Help! Need to refurbish inherited coop!

[Logan160]

That should do very well.

Another thing you can do for them is add "clutter." That is anything they can use to break up their lines of sight. Things they can go behind or hop up on. Like a couple of straw bales stacked on each other or stumps or lawn chairs tipped over or a pile or teepee of branches. It doesn't have to be solid. Clutter can be critical when space is really tight but it is nice for them even space isn't tight at all.

I plan to add some logs! The previous owners have a firepit on the property with quite a few large logs I wanted to add! Additionally I love the look of large branges secured to the run for roosting and basically a jungle gym!

I mainly am getting chickens as pets rather than soley for the purpose of egg production, so they are going to have lots of fun activities, plus when we are home we have a large wooded area they can forrage in!

If you cant tell we are so excited for the chicks to arrive, but I am really trying to spend the next 3 months getting it PERFECT for them! My mom has 5 chickens with a coop and run thats the same size so clearly my family likes giving them a lot of space!

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

I plan to add some logs! The previous owners have a firepit on the property with quite a few large logs I wanted to add! Additionally I love the look of large branges secured to the run for roosting and basically a jungle gym!

I mainly am getting chickens as pets rather than soley for the purpose of egg production, so they are going to have lots of fun activities, plus when we are home we have a large wooded area they can forrage in!

If you cant tell we are so excited for the chicks to arrive, but I am really trying to spend the next 3 months getting it PERFECT for them! My mom has 5 chickens with a coop and run thats the same size so clearly my family likes giving them a lot of space!

Besides hawks what other predators do you have in the neighborhood?

 

[Logan160]

Besides hawks what other predators do you have in the neighborhood?

The previous owner said she has seen raccoons but in 2 years she has had zero issues with predators! The yard is also fully fenced in for our dog, so its kinda double fenced lol. She buried the hardware cloth underneith around it (and the galvanized metal goes in the ground) and around it has large rocks! The new run that is getting built will also have hardware cloth buried the whole way around.

The girls will never free range when I am not home! The only predator that has hurt her chickens were the hawks, they free ranged though.

 

[rosemarythyme]

For winter, I would just cover all but the top to keep ventilation across the top? Basically 3 sides is 70% hardware cloth so I was planning to buy greenhouse panels to put up each year on those spots.

This style of coop really is ideal for areas with hotter summers, mild winters. Do you have a general temperature range for winter? Do you get storm driven rain or sleet?

Personally I see no need to "winterize" in mild climates (or even below freezing temps to an extent) as long as the chickens have a dry, draft free section to shelter in. If the roosts are situated too close to the ventilation (which for hot summers, can be ideal) then you need only winterize a section around the roosts to protect that area from cold winds and rain.

 

[Logan160]

This style of coop really is ideal for areas with hotter summers, mild winters. Do you have a general temperature range for winter? Do you get storm driven rain or sleet?

Personally I see no need to "winterize" in mild climates (or even below freezing temps to an extent) as long as the chickens have a dry, draft free section to shelter in. If the roosts are situated too close to the ventilation (which for hot summers, can be ideal) then you need only winterize a section around the roosts to protect that area from cold winds and rain.

Winter is around 30 degrees (snow barely ever sticks these days) and I think the lowest it gets is 18! So never below 0 here. Summer lately is 98 degrees at its hottest, but usually high 80s we had a heat wave last summer!

I think for where I want to do my roost bars and poop shelf, I will need to add plywood to stabilize it all, so half of the left side will become plywood, but the top will stay ventilation, and then basically majority of the right side is ventilation!

But I can also try to secure the shelf to the support 2x4s, and only tarp that section in the winter? If i do it that way they will be like RIGHT beside the ventilation though, their entire roost will be basically ventilation.

 

[rosemarythyme]

But I can also try to secure the shelf to the support 2x4s, and only tarp that section in the winter? If i do it that way they will be like RIGHT beside the ventilation though, their entire roost will be basically ventilation.

Depending on how winds blow in your area, that might not even be much of an issue in winter. It's not having ventilation near the roosts that's the problem, it's how air flows in the area. I have a roost between 2 open windows and 99.9% of the time it doesn't cause issue - the exception is very rarely we get strong sideways winter winds, in which case we close the windows to keep rain and sleet out.

The first plan sounds easier for sure, to partially enclose the roost area with wood and leave the rest open for all around ventilation.