Family just expanded!!

[swampfox440]

Hi, welcome to BYC! pleased to meet you and thanks for joining us.

 

[Dr Evy]

Welcome to BYC. We’re so glad you joined!

 

[janiedoe]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. I 2nd @DobieLover 's question. Ventilation is probably the most important aspect to insuring good health in your chickens.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! We're glad you decided to join us!

 

[TX_Aggie_00]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

Is the space between the rafters open and secured with 1/2" hardware cloth for ventilation?
Great coop!

First off, thank you everyone for the warm welcome!!

Yes, I bought several 4’x100’ rolls of 1/2” hardware cloth (for coop and garden). It’s hard to see in the photo, but I trenched around the coop/run 2’ out and as far down as I could before hitting shale, which, in most places is about 1.5’. The picture of the run shows the trench. The trench needs some more work around the run, but the hardware cloth is already buried around the coop. I’ve got a fox that routinely walks across the yard every few days, so I know the coop will be challenged when the chicks move out there. I raised the coop 18” (from bottom of rafters to ground) and the the coop is 8’x12’ and the run is the same dimensions, so in total, I’ll have an 8’x24’ run. I’ll update when I finish building out the run and finish the inside of the coop.

Here is a picture that’s shows the trench/buried hardware cloth around the front of the coop

 

[Isadora]

Hello, and welcome to byc. I'm so glad you decided to join our friendly and public community. You have a beautiful setup and garden.

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Hi!
Buff Orpingtons are a great starter bird! I hope you really like them. I have some young Buff English Orpingtons right now, but have had tons of breeds of chickens.
Your coop is beautiful.

Can your chickens get under the coop? If they can you may want to block it off. Young chicks can hide under there and you won't reach them and laying hens will hide eggs under there to keep you from taking them. My Buff Orpingtons that I had as hens would go to extraordinary lengths to hide eggs from me so they could hatch them. But not all eggs hatch and then they get stink-ee!

 

[rjmyooper]

First off, thank you everyone for the warm welcome!!

Yes, I bought several 4’x100’ rolls of 1/2” hardware cloth (for coop and garden). It’s hard to see in the photo, but I trenched around the coop/run 2’ out and as far down as I could before hitting shale, which, in most places is about 1.5’. The picture of the run shows the trench. The trench needs some more work around the run, but the hardware cloth is already buried around the coop. I’ve got a fox that routinely walks across the yard every few days, so I know the coop will be challenged when the chicks move out there. I raised the coop 18” (from bottom of rafters to ground) and the the coop is 8’x12’ and the run is the same dimensions, so in total, I’ll have an 8’x24’ run. I’ll update when I finish building out the run and finish the inside of the coop.

Here is a picture that’s shows the trench/buried hardware cloth around the front of the coop
View attachment 3133203

I can see the bottom venting, which is great. The reason they call for ventilation at the top is because the fumes from the urine rises and can create noxious fumes that are harmful to the birds.