Country Chicken House Build - Guidance

[Triumph65]

Hello,
We are building out a country Chicken Coop by retrofitting an old goat shade structure. The shed is 10 x 10 made from a lumber frame with tin roof and tin siding. It will be a chicken coop but not a chicken run. There will be an automatic chicken door on the outside facing our kitchen window, so we will be able to see when it opens and closes. The chickens will be free range during the day.

The coop is in the fenced in area about 50 yards from the kitchen.

We live in the Texas Hill Country.

The structure is as impenetrable as we can make it but I do have some questions along that line. The existing floor to the coop is dirt. My plan is to dig out 3-4 inches of the dirt and wire the entire bottom with 1/2 square heavy duty hardware cloth (tight mesh chicken wire). The wire will be attached to the framing to keep any snakes from tunneling un

The question is I’m considering what to backfill with to go on top of the wire. We were thinking Black Star gravel. It’s a coarse gravel that allows for better drainage than pea gravel, when we go to hose out the inside.
We would really rather not use sand or any kind of wood chips. The chickens will only be in there at night and during inclement weather.

picture of Black Star gravel below.

Just checking in on the gravel plan.

Thank you!!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

You don't want to use gravel in the house. Their feet bottoms are as soft as your feet, and would You want to jump off a roost bar on to that stuff without shoes or socks?

 

[Triumph65]

Got it. Any issues just leaving the dirt or doing sand?

 

[3KillerBs]

We live in the Texas Hill Country.

The structure is as impenetrable as we can make it but I do have some questions along that line. The existing floor to the coop is dirt. My plan is to dig out 3-4 inches of the dirt and wire the entire bottom with 1/2 square heavy duty hardware cloth (tight mesh chicken wire). The wire will be attached to the framing to keep any snakes from tunneling un

The question is I’m considering what to backfill with to go on top of the wire. We were thinking Black Star gravel. It’s a coarse gravel that allows for better drainage than pea gravel, when we go to hose out the inside.
We would really rather not use sand or any kind of wood chips. The chickens will only be in there at night and during inclement weather.

Welcome to BYC.

How much ventilation does this shed have and where is it located?

In Texas you might want to take the siding entirely off the leeward side and replace it with hardware cloth. Heat is a major problem for chickens. This coop in Texas is my inspiration for my own open-air coop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

Instead of putting in a wire floor it's better to either bury wire a foot deep around the perimeter or to make an 18"-wide anti-dig apron -- which happens to be what DH and I have been doing on the new coop today:

Gravel is a TERRIBLE substrate for chickens. It's hard on their feet and the poop filters down into it -- rotting and reeking if it ever gets wet.

Speaking of getting wet, dry chickens are healthy chickens. It is almost never necessary or desirable to wet-clean a chicken coop.

Is there a particular reason that you don't want to use wood chips?

 

[Triumph65]

Understand on the gravel. I’ll just leave the floor dirt, sand or wood chips.

This chicken house is simply sleeping/nesting quarters. They will be free range during the day and have an automatic door set to dawn & dusk.

I can’t dig a foot deep without a trencher as we have rocky soil. Open to the apron idea but quick question. What keeps snakes from going under the apron wire?

I can snap some pictures later. The coop will be very well ventilated. 2 large windows that can be closed in winter and the largest/tallest southern wall is open screen.

Thank you!

 

[3KillerBs]

I can't trench either -- no rocks, but this ground packs hard as concrete.

Digging predators dig at the base of whatever obstruction they can see. When they come down and hit wire they don't understand what it is and don't have the ability to reason out the idea that there might be an edge if they backed up further.

Nothing is perfect (especially against snakes), but for those of use who can't create a trench those 18 of hardware cloth are about as good at it can get.

 

[Triumph65]

@3KillerBs - Thank you!!

 

[perkolator]

I did what you are thinking of doing - removed about 4-8” of dirt to put down HC for anything that could possibly tunnel underneath. We have lots of moles and gophers that dig everywhere and other animals will start to use them for sure (we had rats using these holes in our old setup). I chose to put the dirt back on top to bury it and then put wood chips, since it’s all run space and the girls would likely dig there. I also did an apron because of how shallow I made my foundation, didn’t want any animals or chickens excavating there.

Because it’s just a sleeping quarters, I’d probably just level out the dirt and put down the HC layer fixed to the studs - then I’d likely cover it with concrete pavers so there’s a solid base - which I feel makes shoveling/scooping easier for any bedding you use, but also keeps the tool from hitting and damaging the HC.

I like deep bedding, it’s what’s worked for me since it’s so low maintenance. I’d probably box in the sides with some wood borders to contain the bedding - especially if putting their food inside the same structure. Our old coop the food was inside because it was the only covered area, but bedding was getting everywhere and would spill out the door. I made a simple baffle to keep it on one side under the roosts and it was a huge improvement.

 

[Alaskan]

We live in the Texas Hill Country.

That is the area of the world that I am originally from...and my family still lives there.

In that area, a breeze at perch level is a GOOD thing.

My grandmother, and my baby sister both had/have coops where on 3 sides the bottom half is solid, top half is wire. 4th side solid wire.

My grandmother had shutters to close in storms (the shutters were only closed during sideways rain storms, they were not closed in winter. And, the one side that was solid wire was protected by a deep eve/porch and was never closed). My baby sister can't close up anything. When storms blow through her chickens get off the perches and hunker on the floor at the walls.

My point is in Texas a wide open coop, with breeze at perch level is a very good thing.