Coop & Run Basics...questions from a beginner

[davemonkey]

Haha! Yes...I have not even begun, and already my drawing for a coop+run has expanded to 120 sq.ft. (I'm guessing that ousl be about for 9 birds). I think I'm overthinking it though...my coop drawing looks like it'll be sturdy enough for me to live in. But I'd rather be overbuilt than underbuilt.

 

[Ridgerunner]

On the Southeast coast of Texas you don't have to worry about cold weather at all. I'd suggest you don't even totally enclose your coop. You can really save some money.

Make one wall solid, out of wood. That wall should face the direction of your worst winds. Put maybe 4' of wood along the two walls adjacent to that solid wall so you have a sort of cul de sac to keep the worst of the rain off them in a storm. Put your roosts in that sort of protected nook. Make sure you have something solid at the ends of your roosts so a raccoon cannot reach in and grab a piece of sleeping bird.

Put a roof over it all, more to provide shade than rain protection. Fix your nests so they don't get wet inside. You might want something solid on the south and west corner, more for protection from sun than rain or wind. If you are in sand, you don't need any kind of bedding. Even if you are in clay I'd try it without any bedding at all, and if you add any, use sand. You don't want a wet coop. That can be a danger as far as diseases go. But if you have great ventilation and it drains well, you should not have a problem with that even if it sets in wet for a while.

On the coast you are not going to get the heat that people inland can get, but heat is still a big danger for you. The more ventilation and shade you can provide, the better.