HOW TO~ screen door??

[nelgkel]

We would like to make a screen door that we can leave open during the day on the coop~right now the chicks are @ 3 wks old and in the coop since last Saturday, when we have the door open it is quite nice and breezy in there...@ 90 degrees with the door open...The first full day~Sunday that the chicks were in the coop we had to put a fan in the coop because they were panting!!!

ANY IDEAS how to do this?? We would like it to be permanent, not just a screen that you remove when you want to enter, I would like to put it on hinges and make a door frame for it...

EXPERIENCED BYC'ers I know ya'll will have some wonderful ideas...can't wait to hear them!



THANKS
EVEN MORE PICS ARE ON MY BYC PAGE...

 

[Intheswamp]

I'm not sure if I can help or not, but something you might want to do is post a picture of your current setup so that folks will know what they're working with and thus know how to guide you.

Just a thought,
Ed

 

[elmo]

Take a look at how storm doors work. You could fashion something like that, only probably make the screen door the inner one, and the solid door the outer one.

But I think your heat problem may need more than a screen door to solve. It's only May. It's going to get hotter, right? Most chickens have a much harder time dealing with heat than they do cold. If it's 90 degrees in that coop in May with the door open, what's it going to be like in July or August?

I use an open style coop/run. Check my BYC page for pictures. You could build a roofed run and attach it to your coop. Your chickens could stay there in the heat of summer and have the cozy coop for the winter. A friend of ours here in North Texas uses a chain link dog kennel with a metal roof. He puts his perches up high in the run, and his birds do fine.

You can also think about ways to shade your coop, too. And we use misters in the run when it gets really hot here.

 

[nelgkel]

the chicks are in the coop now for about 1-2 weeks while we build the run and so they know where home is....

after that, they will be in the coop in the evenings....so I am not as worried, but would like to have the option of more breeze and air when they are cooped up!


also, trying to make both doors swing out...is this possible???

 

[esthermgr]

My coop has screen door. I used a screen door that we pulled off a home renovation project. But I didn't think the screen was strong enough, so I ripped it off and nailed welded wire onto the wooden frame instead of the flimsy mesh screen. Then I got some $8 hinges from Lowes and attached it to the coop. It would have been almost as easy to built a rectangle of two by fours to fit the opening and nail the welded wire to that. The latch is just a hook and eye with the little child safety spring to deter racoons.

 

[esthermgr]

Reading your location and looking at the pics of the coop again, I think you are going to need a lot more ventilation than one screen door. I'm in Atlanta, and my chickens are in a coop that is large and basically open on two sides (with walls made out of welded wire nailed to a frame). Your chickens are going to have a really hard time in that coop in the FL summer. Unless you've got some windows that aren't visible in the pics, you need to cut some out and cover them with wire. Sorry, not trying to get you down, but you're probably going to have some seriously overheated chickens in the FL heat in that coop.

 

[Dogfish]

Nice job, first of all. You did a fine job on that rag tag drag home coop.

Quickest way to add ventilation would be to cut out the center of the top of your door and add a window that is screened. Secondly those windows on the front, are they windows, or is that wire mesh? Can't tell. Make those into tilt out windows as well.

All you need is hinges at the top, a hasp at the bottom, and a hinged stick to prop it open. I'll take some pics of mine when I get home tonight.

This would be an inexpensive solution using the materials you have on hand, excpet for a few inexpensive hinges and hasps.

 

[nelgkel]

Quote:
thanks Dogfish, we thought of cutting out the top of the door...that is why we did not do the x on the top....but after being in the coop with the door open we noticed how good the breeze was and thought we would like to make a framed screen door.

the windows on the front are wire mesh and then metal screening to prevent predators and bugs... it had a hinged cover before...we want to do a cover, but not sure if it will be wood or something more lightweight...

This has turned out to be a MUCH larger job than we originally anticipated!!!! LOL

 

[nelgkel]

Quote:
Elmo, love your coop/run!!!

I need to clarify, it is 90 with the door shut, but when we open the door it gets nice and breezy and the chicks don't seem to mind it as much....just about 30 minutes ago had to turn the fan on for them...it has been 88 in there all day...when the sun starts moving into the western part of the sky is when it gets too hot for them, so we will most definitely have shade on the run to help shade the coop! when the sun shines in the top part of the front of the coop it gets HOT!! Our run that we are planning on for 12 chickens is 8'by 16'
READY TO BE DONE with the remodeling so we can get the run done!!!

THANKS for your suggestions!

 

[nelgkel]

Quote:
posted more pics....but I do have quite a few on my page too.
after a couple of weeks they will most likely be in the run during the day and the coop only in the evening.
It does get hot hot hot here!! already covered the skylight with foil and a sun shade curtain and that has helped lower the temperature..
using a fan in there right now until we get it all figured out..

thanks for your suggestions.