hot weather coop

[midoris]

I live along the gulf coast and temps usually reach 100+ at least a few days every summer. I've got 8 silkies that are going to be moving outside in a couple of weeks & need input on how to modify a coop design so they survive the summer. The very idea of a wooden box with a metal roof sound like torture ( a literal oven!).

 

[silkiechicken]

You could make a coop with an open wall design... My birds actually sleep in their run year round, so they get lots of breeze if need be. You could do something similar and instead of having walls of wood with a tin roof, just make it so two walls can come off and it get's alot of breeze. Just be sure a coon can't reach in and pull birds out next to the edges of the roost and you will be good to go!

 

[halo]

Ive seen a lot of open air coops down here, usually made with hardware cloth. Seems to work very well.

 

[hcammack]

I have a chicken tractor that has one half closed on three sides and the other half open on three sides and the roof is completly wood so it should work for summer. I also let them out in a fenced and covered movable area.

Henry

 

[skeeter9]

We get many, many days in the 100's during the summer here. My coops are 3-sided and the open side goes right into their run. In the summer there is lots of air flow through their enclosure and if I see them starting to overheat I put a box fan at the end of the enclosure and let it run over camp earth. The girls love it - they will lay on the camp ground in front of the fan if it's really hot. Oh, I also have my egg doors in the middle wall of the 3 walls so that I can open them, put a hardware cloth screen on them, and the air can move right through. I haven't had any deaths during the hottest days.

Lori

 

[midoris]

Thanks for the ideas!