New Coop

[Love My Chickies]

Tomorrow is moving day for my chicks. I'm very excited. My fiance and I (mostly him ) have been building our new coop. We have 4 chicks, so far one is a cockrel, hoping the other 3 are pullets. Time will tell. The cord for the fan in the picture is no longer hanging there. We drilled a hole into the shed wall that the coop is attached to, to run the cord through. I also included pictures of the beginning of the run that we are going to fence in with hardware cloth. We will be adding to that as we can. Due to the heat, I was considering beginning with a few hours each day for them to acclimate. Not sure if that's necessary or not?

 

[mowin]

Where do you live? I'm not seeing any ventilation in that coop.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I'm not an expert on South Texas temperatures, but I would also worry there isn't enough ventilation in the coop to keep them cool during the day and night.

 

[saysfaa]

I think the front and back are completely open screen door/wall. That is good. The fan will help too. Is it designed for barns or other such dusty places? Chickens are incredibly dusty and will clog up normal fans.

The blue tarps are for shade? That should help a lot, more so if there is an air gap between them and the coop, preferrably one big enough to let any breeze through between them and the coop.

I don't have to deal with your heat but I think I would not do the back and forth acclimation thing, unless they show signs of distress. Instead, I would take extra measures to ease the transistion. Doing things like a tub or deep tray of cool water or thin mud for them to walk in, maybe adding ice cubes periodically. Offering their crumble/pellets that has been soaked and almost frozen. Maybe rigging up extra shade. Maybe misting them some. There are threads with these and more ideas.

 

[Love My Chickies]

Where do you live? I'm not seeing any ventilation in that coop.

South Texas. Both ends are wide open with hardware cloth, as someone on this site recommended.

 

[Love My Chickies]

I'm not an expert on South Texas temperatures, but I would also worry there isn't enough ventilation in the coop to keep them cool during the day and night.

Both ends are wide open with hardware cloth and I added the fan for help with keeping air circulating.

 

[RobertaD1]

I wouldnt do back and forth. Make sure they have plenty of shade, fresh cool water, some water with electrolytes, and go for it!

I really like your coop! What are the dimensions?

 

[Love My Chickies]

I think the front and back are completely open screen door/wall. That is good. The fan will help too. Is it designed for barns or other such dusty places? Chickens are incredibly dusty and will clog up normal fans.

The blue tarps are for shade? That should help a lot, more so if there is an air gap between them and the coop, preferrably one big enough to let any breeze through between them and the coop.

I don't have to deal with your heat but I think I would not do the back and forth acclimation thing, unless they show signs of distress. Instead, I would take extra measures to ease the transistion. Doing things like a tub or deep tray of cool water or thin mud for them to walk in, maybe adding ice cubes periodically. Offering their crumble/pellets that has been soaked and almost frozen. Maybe rigging up extra shade. Maybe misting them some. There are threads with these and more ideas.

We put the tarps up for shade when the sun is lower and they also helps keep the rain out.

 

[Love My Chickies]

I wouldnt do back and forth. Make sure they have plenty of shade, fresh cool water, some water with electrolytes, and go for it!

I really like your coop! What are the dimensions?

Thank you! The coop is about 4.5' wide, 7' long, and 6' high on the highest side.

 

[Love My Chickies]

Well last night was their first night in their new home. They seemed very interested, checking everything out. I was a worried momma, went out at 1:30 am to check on them lol. Although they tested out the roosting bars, they all slept on the floor snuggled together like they did in the brooder. I'm hoping they will eventually venture up to them.