We are coming upon completion of our coop for the Silkies. We have decided we will be placing a kennel that we looked at in Home Depot, around the coop and runs to enclose them for extra predator protection. We noticed that the two kennels on display,did not come with a top . We need to cover up the entire top of the kennel and need to know with what material? Here is the scenerio so that you might be able to assist us in our decision. We live in the tropics so rain is almost everyday for a portion of the year very heavy downpours ,sometimes at an angle. We will be putting metal roofing over the existing coop roof and we still are contemplating what to do over the 2 runs . The coop has 2 runs,one on each side.Ventilation concerns for coop have already been addressed. I do not want to use a tarp over the run due to wind and rain ,possible cave in and blocks the beautiful sun .I might consider shade cloth for one side . I need to provide shelter for chickens from too much sun and rain and I know they would enjoy staying out in the runs opposed to running inside coop constantly when the weather gets to them. One run will have the shade cloth and have not figured out how to not overexpose or underexpose the other run. The coop will have a gutter and leader scaled to size .We will put one that will not be too heavy/large on the coop as it is small. I would like to use pineshavings and DE on the ground and not sure if I should do same to both sides. Water supply in a bottle will be available both in coop and out in one run and the food container will be in coop. Construction sand will be mixed with the DE and pine shavings.Not sure how to apply all properly.Treats will be provided out of the coop in one of the runs. Suggestions please are welcome. What will work in my scenerio?
They do sell tops for the dog kennels at Home Depot and stores like that. I purchased camo. military netting and put over the top as well as shade cloth where needed. It all ties into the fence around the pen. I do have a couple of tarps over 2 spots that I have the feeders. I have Hutches and no room inside to hang anything. The tarps are on the underside of the net and sunshade. I have poles that I also purchased from same Army surplus store. The tarps are sloped so that water can run off. I have a grass patch for my chickens in the pen. One of the tarps drain on it. Works well. The other into a wading tub I have for them. I live in the desert and don't get a lot of rain, but when it does, it does. I have very high winds and have had it all up for a year now and it is holding up very well. Good Luck
I have a Home Depot type of dog kennel for my black lab. It is like 6' x 12' with the single door. What I did for a roof? I bought enough 12' sheet metal roofing to cover it, and using a couple of 4x4's and some 2x4's laid across, I made a slant roof for the kennel. To protect from wind tearing it up, I tied the wood struts to the top of the kennel with steel wire. I haven't had any issues with wind yet, plus it stays pretty dry.
