Hardware Questions

[PVILLAGO]

I am in the process of building my coop after reading input from others I returned my cute little coop. (Should have kept for my infirmary) and I'm building a coop(buying a 8x12 shed) and building a 8x10 run for 8 chickens. I have a question about the type of hardware for the coop door and the windows, screen door and nesting boxes hatch? What kind of hardware do I need to buy?
The nesting boxes have a hinged exterior door to collect the eggs. The shed has two double doors and I'm adding a screen door to get inside the run. Need good locks for sure. Also I am going to add a automatic run door where do I need to go for these?
Thanks in advance.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you have raccoons you need latches that require human hands to open in multiple steps. They can operate ordinary sliding bolts.

The most common solution is a carabiner or dog leash clip through the place where a lock would go. Some people go so far as to use a lock but just leave the key in it for convenience.

I have these on my nest box -- one on each end and it can't open without releasing both sides.

They can be a little finicky, but I don't mind them. DH has bigger hands and hates them.

I also have two latches, secured with carabiners, on my access door.

 

[aart]

The most common solution is a carabiner or dog leash clip through the place where a lock would go.

Yep. I like the typical loop and hasp type latch.
You can get them double hinged to go around corners.

The nesting boxes have a hinged exterior door to collect the eggs.

I'd recommend the access door be on the side of nests rather than the top which often leak.

I'm building a coop(buying a 8x12 shed)

Can you post pics of shed?
Hopefully it had a good roof overhang with open soffits for eave venting.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @PVILLAGO ....it would really help to know.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[PVILLAGO]

Yep. I like the typical loop and hasp type latch.
You can get them double hinged to go around corners.
View attachment 2542429


I'd recommend the access door be on the side of nests rather than the top which often leak.


Can you post pics of shed?
Hopefully it had a good roof overhang with open soffits for eave venting.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @PVILLAGO ....it would really help to know.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2542427

I put my location on my profile. I didn't realize it was important

Yep. I like the typical loop and hasp type latch.
You can get them double hinged to go around corners.
View attachment 2542429


I'd recommend the access door be on the side of nests rather than the top which often leak.


Can you post pics of shed?
Hopefully it had a good roof overhang with open soffits for eave venting.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @PVILLAGO ....it would really help to know.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2542427

We are adding a metal roof with over hang as well as a drip ledge over all the door. Nest boxes will be on the Right Side Wall.

 

[aart]

I didn't realize it was important

Huge difference between our frozen north and your HOT south.

We are adding a metal roof with over hang

That's good, make the overhang big(12-18") all the way around.
Would be good to add foam insulation between rafters and roofing to try and reduce the heat gain from a metal roof. Will coop be shaded at all?

You may need more windows for ventilation.

 

[3KillerBs]

I put my location on my profile. I didn't realize it was important

While chickens are always chickens, there are certain things that come to the forefront in different climates with different amounts of heat, cold, rainfall, wind, and predator load.

For example, I recently had a discussion with a guy in Canada about Open Air coops. My Open Air coop-in-progress is a roofed wire box with a wind baffle at one end. His Open Air coop is a wooden box with one wire wall.

In Ft. Worth your issue is going to be HEAT -- with a high chance of severe storms pushing precipitation sideways.

You may need more windows for ventilation.

In fact, you might do well to orient the coop with one gable end to the prevailing wind then replace all the siding on the leeward gable and the top 6" of siding on the other walls with wire (with plenty of roof overhang to shelter them).

This is one of the inspirations for my own coop build here in steamy central North Carolina: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas-coop-build-pic-heavy.1371038/#post-22557467

 

[PVILLAGO]

While chickens are always chickens, there are certain things that come to the forefront in different climates with different amounts of heat, cold, rainfall, wind, and predator load.

For example, I recently had a discussion with a guy in Canada about Open Air coops. My Open Air coop-in-progress is a roofed wire box with a wind baffle at one end. His Open Air coop is a wooden box with one wire wall.

In Ft. Worth your issue is going to be HEAT -- with a high chance of severe storms pushing precipitation sideways.



In fact, you might do well to orient the coop with one gable end to the prevailing wind then replace all the siding on the leeward gable and the top 6" of siding on the other walls with wire (with plenty of roof overhang to shelter them).

This is one of the inspirations for my own coop build here in steamy central North Carolina: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas-coop-build-pic-heavy.1371038/#post-22557467

Thank you.. You are correct it's HOT here. I have chosen the Barred Rocks for my initial dunk in chicken "farming" venture. I thought about doing a slant roof anyway but thank you for the insight. I definitely will now. Both the coop and the run have metal roof. Also, in the matter of the run. it is a 8x10 how do I wrap the coop? Hardwire cloth the entire coop? How do I attach it? Is it wrapped over from left to right since mine is 36"W
Thank you again.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you.. You are correct it's HOT here. I have chosen the Barred Rocks for my initial dunk in chicken "farming" venture. I thought about doing a slant roof anyway but thank you for the insight. I definitely will now. Both the coop and the run have metal roof. Also, in the matter of the run. it is a 8x10 how do I wrap the coop? Hardwire cloth the entire coop? How do I attach it? Is it wrapped over from left to right since mine is 36"W
Thank you again.

Hardware cloth can be run either vertically or horizontally. For my first coop DH ran the wire on the run horizontally, creating a 4-foot run to save on wire (backache says we won't do that again). You can see pictures here.

For the current build DH decided that he'd rather deal with shorter sections than wrestle the entire 100-foot roll so he's spacing posts 4-feet on center and running the wire vertically.

The best ways to attach the hardware cloth to the supports are:

First, use big fender washers to provide a secure fastening that raccoons can't rip loose, or,

Second, staple the wire but cover the joins with trim boards so that predators can't access the edge to get a grip on it.

Raccoons can rip ordinary staples loose so you have to cover the edges unless you have a heavy-duty stapler run off a compressor and are using the longer, heavy-duty staples.

IMO, the trim boards make for a more aesthetically-pleasing result than naked edges and fender washers but that's a personal preference.

I suggest that you look through the Coop section of the articles to see what appeals to you the most.

 

[PVILLAGO]

Huge difference between our frozen north and your HOT south.


That's good, make the overhang big(12-18") all the way around.
Would be good to add foam insulation between rafters and roofing to try and reduce the heat gain from a metal roof. Will coop be shaded at all?

You may need more windows for ventilation.

I am doing two gabled vents as well as the 33x53 window. One of the walls is North facing and I was hesitant to put any window on that side because we have no shade trees. We are in a newly constructed home and not alot of shade at this time. I was going to put the insulation sheets between rafters and metal roof. That's about it. 2 Gabled ventilation spaces and one big window. Will that not be enough?

 

[3KillerBs]

That's about it. 2 Gabled ventilation spaces and one big window. Will that not be enough?

What's the square footage of those vents? My first reaction is "probably not enough", but that depends on size.

I understand the new construction = no trees problem well. We weren't allowed to put our house as close to the few existing trees as we wanted to. The sunshine that is so welcome in our south-facing windows right now is going to be a problem come May-September.

Unfortunately, an un-shaded, closed box is likely to be an OVEN in the summer. That's when the empirical test of going in and seeing if it's hotter in than out comes into play. Keep adding vents until the temperature equalizes.