Deep litter ? My setup

[Speck10lb]

My coop is 8 by 16 with the back half covered I was wondering if I put the pine shavings in the front half where it rains would it be detrimental. 11 Southeast Texas high humidity high heat. We get lots of rain.

 

[Bear1978]

Personally, I would not want any moisture to get into my coop like that. I’m not sure how much blowing rain y’all get down there but up here I central Arkansas it can really get gusty with a rain storm so I’d be worried about the rain blowing into your coop with part of it open like that.

And adding pine shavings may only keep the moisture longer in the coop where nasty bacteria and mold may grow.

From what I’ve seen coops are usually fully enclosed on all sides with openings to provide adequate ventilation and a human sized door at least.

But like I said, you may be able to pull off having a partially enclosed coop like this. Barring the chickens are secure when they’re in there from any prowling critters hankering for a chicken dinner!

As far as deep liter goes, I don’t do that method myself. BUT, I believe @Compost King does so maybe he can better answer any other questions you may have about that. Good luck!

 

[Speck10lb]

Thank you I tried to orient it where the rain doesn't blow into bad I didn't want to enclose it because we have 95 to a hundred degree weather with 90% humidity. At night it may only get down to 75 to 80 and humidity is close to 100%. I noticed when it rains it only gets about a foot on the ground inside the covered area so the roosts are covered. The open area has hardware cloth on the top and sides. I normally don't have to worry about hawks I wouldn't think until winter time when they migrate down we get a lot of them in the winter

 

[Bear1978]

Yes, it can get 95-100 degrees here with 100% humidity and a heat index of 100-110 degrees. My coop is fully enclosed with ventilation and a pop door and a covered/shaded chicken run and they did fine. Chances are they won’t be inside the coop during the day all the time anyway and your area looks pretty shaded.

So if you ever decided to wall up the open side
Of your coop, as long as you provide good airflow you’ll be fine. Chickens won’t sit in there and bake. They’ll try to cool themselves off with a dust bath or seeking shade. And if you keep fresh cool water on hand regularly and maybe provide some electrolytes they will be fine. My conditions are close to yours at times and they did not overheat.

As far as predators go, I would think hawks are not the only critter around there who would get after your chooks. But raccoons, foxes, coyotes, stray cats snd dogs too.

Foxes and dogs will dig to get at your flock, coons will climb and try to find a weak spot in your fencing or an opening big enough to squeeze through, they only need a few inches for that, or one that’s big enough to pull a chidown through, piece by piece if they have to. They’re persistent and clever predators.

So for the safett of your flock you may want to ‘think like a predator’ and see if there’s anyway one could compromise your chicken area and get after them. But that’s just my .00000067 cents worth of limited advice!

 

[Speck10lb]

Yes, it can get 95-100 degrees here with 100% humidity and a heat index of 100-110 degrees. My coop is fully enclosed with ventilation and a pop door and a covered/shaded chicken run and they did fine. Chances are they won’t be inside the coop during the day all the time anyway and your area looks pretty shaded.

So if you ever decided to wall up the open side
Of your coop, as long as you provide good airflow you’ll be fine. Chickens won’t sit in there and bake. They’ll try to cool themselves off with a dust bath or seeking shade. And if you keep fresh cool water on hand regularly and maybe provide some electrolytes they will be fine. My conditions are close to yours at times and they did not overheat.

As far as predators go, I would think hawks are not the only critter around there who would get after your chooks. But raccoons, foxes, coyotes, stray cats snd dogs too.

Foxes and dogs will dig to get at your flock, coons will climb and try to find a weak spot in your fencing or an opening big enough to squeeze through, they only need a few inches for that, or one that’s big enough to pull a chidown through, piece by piece if they have to. They’re persistent and clever predators.

So for the safett of your flock you may want to ‘think like a predator’ and see if there’s anyway one could compromise your chicken area and get after them. But that’s just my .00000067 cents worth of limited advice!

I don't have to worry about coyotes bob cats or dogs where I live. My main concern is raccoons possums owls when I'm not here to close the door at dark. During the day cats and possibly hawks especially during the winter when the red tailed hawks migrate into the area. Hopefully this Rhode island red roo will be a fighter when he grows up lol

 

[MnCanary]

Wet litter = disease. Sooner or later.

 

[aart]

Wet bedding isn't as much of a concern in an open air coop like the OP has,
just like it not in my open run filled with wood chippings.
I hope that you have good drainage and that frequent rain doesn't flow/flood into roost area.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Pine shavings isn't deep litter. Deep litter should be a mix of organic matter in different sizes, such as wood chips, dried leaves,dried grass, weeds, garden trimmings, etc. How good is the drainage in that location?

 

[Big Doggie]

Yes, it can get 95-100 degrees here with 100% humidity and a heat index of 100-110 degrees. My coop is fully enclosed with ventilation and a pop door and a covered/shaded chicken run and they did fine. Chances are they won’t be inside the coop during the day all the time anyway and your area looks pretty shaded.

So if you ever decided to wall up the open side
Of your coop, as long as you provide good airflow you’ll be fine. Chickens won’t sit in there and bake. They’ll try to cool themselves off with a dust bath or seeking shade. And if you keep fresh cool water on hand regularly and maybe provide some electrolytes they will be fine. My conditions are close to yours at times and they did not overheat.

As far as predators go, I would think hawks are not the only critter around there who would get after your chooks. But raccoons, foxes, coyotes, stray cats snd dogs too.

Foxes and dogs will dig to get at your flock, coons will climb and try to find a weak spot in your fencing or an opening big enough to squeeze through, they only need a few inches for that, or one that’s big enough to pull a chidown through, piece by piece if they have to. They’re persistent and clever predators.

So for the safett of your flock you may want to ‘think like a predator’ and see if there’s anyway one could compromise your chicken area and get after them. But that’s just my .00000067 cents worth of limited advice!

I’ll add my 2 cents as well. Zap em and forget em. Five words to live by.