My coop and run

dianefbarfield

Chirping
Apr 15, 2022
82
130
93
Mine is very rustic and I will keep improving it, but it works for now. 35 x 15 foot dog run, fence is wrapped in hardware cloth, a tarped area with Nesting coop, a wooden coop still in progress, a playground, pool with spray and fountain, We aren't builders but the chicks are happy and healthy. The top is covered with hardware clothand bird netting. Electric wire surrounds.
 

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That's a nice big space!
Why is there a kiddie pool in there? Chickens can drown in deeper water. I would remove it and put in a smaller poultry fount waterer that you can keep clean.
I don't see any hardware cloth. I just see chicken wire over chain link. So the run is not predator proof if anything gets past the hot wires.
I also see gaps in the lid of the external nest box that will allow smaller predators entry.
I would remove the foam-n-fill from inside the coop. It wasn't necessary to install it as it has now blocked ventilation. The chickens may get it in their heads to start picking at it and eating it. Especially if they cannot leave the coop and get bored.
Do you get a real winter where you are with snow? I worry about the tarp collapsing.
 
The foam will be trimmed to the point they can't get it. I did it because snakes can get in a tiny crack and others on the forum were using it. The roof is solid wood. The tarp is temporary until I put real roofing under the tin. There are ventilation holes covered in screen around the top. The pool is very shallow. Clean water. The hardware cloth covers all the fence and there is a turn out at the bottom with wooden timbers. Thanks.
 
That's a lovely, big run!

Where, in general, are you? Climate matters. :)

Do they sleep in the coop or in the run?
Western North Carolina. They sleep in the coop, locked up safely. The small coop was chosen by them to be their laying box. The large window and door in the coop will be covered in winter but vents near the top will provide circulation. I haven't had chicks in the winter but I have been told they do better in cold than hot.
 
Western North Carolina. They sleep in the coop, locked up safely. The small coop was chosen by them to be their laying box. The large window and door in the coop will be covered in winter but vents near the top will provide circulation. I haven't had chicks in the winter but I have been told they do better in cold than hot.

:frow from the NC Sandhills. I used to live up near Boone.

You'll need to open up more ventilation at the top.

Keeping good ventilation at the top of the coop is key to keeping it dry in the winter. :)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/
 

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