Moisture in Coop - Considering Pellets

[Appalachickens]

@Appalachickens In a word YES but...

You need also to worry about predators. Attach hardware cloth (1/2" x 1/2" 19 gauge) to the inside of your openings (all of them!!) immediately.

It is hard to say but the roost position MAY place them in a draft location. Test with strips of newspaper held in front of the roosts where they chickens are. If they flap you could have a problem but I doubt it. The temperatures you cite are like the tropics to chickens. You could drop the roosts a bit to counter that.

You also do not want rain to intrude and wet the inside of the coop. Easy solution is to prop outside top hinged flaps open so that rain is diverted to the ground.

No worries, the hatch has a hardware cloth covering sandwiched into a double frame, so it’s secure.

I’ve also got HC over the vents along the side, and the entire run, including the roof is HC sandwiched between boards screwed together, with an extra layer of welded wire fencing along the bottom half and a 2’ HC apron. Nothing is getting in that coop!

Fortunately, I’ve had no problems with water. I keep the waterers and feeder out in the run. I live in a temperate rain forest so I was really careful about making sure rain couldn’t get in. The roof is plywood coated in an elastomeric roof sealant, then an adhesive roof underlayment and then metal panels. And the roof extends about four feet past the open end of the coop. The chickens have been in the coop since June and it stays bone dry.

I’ll try the draft test tomorrow. If there isn’t one at roost level, sounds like it’s fine to leave the hatch all the way up?

 

[Ted Brown]

The HC did not show in your original pics, good on you.

Yes, nothing better than fresh air for your flock! I do recommend reading Prince Woods' book linked above. Easy read and tons of good common sense!

 

[Appalachickens]

The HC did not show in your original pics, good on you.

Yes, nothing better than fresh air for your flock! I do recommend reading Prince Woods' book linked above. Easy read and tons of good common sense!

I looked through that book back when I was planning my coop. Ultimately I decided on a much simpler build given my limited carpentry skills, but I did go with the open air idea. Lots of folks around here have what amounts to shallow 3-sided coops, or even just dog runs with tarps over the back.

 

[Ted Brown]

Given your pictures above your carpentry skills are not much limited.

I chose the method outlined in Woods' book. MUCH simpler than current stud wall and horizontal plate technique practised today and by most BYC builders.