New to chickens - already built coop - tell me what's wrong (or right) - Florida

[JOANNYOUNG]

I live on the east coast of Central FL. We just started our chickens in May 2020. Yes, it got pretty hot here. We installed a fan in our coop and our coop is built up off the ground 3 ft. It was a very hot summer and they spent most of the summer under the coop in the shade. We purchased a shade cloth to place over the run also and that did help. My chickens like to scratch and dig in their run. I have rather large holes where they've carved out places to keep themselves cool also. I worried about predators digging from the outside but never thought about how much digging the chickens do on the inside! We have hardware cloth going from the bottom board about 18 inches out to lay flat on the ground. The grass ends up growing through it and if something decides to dig under the hardware cloth, they have a lot farther to go before they get to the actual run. We bought Amazon Blink cameras so we get an alert if something is snooping aroun the coop at night. I've seen 3 different raccoons. They've sniffed around but pass on trying to get in so far. We feel our coop is pretty solid. Do you have a roost bar in their coop? Mine wanted to roost almost from week 1. We also have roost bars in the run for them. They like to get up there to see what's going on. Good luck!

 

[fawnda]

Personally, I would keep the chicks inside for a few weeks at least or until feathered out at 5-6 weeks. They can slip through the bars of the dog crates for one, and it's hard to heat adequately a big open, drafty space like that for young chicks who need a draft-free 90 degree environment. They are so small, a mink could slip in above the hardware cloth apron or a snake and eat/kill a bunch of them. I had a friend who got 25 chicks this past spring and put them all in an old barn with appropriate heat etc. They thought they had found all the openings and fixed it, but a mink got in and killed them all in one night :/ At least if they're bigger when you put them out, they become too big for many things to eat them. If nothing else, set it all up now with a thermometer and do a trial run overnight to make sure you can keep the area warm enough through the night especially.

 

[aart]

Gotta say, I never thought about all the digging the chickens might do from the inside either.

It's crazy!!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/excavation-by-birds-a-word-of-warning.1086535/

 

[Scissors65]

I live in South West Florida and I love your open concept, and great security! I did not read all the comments, so forgive me if it was already mentioned... But when hurricane weather or just our never ending summer rains come, you may need to add some wall protection from rain blowing in on them. Chickens don't let being wet, and sometime our rains are unforgiving.

 

[NatJ]

Why put the chicks out after a few days? They will need supplemental heat, even in FL. Also, a weasel or snake can easily climb in through the wire that's above the hardware cloth and into the dog kennels. I'd keep them inside at least until they're feathered and odd of heat and a bit bigger.

This thread has been going for a while--today's update said the chicks are 14 weeks old

 

[hkeibard]

Check the wire that meets the coop, ANY gaps need to be secured tighter. You would be amazed to see what & who can squeeze themselves into the smallest gaps.

Oh, thank you so much for that point. With what was there and what I'm adding with hardware cloth, where the wire meets the wood should be ok I think. It's nice and tight and we're using a pneumatic stapler with 1" staples.

But I'm still fighting my husband thinking I'm going overboard with wanting to cover ALL the gaps where the tin roof meets the coop wood. It's not a flat roof and there were large gaps on the "corrugated" part. He attached some wood boards to narrow the large gaps but there are still channels of up to 1" in spots. I'm attaching a photo but it's hard to capture.

I think I should put a layer of fine, bendable wire or screen at those spots all along the three sides.

 

[hkeibard]

Hard to say what bedding would work best,
might depend on how much rain comes in the sides.

Might think about an apron around all 3 sides to keep anything from digging under the floor and living there.
Good examples of anti-dig apron installation.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

Yes, I was definitely thinking I should add an apron. I hadn't brought it up with hubs yet because, again, he thinks I'm overthinking it. I don't think I am based on so many of the heartbreaking stories I've read here. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Cape parrot]

Hi,

I'm new to chickens (chicks arriving at end of month) and newly hatched on this forum today. Though I've been reading posts for months now (so helpful!)
Coop is located in northeast Florida so the climate is mild. Gets colder here in northeast FL than it usually does in central or south FL, but very very mild compared to what so many of you deal with. Coop was already built - attached to an out building, both made of cypress wood. Open on three sides, which I've come to understand is desirable for the humid and hot summers in Florida.

