Need advice: Rain getting INSIDE the coop

[ChickRDoodle]

I am a new chicken owner (Yay! and so glad that I am! I'm already loving it) and my six golden comets are five weeks old today. They are so stinkin' cute!

Just yesterday we finished the coop construction with a tarp-covered-roof. This is a repurposed wrought iron gazebo we built a wood frame around and it has a cement patio flooring. So Day 2 of roof being on, it's pouring out, and I'm seeing quite a LOT of rain falling/splashing inside the coop. I was going to put a few inches of sand on top of the cement, but now I'm worried even that won't stay dry enough with the tarp dumping water at the perimeter of the coop.

Just wondering if I should figure out some type of awning (it would need to be cheap and DIY) or a different kind of floor covering. Maybe plastic sheeting on the sides?

I plan on letting my chicks venture out of the hen house this week, and being that the forecast is calling for rain most ALL week, I need to figure out something so it won't be so damp in there for my girls.

Any ideas?

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

You need a good roof with overhangs on all sides to stop the splashing

 

[Ilovepork]

Try and find yourself some used gutters or used 3 or 4 inch pipe cut in half long way. Customized a gutter system and channel the water to the edge and down slowly

 

[ChickRDoodle]

I love, love the idea of the PVC half pipe gutters. That's something I can easily do with my current setup and on the cheap! Thank you for that idea! Now I'm excited about making that addition. Thanks so much!

 

[Ilovepork]

Your welcome. I have 31 chickens, 4 goats, 5 pigs and 2 rabbits and I've spent little to no money setting them up.

 

[aart]

I agree with putting a real roof with large overhangs. Might be hard to get a gutter system to catch all the water coming off a tarp. That tarp will only last a season or two anyway. You can do it on the cheap now and redo it later or do it right now and be done with it. Good Luck!

 

[ChickRDoodle]

Unfortunately, the real roof and overhangs will have to wait until next year or so. I'm already over budget. I'm hoping cutting some corners this year doesn't cause major regret or headaches.

 

[Ilovepork]

There's no substitute for metal roofing but its pricey. Have you tried craiglist locally for used metal discounted or maybe even barter?

 

[4 the Birds]

I agree that a solid roof is ultimately what you want. Tarps rip and fall apart after a few years of use. If the gazebo has roof framing then it is just a matter of adding PT plywood or bead board on top that overlaps and with a generous overhang. If you want to add some type of gutter then run your downspout into a rainbarrel with a tap!

 

[HLRS1102]

We had three straight days of rain just as we finished enough of our coop for the birds to move in... before we could put a gutter across the front where the roof slopes down. While the inside of the coop was still pretty dry we still had some water splashing in around the edges of their little "courtyard". I hung clear shower liners around the outside of the coop as a temporary fix. I was in such a hurry (because it was pouring down rain and it was running off the roof right into my face) that I hung the first one a little too high. I had to rip it down and start over to make sure the shower liner went all the way to the ground. Our ultimate goal is the gutter with rain water going into a barrel. Best of Luck!!