Nestera coop letting rain in

[kattabelly]

I just bought a Nestera coop (the medium lodge) as a temporary measure because I'm having issues getting the materials I need to fix up the more appropriate housing I'd planned to use. I wasn't expecting it to be perfect for the climate here but I thought it would do at this time of year and I could either keep it for emergencies / chicks next summer or sell it on for a decent price.

It's been in use less than 24 hours and I just found it full of rain. The door pull string is acting as a wick where it runs across the roof, drawing water down to where the string connects to the door itself and then down the edge of the door and onto the coop floor where it either soaks into bedding or puddles on the plastic:

I've raised the back of the coop slightly, so the water is at least draining straight back towards the door and not further inside, but that just exacerbates the second issue - the roof overhang isn't deep enough to stop water coming down into the nest boxes through the gap where they're joined to the side wall. (I have young chicks sleeping in a nest box rather than roosting atm.) I think at the moment it's mostly splashback from water dripping off the main roof and onto the nest box roof but even the slight wind today was enough to push the rain very close to that join, so I can't imagine how it'll cope with actual wind.

(Blue = water and red = ingress point in both pics)

My own shoddy construction can't be to blame as they actually messed up with shipping dates and offered to send one of the newest versions pre-built on a pallet, to save their team breaking it back down after they'd assembled it for testing. Wind was coming in at about 110-115° off the direction the door was facing when this happened.

Have any other Nestera users had this issue? Was I expecting too much, or have I overlooked something obvious?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I haven't, but mine is in a run with a tarp over (and partly down the side of) the end with the Nestera.

@Perris

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I just bought a Nestera coop (the medium lodge) as a temporary measure because I'm having issues getting the materials I need to fix up the more appropriate housing I'd planned to use. I wasn't expecting it to be perfect for the climate here but I thought it would do at this time of year and I could either keep it for emergencies / chicks next summer or sell it on for a decent price.

It's been in use less than 24 hours and I just found it full of rain. The door pull string is acting as a wick where it runs across the roof, drawing water down to where the string connects to the door itself and then down the edge of the door and onto the coop floor where it either soaks into bedding or puddles on the plastic:
View attachment 4162447

I've raised the back of the coop slightly, so the water is at least draining straight back towards the door and not further inside, but that just exacerbates the second issue - the roof overhang isn't deep enough to stop water coming down into the nest boxes through the gap where they're joined to the side wall. (I have young chicks sleeping in a nest box rather than roosting atm.) I think at the moment it's mostly splashback from water dripping off the main roof and onto the nest box roof but even the slight wind today was enough to push the rain very close to that join, so I can't imagine how it'll cope with actual wind.
View attachment 4162450
(Blue = water and red = ingress point in both pics)

My own shoddy construction can't be to blame as they actually messed up with shipping dates and offered to send one of the newest versions pre-built on a pallet, to save their team breaking it back down after they'd assembled it for testing. Wind was coming in at about 110-115° off the direction the door was facing when this happened.

Have any other Nestera users had this issue? Was I expecting too much, or have I overlooked something obvious?

Separate question: I'm trying to figure out your door. Is it not the triangle/wedge door that swings to the side when you open it?

Our door (not the auto door opener, just the door itself):

 

[kattabelly]

Separate question: I'm trying to figure out your door. Is it not the triangle/wedge door that swings to the side when you open it?

Our door (not the auto door opener, just the door itself):
View attachment 4162458

Yes, it's that door. Photo was taken looking downwards with the door closed just a few inches. It's sitting on the inside of the plastic wall with a separate plastic guide rail further in, on the other side of the door.

I've rigged up a tarp for now but we get too much wind here for that to be more than a very short-term fix

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Oh ok, right, I see it now. I thought for a minute that you had bought the Wagon, but I reread and saw that you have a medium Lodge.

