mini coop for seramas

[Akane]

I was looking for cheap dog houses to alter in to a small coop so I responded to this guy on craigslist who makes custom dog houses , http://ottumwa.craigslist.org/pet/1678641018.html , asking him if he could modify his design for a little coop to hold a trio of my seramas during warm months. I'd like to seperate them for breeding and I have a 10x10 already strongly double fenced herb garden they can go in to. So right now I've told him 3x4x3' high with a door on the front and an edge at the front to hold a couple inches of bedding. We are debating vent/window design. He wanted to do a large section in wire and I told him every section of wire is a potential predator opening. So I'm thinking strips of wire along the sides and maybe even back that are too narrow for predators or on the big coop I used 14x14" shelving grids with bars to cover the windows. If we made two 12x12" windows I could cover them that way but then a lot of weather might come in if they can't be closed and I"m not sure how well he can make windows. I debated an external nest box and decided not to ask for it. I can probably add one later if I find I really need it.
Questions for you guys:

Does this sound like a good way to get a mini coop?

Is it a good size for a trio just for a few months during good weather and then they go back to the 8x8' bantam coop?

Input on windows/vents?

Anything else that seems to be missing?

 

[Kittymomma]

Sounds like it will be a nice little set up. I used a removable piece of plywood to cover one side of a rabbit hutch we had when the weather got too windy for it to work well with three open sides. Maybe you could do something like that for your mini coop. I used small eyebolts and clips like you find on dog leashes, it acted like a storm shutter for the hutch.

 

[Akane]

So I'm thinking I'll have him make a 3x4x3'h box with strips down the sides for vents that way no predators can fit in even if they remove the mesh and then the closeable door across the whole front. If we decide to do external nest boxes my husband's family can cut a hole in the back and if we decide we need more air flow on hot nights in summer I can build something to go over the door way instead of closing it.