Is it bad that my coop is built like this?

[efudge94]

Ive been looking around on the internet, and all these people have small closed up chicken coops. I have 8 chickens and 6 ducks, all around 15-16 weeks. My chicken coop is 12 ft by 12 ft. Its on one side of our shed, and the other three walls are just chicken wire for good ventilation, with a thick wooden board on the ground about bout a foot tall all the way around the coop. I have nest boxes against the only solid wall, one for each bird. I live in Louisiana, so it almost never gets cold, and when it does we have chicken lamps and heaters we put in the pen. Besides the fact that half the coop gets a little wet when it rains (Which my ducks LOVE) I havnt had any problems. And they free range every other day for at leat 3 or 4 hours. Is it bad that the coop isnt all closed up, or is it dangerous to my babies??

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
I live in La. also and have a 3 sided coop. Haven't had any problems as of yet! All I do in the winter is cover it with a tarp to keep the wind off them where they roost. If your coop is not enclosed heat lamps & heaters are useless and a waste of electricity!!

 

[Ema]

take it from someone who has used chicken wire for everything...yep it is....

you need hardware cloth. I let my girls free range but they go into a secure coop at night that is locked and nothing can get in. last year that was me, saying I haven't had any issues with the way I built my coop. I lost three quarters of my birds this spring, same with my neighbours.

Good luck

 

[oaklandmama]

Quote:
Yeah, just because you haven't had an issue doesn't mean you won't. We built ours with hardware cloth and for a we saw no sign of any predators whatsoever, and hubby commented that we overbuilt the coop. I was glad we had the hardware cloth once the our neighborhood raccoon group found us. They visited every few nights for weeks trying to get at the chickens. Digging, pulling at the wire, trying to get their hands in, they tried everything.

 

[efudge94]

Sorry forgot to add that, we do have tarps to put up when it gets cold. And the lamp attracts moths that they love chasing around and eating

Its not just regular chicken wire if that makes anything diffrent. Its that galvanized stuff. I dont know if it will be harder for coyotes or anything but it sure was way harder to cut than the regular chicken wire! ;D

 

[big m70726]

I live in louisiana also I have a enclose cage however we do have a choop but the front is open into the cage on one side it is fenced top and bottom but no roof my ducks love the rain but my chicks hate it I keep the door locked at night my chicks go up to the roost however i am havin a prob with them poopin on top off the nestin boxes any suggestion. ty

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
Put some type of angle on the top.

 

[NonnasBabies]

BTW efudge94 & big m70726 come visit our state thread!!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=160883&p=101

 

[Judy]

Quote:
My climate is similar and my coop is also quite open air and breezy. They don't need added warmth down here, IMO. A wide enough roost that they can sit on their feet is probably good. Even up north, the danger is often frostbite from humidity buildup. With good ventilation this is not a threat in our temps. Chickens grow their own down jackets.

I have that same kind of wire. Pretty strong stuff. The only problem may be that coons can reach through anything bigger than 1/2" and grab a part and eat it. Mine roost far enough from the wire that I've never had this happen.

 

[efudge94]

I didnt know that about raccons! What could I do to make sure they couldnt reach inside? Would I just have to put another layer of the wire on top but make sure its not even, so that the holes would be smaller? Orrrrr I have a lot of wooden boards sitting in my yard. Should I just board up the wall that that the perch is by? (which is the wall that is directly across from the only solid wall in the coop.)