 

[Perris]

The door pull string is acting as a wick where it runs across the roof, drawing water down

I've not experienced this.

the roof overhang isn't deep enough to stop water coming down into the nest boxes through the gap where they're joined to the side wall

I have experienced this if the coop is positioned windward, such that the weather is driving in on the nest box side. If the nest box is on the leeward side it doesn't happen.

one of the newest versions pre-built on a pallet, to save their team breaking it back down after they'd assembled it for testing

I'd ask them about their test results with the newest design and get their advice

Wind was coming in at about 110-115° off the direction the door was facing when this happened.

I imagine Orkney weather is a challenge, given the wind speeds possible there. Any robust shelter available? Walls? Hedges?

Have any other Nestera users had this issue?

Not as described. Occasional ingress of a little water when the rain comes in sideways (we're in a fairly exposed location, but nothing compared with Orkney), but it doesn't trouble the birds and dries out again quickly here. I would contact the firm and see what they suggest.

 

[kattabelly]

I imagine Orkney weather is a challenge, given the wind speeds possible there.

I anticipated that but like I say, it hasn't been especially windy here today. Gusts up to 30mph earlier but the rain's been pretty much vertical the last few hours.

I understand why the door side can't face into the wind but if the nest box side can't either, that's a lot of time to spend turning it around. Am I supposed to set an alarm to go up and move the coop at 2am whenever a weather system passes over and the wind does a 180? Is the vent side going to let rain in too?

Sorry, thanks for replying. I'm going to come back to this tomorrow when I'm less angry. Just went up to do a last check and the chicks were back outside in their day shelter - new bedding was sodden when I checked, so they're now back in my house tonight. It's not the most important thing but I was meant to be away this weekend on a trip that's pretty important for the sports club I run here, and now that's at risk too.

 

[Perris]

new bedding was sodden when I checked, so they're now back in my house tonight. It's not the most important thing but I was meant to be away this weekend on a trip that's pretty important for the sports club I run here, and now that's at risk too.

that must have been exasperating and I quite understand your frustration.

I understand why the door side can't face into the wind but if the nest box side can't either, that's a lot of time to spend turning it around

I know you get wild weather there but surely there is a prevailing wind direction? Could you position the coop such that the back left corner is facing into that? so that both the door and the nest box sides are on the leeward.

Is the vent side going to let rain in too?

mine don't. The overhang is adequate to keep the top vents dry with the weather we get here.

My birds have not been at all bothered by a little bit of moisture in the coop occasionally. Those that roost or nest out aren't bothered by having no protection from the weather either. Most prefer to roost and nest in coop over being out and completely exposed, but the latter is the norm for birds of course. Maybe it would help using less bedding, so that moisture isn't absorbed to such degree but flows out again through the bottom joints (or the little hole in the middle of the bottom, if that's been retained in the latest design)?

 

[kattabelly]

I know you get wild weather there but surely there is a prevailing wind direction? Could you position the coop such that the back left corner is facing into that? so that both the door and the nest box sides are on the leeward.

Prevailing wind is SWish but we get a lot of wind from other directions too. Last week was more SE, and northerlies are bitter even in the middle of summer and not infrequent.

Maybe it would help using less bedding, so that moisture isn't absorbed to such degree but flows out again through the bottom joints (or the little hole in the middle of the bottom, if that's been retained in the latest design)?

The bedding / nest box issue is mostly due to the younger chicks - they'll be fully feathered and roosting overnight in a week or two, but aren't yet. I just chucked some wood shavings in because the bare plastic base was slippy enough in the wet to freak them out when the coop was also new to them. Once they hit 6-7 weeks it's up to them if they want to sleep in a puddle or on the coop roof in gale force winds afaic!

I think I just underestimated how exposed the site is. I assumed something that's built for year-round use further south would be at least adequate for summer here, but didn't consider the amount of shelter trees/hedges/fences would provide in most places. If I'd been planning to use the Nestera permanently I'm sure I could make it work; it just wasn't the quick and easy stopgap fix I wanted it to be.

 

[Perris]

the bare plastic base was slippy enough in the wet

I found fixing a length of that stuff sold as drawer liner for pots and pans works well on the ramp, which some birds here slip on. It hasn't been an issue with the poop trays; are your birds walking on the smooth base sheet directly? Maybe sharp sand would work better than shavings in that case?