Garden Coop Plan Clear Roofing in Hot Climate Question

[gumbita]

Hi! I am about to build the garden coop from gardencoop.com that looks like this with the polycarbonate roofing going across the whole top:



It looks like from the pictures and plans that there is about 8 inches clearance between the roof and the top of the coop - it is otherwise open for ventilation (but covered with hardware cloth for predator protection).

Anyways, my question is I live in southeast Texas where the humidity is high and the summers regularly get into the 100's. The place where I am building my coop is in almost complete shade (other than very late afternoon setting sun). I am wondering if the clear roofing will make it like a greenhouse in there or if it will matter since it's in the shade. The plans talk about how it has so much ventilation (because the coop basically does not have a roof except for the clear roofing almost a foot above the top of the coop), and it seems that people really love this design, but I wanted to know if anyone that lives in a hot climate has built this (or has used the clear roofing) and had a problem? Thanks!!

 

[Chick Charm]

I have built some coops for the desert in Phoenix. I have not used clear poly roofing because I preferred to offer the shade from the sun. I do not think it will make the coop like a green house because that picture shows that it is all open on the sides. Here is a garden coop that I made when I was in the desert. Open air really is best for your application. Maybe a three sided coop for the cool winters. You will want to build it as big as possible to make the chicks happy.


Wish ya the best.

 

[pipemum]

I used the Garden Coop plans as the basis for my coop. I live in southern AZ and no way would I use the clear panels. I also reversed the orientation of the roof, to give more sun protection--the plans were designed for the rainy northwest to let all the sunlight in--not a good idea for the desert or other hot, sunny climates. I used tin panels for the roofing--there's no need to vary the plans since the tin panels are sold in the same sized as what is called for in the GC plans. Also, the called-for manufacturer of the panel in the GC make other colors of panels as well, so you have a ton of options. Great plans, great coop, easy to make changes to.