Coops for hot, humid climates - do they have to be fully enclosed?

[milee]

We live in SW Florida - it's hot and humid for much of the year, with temps below 32 degrees maybe once a year. I'm more worried about my coop getting too hot and cooking the ladies than I am about the need to keep them warm. Would it be better to have a coop with mostly hardware cloth sides instead of solid wood? Racoons, owls and eagles are the main predators - so I'm not sure if hardware cloth will be enough to keep them out and I'm also not sure if the chickens would feel safe without having some solid walls to hide them. Would hardware cloth provide enough protection and privacy for the girls or are solid walls needed?

Also, do the roosts really need to be 18" off the floor or can they be a bit lower? If they have to be 18", that implies the coop needs to be at least 3 1/2" tall or so, since the birds need a little head space. I'd like to keep the coop as low as possible, since my neighbors aren't going to be thrilled and anything I can do to keep it less obvious will be better.

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[verlaj]

I am north of Ocala, but even my coop is entirely open on the sides. I have a roof to protect from rain, and high roosts so they can get close to the roof to prevent them getting soaked by blowing rain, but wire covering the walls and gables. Most of the local people near me have the same type of coop. Of course, it doesn't keep snakes out. (What will, except 1/4" hardware cloth? We've had snakes come in our house!)

Hotwire around the base is a good idea to discourage 4 footed predators.

Take a look at the greenfire farms coop/breeding pen page. They are north of me, and they don't use a solid wall coop for their pricey birds. Here's the link:

http://www.greenfirefarms.com/blog/entry/building-a-chicken-coop

 

[lauralou]

I'm in VA and we do have cold winters. Not cold like really northern winters, but you know what I mean.

I have areas on my coops that are covered with hardware cloth for breezes in the summer, and then I cover them with wooden panels in the winter.

So you might consider having panels you could put up for really extreme weather, like hurricanes.

Just an idea.

 

[milee]

Thanks for the link, it was helpful.

Silly question, but they use just vinyl coated chicken wire for the sides - is that enough to keep racoons out? I'm surprised they don't have racoons in that area or maybe they have other deterrents. The racoons in our area are numerous and very aggressive.

I also liked the idea about the wood panels for hurricanes.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

This is kind of far away but this is our coop (Louisiana). The open part at the top is hardware cloth, & the side is a metal gate kit from Lowe's & the wire is 2x4 welded wire with hardware cloth across the bottom part. It gives them plenty of ventilation yet provides protection from all the coons, etc.

 

[elmo]

I used some leftover roofing panels to make a windblock at the back and on part of the sides my pen. The rest of the walls are open.

]We live in North Texas, and an arrangement like this would work fine for standard size chickens throughout our mild winters. However, I have bantams, and at least one of them is going to be very small, so I'll probably end up bringing some of my birds inside at night whenever we get a really cold snap this winter (more for my own peace of mind than anything else).

 

[Judy]

You can have a solid area of wall along 3 sides of the roost with ventilation above and/or below that solid wall. This gives them protection from rain and winter wind, and a darkened area to sleep. I agree that ventilation (and shade) are what is needed in this climate. You can always fasten a sheet of plastic or panel of plywood to a wall if they really need some cold breeze protection in winter.

Hardware cloth is generally felt to be the strongest material. Secure with screws and fender washers or wooden strips, not staples.

Here is a thread about coops in our area:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=163417

 

[lauralou]

Roosts don't have to be 18 inches off the ground. In my hutch coops, the roosts are about 8 inches high. No problems.