Coop building materials

[DougKE]

Am not sure if this is the correct forum but I will still put it here. I made a simple coop for 200 chicken using corrugated iron sheets. My chicks are now 2 months old and have not mastered the art of roasting therefore they bundle themselves at one corner to warm themselves hence some of them remain into contact with the iron sheets throughout the night. Could this affect the health of the chicks? Make them catch cold for instance?

 

[CanadaEh]

My chicks are now 2 months old and have not mastered the art of roasting

give them another couple of months unless they are fast growing Cornish X

 

[CanadaEh]

on a serious note, mine did not start to roOst until may be 5 months old. your coop inside temp is probably going be the same as outside, so should not be a big deal. you can always add some pieces of plywood in that corner for the time being if in doubt.

 

[PirateGirl]

You could try giving them a super low roost, they may get the idea, like a 2"x4" propped only 6 inches above the ground. Position it so it runs right through the area they normally huddle.

 

[blackdog043]

Do you have any pictures of your coop? What is your general location? You should add it to your profile, so it always shows up in your avatar box. This helps with answering weather related questions.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My brooder raised chicks typically start roosting around 10 to 12 weeks old. I've had some start at 5 weeks, some take a lot longer, but 10 to 12 is a decent average. This is when they are not in with adults. If my brooder-raised chicks are in with adults it is a different story. I suspect the way my grow-out coop is made affects that some. Until they start to roost mine do exactly as yours, sleep in a group on the floor, usually in a corner. From that perspective I think yours are acting perfectly normal, but I also think you know that from your post.

Now to your question, will them sleeping against that metal cause them any problems? Where do you live? How cold does it get? Metal is a great conductor. If it is pretty cold you might run into a problem. If it is below freezing I'd certainly be concerned. They probably sleep in the same corner every night. In colder temperatures I'd probably want to line that corner with wood to insulate them from the metal. I don't have a good definition for what colder really means though.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I forgot to mention I would not worry about them catching cold. If it were below freezing I'd worry about frostbite. If it is above freezing but still cold I might worry about the ones touching dropping their core temperature enough to chill.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Until they learn to roost, put some boards between them and the metal where they huddle. No foam sheets though, because they'll eat it.