First coop build in Michigan - I should have done this years ago. Pics..

[IdyllwildAcres]

There are large gaps at the top of the coop that are hidden from view by the insulation

How many sf of venting? I think the minimum is 1 sf per bird.... More is better.

 

[Onyxflock]

OK - here is the new year-round hawk safety covering. I just put it out there. What are the odds that they actually use it? I put a few roosting bars in there for extra attraction.
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Of course, until a hawk goes after them, they have no idea they're in danger. Actually under the trees is their gig, lots to scratch up and safer than in the open. We have an Oleander hedge along the fence & they would live in there if they could.
Maybe a tunnel out to the trees using your camo cover a little higher, like Aart showed. Then fence only along the tree area so they can get over there, have their fun, but still be contained

 

[John Smallberries]

Well .... I knew having my chickens escaping and wandering around was risky. I had planned to spend my day after Thanksgiving extending my chicken wire yard fence up to 10 feet with bird/deer netting. Too late. My birds liked my camo lean-to, but they like the neighbors pine tree stand better. On Thanksgiving morning, their old, slow, peaceful, friendly golden retriever killed three hens and our rooster. It was my fault. I should have kept them more secure and dogs are dogs.
We managed to wrangle the six survivors back into the yard. I extended the top of my yard gate with a 3-foot plywood panel. This obstructs their common escape route: jumping up into the 2x4 gate and then hopping down. I have now strung up 7’-wide plastic bird/deer barriers along paracord “clothesline’s” to provide a continuous 10-foot-high chicken-containing barrier around the yard. Let’s hope this does the trick and we keep them in.

 

[Onyxflock]

That totally stinks! It sounds like neighbor dogs are one of the biggest threat to free range birds. But once chickens find out about wandering, they are hard to keep in.
I'm sorry to hear you lost your birds.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm sorry for your losses, it's hard sometimes.
Mary

 

[Hrseluvr]

Sorry for your losses,

 

[Hrseluvr]

Sorry for your losses

 

[John Smallberries]

Updates on my Coop - ALL GOOD NEWS this time. First up: we have our first eggs! Our brown duck, "Jemima", started laying a few days ago. We now have four nice white eggs. She is still trying to figure out where to lay. One was in the back of the "duck box" inside the run, one was on the floor of the run. We found two in a small "semi-nest" she made in the corner of my camo-lean-to structure to give them protection from hawks. We are trying a milk crate in the run to see if she likes that.

 

[John Smallberries]

My automatic watering system has given mixed results. My wifi sprinkler timer system is working well to send fresh water to the duck pond every morning, then blow out the line. That part is great. I also have a small heater in the pond. We haven't had a long stretch of very cold weather her in SE Michigan, but the pond is clear and the ducks love it.

What has been a failure is my roof collection rain barrel that feeds some poultry nipples. It has been a dry season so far. Also, the nipples can get stuck and dribble out for hours. The result is a frequently-low rain barrel that needs manual filling. At least my "low water" light system is working fine to let me know. The dribbling nipples have also created a muddy mess in the run. Here is the fix for that - a dribble-collection trough with external drain.

 

[John Smallberries]

Now to fix the water. I had a long 2-1/2" PVC pipe that I had used as an overflow for the first iteration duck pond. It is just long enough to stretch from the water barrel to the new duck pond. So - I cut an overflow hole at the top of the barrel and stuck in the drain pipe. I sealed it off with some JB Weld putty. I then re-routed the water feed from the duck pond to the barrel. It seems to be working great. The barrel will stay full and the ducks still get fresh water. Let's see if the overflow pipe freezes solid.....