Crazy Chicken Coop Addition

[chichichickapea]

Furbabymom, no apology is necessary, sorry for being oversensitive today (it's been one of those days). I am very much like you...I have 4 dogs, down to only 3 cats and 62 chickens.....I go whole hog or not at all. I have taken a lot of teasing these last few weeks from everyone about my chickens. But, I have loved every second of having them, even more than I imagined I would....and as I said, it took me 5 years to wear him down to even try. Most of the time I ask forgiveness rather permission but chickens are a little different than a new dog or cat. Co-workers, friends, even my kids and grandkids have acted like I have flipped out....and maybe I have. But, I am finding a lot of folks that have chickens that I did not know about and other people who want chickens too. So, don't worry about it...sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[chichichickapea]

That would work opening downward from the outside. I live in South Georgia and it gets super hot down here and stays hot a long time....so I thought I needed the ventilation as high up as I could get it in my coop to let hot air out (hot air rises) but if I opened them from the top on the outside it would funnel rain onto the floor of the coop since I don't have a very deep overhang.....I also have venting in the eaves...it isn't built in around the rafters...we just put hardware cloth over that part. I can tell you we have already had some 90 degree days and it was hot as you know what in the coop, cause I was sitting in there playing with my new chicks with sweat pouring off of me. Also, I built a shelf under my south facing window and put a box fan on it that blows the air out of the coop, pulling the hot air out and helping with airflow/circulation without blowing everything around inside. I put hardware cloth around it and bungey cords to hold it in place. It has been difficult to regulate my temps with it getting down in the 60s at night and up to 90 during the day. I would turn the brooder light on for night, and when I left for work it would still be cool but when I got home in the afternoon it was scorching in there! Had to come home at lunch a few days to make sure they were okay

 

[chichichickapea]

Just a little update on things that have NOT worked out so good on my coop....the biggie is the windows tilting inward at the top....my chicks are roosting up there rather than on the roosts and crapping all over the windows,LOL!!! It's a mess!

Also, the top of my nest boxes is flat and they want to roost there also, and poop.......I rigged up some pieces of plywood, wire , etc. to keep them off of the top and yes, now they are trying to roost on top of that monstrosity....geez...................

 

[HEChicken]

Yeah, they frustrate you trying to roost everywhere except where you planned for them to roost. Try a slanted roof on your nest boxes. I'll add a pic of mine that I just built. Mine has a flat roof on top and then the slanted roof over the flat roof. I did that on purpose because I wanted the size to stay the same for them when they are sitting in there laying their eggs.

 

[chichichickapea]

The stuff I put on mine is at a steeper and taller slant than yours....and that is where they want to roost. Well, my biggest chickens are on the top bar of the roost and then 4 in betweeners are on the 2nd bar....the other two bars are empty.....and my smaller chickens are in the windows and on top of the nest boxes. My oldest are 9 weeks old and the youngest 7 weeks old.