my extreme heat coop and run

[Gallo del Cielo]

I finally got my BYC page started and nearly finished. I built a coop and run designed to keep my birds cool in the heat of Southern AZ. I gleaned BYC for months to get ideas, many of which materialized in my coop. I put the pictures of coop construction on my BYC page. Beware, it is pic heavy.
Thanks to all the people who shared ways to keep their birds cool.

 

[squeakyballs]

Wow! This coop is amazing, especially here where it is so hot. I love all the greenery!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Oh, that is excellent!

 

[Annabella]

You have put a lot of thought into the chook coop/run - it's great!!
The greenery just makes it look so inviting.

 

[elmo]

Wonderful design features! I particularly like the shade tarps on the side that allow air flow behind them. And the radiant barrier insulation under your roof is a great idea, too. I wish I had seen your coop before I built my little winter coop; I would have swiped some of your ideas!

 

[SummerChick]

I love it!!...thanks for sharing.

 

[NC29mom]

Just curious, how much did it end up costing you to build this magnificant coop??

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Twice as much as I expected!

Actually, I'm not exactly sure how much it cost as I haven't added it all up. It's better that my wife doesn't know

. I also used some materials left over from other projects (boards, screws, staples, shade cloth, etc.) and people gave me materials (blocks for foundation, wood, etc). However, I tried to keep a rough estimate of what it would cost and I think the coop has somewhere about $400 in materials and the run probably has $300 in materials (these numbers might actually be a bit high). The most expensive part was the wire. I went with 1x2 14 gauge wire rather than wire with larger holes or higher gauge to keep out birds and canines, respectively. The sad thing is, the sparrows can still fit through the 1X2 wire

I'm currently working on resolving that problem.

The funny thing about our whole chicken adventure is that we got them to fulfill a promise made to our daughter years ago. I never expected to fall for them so hard. Darn birds are spoiled rotten.

Thanks for the wonderful comments everyone.

 

[squeakyballs]

I keep thinking about the shade cloth over the side of the coop. Does it help? I think we could pull off something like that on ours... it wouldn't look nearly as good though!

 

[ckkevin]

I like your design. What did you plant to cover the run?