Coop window question

[2DogsFarm]

I got a doublehung window designed for storage sheds at Menards for about $25.
It is small but fits the shed perfectly & even has a screen.

My handyman (I am all thumbs) installed it & I nailed hardware cloth over the outside so I can leave the winow open for ventilation in Summer.

It has worked fine through 2 nasty Midwest winters, lets plenty of light in the coop and helps with cross-ventilation.

 

[BarefootMom]

I just have hardware cloth windows and in the wintertime I nail plastic on the outside to protect. Works pretty well.

 

[elmo]

Uh oh. You're in Oklahoma, and it doesn't look like your coop is going to get any natural shade. I think you'll find it will get like an oven in there come July (or maybe earlier) without a lot of ventilation....and even then...

I doubt that the fencing is going to provide much shade for the coop, certainly none around midday.

Are you planning to roof the run? If so, one alternative might be to make the run predator secure (as best you can) and just plan on the birds roosting outside in the heat of summer. When the temperature inside a coop gets up into the 90's, you're getting into the danger zone for chickens, and it's scary how quickly a closed coop can hit that level without lots of shade in our neck of the woods (we're in North Texas).

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Good idea.

 

[MyShunshyn]

Quote:
Yes we are in Oklahoma BUT there are trees all along the south side of the coop/run... just not leafed out yet. THey do provide shade and they are still growing so yes there is some shade to block the mid day sun.
We are going to cover the the coop/run area with netting to protect the flock but I do want the girls, and guy to roost inside at night for safety. I am planning on monitoring the temps in the coop closely, we did use it for a storage shed and it never seemed too terribly hot in there, although we still have to put the vents in.

We have an Atwoods here, do you think they might have a small "shed" window? they dont have anything like that at Lowes or Home Depot which are my only other choices.

THanks for all the GREAT advice so far

 

[patandchickens]

Oh my. In ten years those trees might provide enough shade but definitely not now. You are going to SOOO need massively more ventilation. The easiest first-resort tactic would be to make an all-hardwarecloth door (just a wood frame, diagonal brace, and the other 90% of the thing is just hardwarecloth. This could either have a bolt-on panel for wintertime, or just replace it with a solid door for winter. ("Just replace it" is glossing over some technical aggravations you would face, but it can certainly be done)

Even that will probably not be enough, though, so I think you are going to have to face the task of cutting holes in the metal siding of the building. That shed type is not one I am familiar with, are the walls each a single big panel or are they made of 2-3' wide corrugated panels that overlap (like normal metal roofing or siding panels). If the former, you will need to drill corner holes and connect 'em with a Sawzall w/appropriate blade in it and make lotsa sparks. (Don't sever any studs!). But if the walls are made of multiple separate panels, you could just remove the topmost panel from one side and put hardwarecloth on and a hinged panel to cover it, and have a nice biiiig vent running the whole length of one wall. That plus the door being mesh might be enough to keep it from becoming an oven.

If you won't do any of that, at least consider buying a BIG BIG piece of 90% shadecloth -- you will probably have to special order it from Farmtek or somewhere like that -- that is perhaps 2-3x the size of your shed's footprint. Put that over top of the shed, so it covers the roof and string it TIGHTLY out to the run fencing on all sides so that you have a great bit shadecloth 'roof overhang' all around. This will keep the sun mostly off the coop walls, which will keep indoor temps from soaring as high, as well as providing some extra outdoor shady area for the flock during the day.

The problem is, if the coop gets too hot during the day, you may not be able to safely lock the chickens in it at night without cooking them, leaving them outdoors and vulnerable to predators (it is FAR easier to THINK you've built a totally predatorproof run than it is to ACTUALLY build a totally predatorproof run)

Oh, btw, returning to the original subject of a window -- easiest thing is to put a window panel in the door, or (simpler) just use a door that already HAS a window in it

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[AlienChick]

Quote:
That was EXACTLY my thought when I bought this one at Habitat restore for $15.

 

[MyShunshyn]

Yes that is the plan to open the whole south side along the top to allow for a large vent on that side. I was wondering about the shade cloth.. I plan on checking on prices on that locally to see what we can afford.
I have recently become disabled so funds are short, we are trying to use what we can "find". Could we use just a utility tarp for shade? we do have several of those around now.
I am getting the impression that we could just rebuild the door by creating a hardware clothe "screen door"? would I need to put un a Pop door then? or just leave the main door open during the day and close it at night for safety. sorry for all the questions but I want to do this the best I can.

thanks,

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Oh good!

I was wondering about the shade cloth.. I plan on checking on prices on that locally to see what we can afford.
I have recently become disabled so funds are short, we are trying to use what we can "find". Could we use just a utility tarp for shade? we do have several of those around now.

Well, you can try if you have to I suppose. The problem is, tarps flap, then they flap more violently, then they just *leave*, sometimes taking with them whatever they were attached to. Shade cloth flaps only minimally in the very strongest winds, and not at all in normal winds. So it stays put better. Also it does not catch rainwater and sag and collapse due to the puddle it then contains, the way tarps do.

So I mean, obviously not everything is always possible, but do try to find some affordable shadecloth as you are not likely to be very happy for very long with tarps.

I am getting the impression that we could just rebuild the door by creating a hardware clothe "screen door"? would I need to put un a Pop door then? or just leave the main door open during the day and close it at night for safety.

If you have some kind of hawkproof top on the run, then yes you can just leave the shed door open during the day if you prefer. (Although it is not hard to make a popdoor. If you are shy of cutting into the shed metal, put the popdoor *in* the people door

)

But if there is any question about hawkproofness of the run, it is really a lot better to have somewhere the chickens can get into but hawks basically-can't.

Also, during the less-hot less-nice parts of the year you likely WILL want a solid people door that stays closed all day (to keep weather out), in which situation you will of course need a popdoor.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[MyShunshyn]

Thanks, yes we are planning on putting netting across the top so it will be hawk proof. I am thinking that maybe we should just redo the door with either a reclaimed door with a window and add a pop door or rebuild a door with a window and a pop door. I think I will run to the local Habitat store and see what I can find...... it is too cold to work on the coop today so maybe I can do some recon ;-)

Thanks again