Metal coop

[jenfletcher]

Yea the metal box does worry me. The front doors of the coop will be open to the run at all times during the summer so they can come and go as they please. Hopefully with vents, windows and being in the shade it will stay cool enough.

 

[Ebony Rose]

If you find that you don't have sufficient natural shade in the daytime, you can put an awning of sorts over the top of the building with privacy mesh / shade cloth (they call it 'saran' here) elevated a foot or so over the roof of your structure. Here's an image of the mesh on amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TKOUODA/?tag=backy-20 typically sold in rolls or bundles like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LO0JPHO/?tag=backy-20
This second link also shows some ideas on how this fabric would be applied to your situation.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Foundation. I didn't put one under my small building and have regretted it ever since. I wish I had put concete footers under the perimeter, deep enough to discourage digging predators and snakes, and keeping the building from sagging due to wet conditions of the ground. I didn't think of it because I am from the desert (NM) but certain times of the year here in SE MO the ground is a quagmire due to flooding and my building is no longer level. This means the door and windows are slightly askew and you can imagine the problems when they ice up. Foundation. Then you don't need hardware cloth, at least not around your building.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Where you live I would leave the two sliding doors open all of the time and put some kind of hardware cloth wall and door there. You will need something to keep wind and rain out.

You're going to have to attach the shed to something as a base. I made a base using lap-jointed treated 4x4s held together with 1/4" galvanized lag screws.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Awesome ideas! I have read some that say to put ventilation around lower part of the coop also. What do you think?

That's what I did. I bought cheap aluminum soffit vents at Lowes, cut each into 3 pieces and pop-riveted each piece over a cut out in the side. They look good and I'm sure add some air. I use magnets in the winter to hold something in place over them to block air flow. The only trouble I've had was when a raccoon tried to tear one off to get inside to a broody and her chicks nesting right by a vent. It tore the vent a bit, but I had put in enough pop-rivets to stop its progress.

 

[jenfletcher]

What do yall think about putting foundation vents around the top? If so how many?

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

What do yall think about putting foundation vents around the top? If so how many?

Too expensive and I don't think it would be easy to mount them.

 

[jenfletcher]

Too expensive and I don't think it would be easy to mount them.

I have found and good deal on them. I will look into mounting but you are probably right.

 

[paintedChix]

I checked climate zones for Alabama and you are in zone 7a in the northern and down to 9a for the lowest area of the state. My area of NC fluctuates from 7b to 8 as well. We do occasionally get snow, more ice though. melts off fairly quickly. Our coops are simply hooped cattle panels w/ combinations of chicken wire (replacing), 2x4" wire & hardware cloth with tarps for roofs. Open air, though I do have parts blocked at the bottom for wind & rain, mostly open. No issues with frost bite. Yes, after some of the last four hurricanes, we've had to replace some of the tarps, but not all. Had more work to do with the tin roofs on some older outbuildings that were damaged and ripped off. Even the tarped roofs get hot during mid summer & the birds really appreciate any breezes that go through.

I had completely forgotten about a foundation. Yes, wood works as do cement blocks or even poured cement (prob hardest & most expensive?).

There is a way to make papercrete blocks that will work, too. I am working on that for ours (I have 3 - 8x8 hooped coops <meant to be tractors, too heavy for me to move, now in permanent spots> in our pony pasture that will need to have a foundation set under them now as the treated wood frames rot away AND a series of wood built square pens that were here on our property when we moved. Still need to get the last 3.5' pen hooped as well. We are digging down below these to add blocks to prevent the digging critters from getting in.) - great way to use up shredded paper & shredded plastic mixed with cement & water to get a solid, but lighter weight than straight cement blocks. You would have to make your forms. You can drill through papercrete or set rods for bolting to.

Our first batch had too much paper/water and not enough cement. We also used Quikrete instead of Portland cement (recommended in the papercrete articles, quickrete is used for garden blocks with no paper shreds in articles are found). The blocks were somewhat soft when they cured, giving when we walked on them and the one broke with my weight. We'll make some more, the mix isn't exact for the small batches I'm making up at one time.