Coop & Run Design and Construction

[Dr. Doolittle]

What is the better side of the pen for the coop as far as east and west. We freeze in the winter and get to 115 in summer. I would think the east would be better for the morning sun.
Also, I read not to use the plastic corrugate for a roof cause it creates a sauna effect. Wouldn't composite shingles be just as hot?

 

[Omran]

Dr. Doolittle :

What is the better side of the pen for the coop as far as east and west. We freeze in the winter and get to 115 in summer. I would think the east would be better for the morning sun.
Also, I read not to use the plastic corrugate for a roof cause it creates a sauna effect. Wouldn't composite shingles be just as hot?

First welcome to BYC, I think shingles creat some kind of insulations,so the coop want get direct sun heat from above. about the sides, I am not very sure, but I know that the noth side should be well insulated because of the very cold wind and I wll put my windows on the east and south sids. ad if you want more details go to the page of (patandthechickens) she hasthe best informations about insulation and ventilations.

Omran​

 

[gogododo]

you could use that asphalt based stuff from the local home center, its corrugated with a flat peak so it gets natural convection flow

 

[Nostalchic]

We oriented both our barn and our chicken coop facing due south; that is, windows/stall doors facing due south so that we collected solar heat in the winter, with enough of an overhang that there was no direct sun (and some shade there) in the summer. We have some ventilation openings in the north that can be closed if needed, but otherwise good protection from the north and west, which is where most storms are coming from in our area. This is the BEST thing about our layout, and doesn't cost anything except a little time to think it through. Shade trees strategically placed help a lot in the summer, too, in climates like this.

 

[patandchickens]

Dr. Doolittle :

What is the better side of the pen for the coop as far as east and west. We freeze in the winter and get to 115 in summer. I would think the east would be better for the morning sun.

Unless there is something in the way (trees, etc) that will block the morning sun from one place and not from the other, the sun will come in your coop windows the same time no matter whether it is at the east end of your run or the west

If you are going to have a solid opaque roof on your run then that *would* block sun and there might be some virtue to having the coop at the E end; but if it will be an open topped run, or just wire or netting up there, it will make no practical difference.

Personally, in the absence of solid run roof or shady trees (possibly even in the *presence* of them), I'd put the coop on the usually-UPWIND end of the run, so that its 'wind shadow' protects the run a bit especially in winter. If you are in most of the US this would mean having the coop at the W end of the run.

Also, I read not to use the plastic corrugate for a roof cause it creates a sauna effect. Wouldn't composite shingles be just as hot?

Two completely different things here.

Corrugated plastic is only a problem if it is clear -- the opaque stuff (looks black when you look up thru it to the sky, although it can be colored whatever color) is no heat problem at *all*. The reason a clear roof is a problem is that it turns your coop into a greenhouse. You know how your car is when you've left it parked in the sun with the windows rolled mostly up on a fine summer day? Worse than that. Chickens do NOT do well at all with heat.

Asphalt shingles are a heat problem in a completely different way. Whereas clear plastic roofing does not heat up itself, it just traps the heat of sunlight that enters the coop, asphalt shingles intercept that heat on the roof and keep it all *there*. The shingles themselves heat up considerably; some of this heat will transfer by radiation/conduction into the inside of the coop (is why your house's attic gets hot). Shingles have negligable insulating value, anyhow it is irrelevant in this situation.

So the choice here is between two very different modes of heat transfer into the coop: greenhousifying it, versus heat transferred from a hot outer layer.

And in practice, the roof with asphalt shingles will not heat a building up nearly as much as a clear roof. Furthermore, if you are concerned about the heat transferred from the hot shingles, you can insulate the underside of the roof (in some climates, you'd want to do this anyhow for *wintertime* reasons) and that will keep the coop cooler still.

Finally, remember there is a third option, that being a metal roof. A metal roof will not generally heat up as hot as shingles (also won't hold the heat for as long after the sun goes down) and obviously won't cause any sort of greenhouse effect. As with plastic roof panels you may have to insulate the underside if you are in a climate that gets to, or below, freezing in winter, to prevent condensation and excessive heat loss; but metal is a pretty good option to consider.

Does that help any?

Pat​