger x2, and Speckled Sussex x1.
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