Coop for Florida

[kimf]

We are going to get chickens for egg laying. We live outside Orlando and get really hot (upper 90s) 3-4 months of the year and can get hard freezes in the winter (usually only a few hours at predawn for 1-2 nights at a time). We also have loads of rain and humidity. Any special considerations for a coop/run? I see lots of info about winterizing, but nothing about controlling heat. Any advice or suggestions/resources are greatly appreciated.

 

[KDK1]

Where about outside Orlando? I lived there for many years.

 

[10 point]

make sure you have good ventilation with a couple of fans and you should be ok.

 

[7L Farm]

I would build a three sided coop.They work well here in Texas. Position the coop for prevailing wind to blow in th

e coop & north winds blocked off. Here's mine>

 

[turtlewomyn]

I have been wanting to ask about winterizing coops in Florida. When does cold become a concern? I am up in Tallahassee and I thought that we would be ok, but then one of DH's co workers (who kept chickens growing up) said that we would need to keep them warm in the winter. Sorry to piggyback on your post but this has been on my mind. We are a little bit colder than you up here.

 

[welasharon]

In the first pic you can see the fronts of the double sided pen...all hardware cloth

In the second one that partial wall and a back wall to the left are the only solid walls at all

Third shows the solid back wall from the inside (only half the back wall is wood
I went through last winter here about an hour from Tallahassee by covering all but the front side with plastic. You cannot close it up too much or you will have worse problems with humidity. I don't have any problems with heat in the summer. I am growing vines up the sides and over the solid tops also.
sharon

 

[turbodog]

I converted an old greenhouse into a hoop coop/run, that's always open air. Come winter I intend to cover it with a tarp so I can roll it up or down as needed by temps. I might add a small heater if it's really going to get cold at night.

 

[kimf]

Wow. Thanks for all the quick replies. It looks like with shade, which we have, and good ventilation we should be good. @turtlewomyn, no worries about the piggyback. I was wondering teh same thing. Is a few hours at or just below freezing ok as long as they are in the coop and protected? Or do we need to do more? And what about humidity? We were hoping to use the deep litter method for parts of it. My DH was thinking a slab might help. I am really excited about this, as are our kids!

 

[ChickenChaser34432]

Old

 

[galanie]

We have heat problems here in Texas too. Most of us have coops with at least one open side, facing south. Having the south and east walls open is best, west wall can be either open or closed with windows and the north wall should be solid. That way the prevailing winds in the summer can get in and the storm winds in the winter are deflected.

Last winter was the coldest we've had in a very long time. I did not heat the coop in any way and the girls were just fine. In fact, they were out in freezing drizzle mucking about as if it were a summer day. Most of mine though are Orpingtons that can take more cold than some other breeds. But it did get into the 20's often at night and still they were fine. I think your temps are similar to ours. Just make sure they have a draft free, cozy place available and you should be golden.