Outlining some of the details:
- coop is 10 x 10
- 6 nesting boxes - accessible from outside of coop
- coop is big enough to stand up in
- original floor was dirt - we added a wood floor and covered with vinyl
- coop was covered with heavy duty wire but it had cattle panel size opening
- in process of wrapping entire thing with hardware cloth (will finish this weekend)
- we also attached boards all along the bottom perimeter - for security and to keep litter/bedding in
- will have a double latch system on the door at top and bottom
- roof is tin - we have plugged holes and painted top to waterproof it and reflect sun
- two original ramps will be reattached along with additional roosts/perches
- right now there are two dog crates in the coop - plan is to have baby chicks in house for first several days then put them outside in the crates within the coop
- we will be adding an attached run to the right of the coop

Deep litter likely to not work well for this coop, so I'm deciding between just pine shavings and regular cleanings or either sand or sani-care as an alternative.
I wish I could free range, but we have a lot of birds of prey that show up daily here.

Concerns:
- anyone with hot weather experience providing insight would be helpful; I see a lot of coops with tight lock up spots for the birds at night. Not really so much here, should I be concerned?
- should I do more for predator protection?
- coop is close to neighbor's property -he's fine with us having chickens, but that's because he'll be the noisy one (engines) so I'm also concerned about that stress - which is a partial reason I'll be shipping the chicks out the coop after several days to get used to it -- I hope.

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions? Anything is appreciated.

(hopefully the photos come though, not one of my skill sets)

I like it ! I’m in North Florida also. My chickens were not afraid of my loud mower. They learned quickly that good food comes from the noisy machine with the crazy chicken lady driving.
I don’t ever lock my birds in the coop . They have a secure run with a roof and plenty of perches.
I keep a close daily inspection on the run to keep raccoons out.
Also I installed 4 NightGuard predator lights.

 

[DouglasB]

Hi,

I'm new to chickens (chicks arriving at end of month) and newly hatched on this forum today. Though I've been reading posts for months now (so helpful!)
Coop is located in northeast Florida so the climate is mild. Gets colder here in northeast FL than it usually does in central or south FL, but very very mild compared to what so many of you deal with. Coop was already built - attached to an out building, both made of cypress wood. Open on three sides, which I've come to understand is desirable for the humid and hot summers in Florida.

Outlining some of the details:
- coop is 10 x 10
- 6 nesting boxes - accessible from outside of coop
- coop is big enough to stand up in
- original floor was dirt - we added a wood floor and covered with vinyl
- coop was covered with heavy duty wire but it had cattle panel size opening
- in process of wrapping entire thing with hardware cloth (will finish this weekend)
- we also attached boards all along the bottom perimeter - for security and to keep litter/bedding in
- will have a double latch system on the door at top and bottom
- roof is tin - we have plugged holes and painted top to waterproof it and reflect sun
- two original ramps will be reattached along with additional roosts/perches
- right now there are two dog crates in the coop - plan is to have baby chicks in house for first several days then put them outside in the crates within the coop
- we will be adding an attached run to the right of the coop

Deep litter likely to not work well for this coop, so I'm deciding between just pine shavings and regular cleanings or either sand or sani-care as an alternative.
I wish I could free range, but we have a lot of birds of prey that show up daily here.

Concerns:
- anyone with hot weather experience providing insight would be helpful; I see a lot of coops with tight lock up spots for the birds at night. Not really so much here, should I be concerned?
- should I do more for predator protection?
- coop is close to neighbor's property -he's fine with us having chickens, but that's because he'll be the noisy one (engines) so I'm also concerned about that stress - which is a partial reason I'll be shipping the chicks out the coop after several days to get used to it -- I hope.

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions? Anything is appreciated.

(hopefully the photos come though, not one of my skill sets)

Very nice, is there anything to deter digging under the sides? Maybe adding some side panels to keep wind and rain out. Those could be hinged at the top to fold up when its hot, and they would provide some shade. Fold down in bad weather.

 

[hkeibard]

Hello, I'm also in north Florida.
I know what you mean about the grooves in the corrugated tin roof. I blocked the gaps in my tin roof with wedges of styrofoam (where the chickens couldn't reach it) to prevent rat snakes from slipping through. Rat snakes are very good climbers & got under the gaps on the tin roof on our porch, so I knew they'd try for the chicken coop. So far so good...

Ah, I was thinking about using styrofoam for those grooves. One way or another, I'll win the argument with dear hubby. There are so many ways to lose a chicken, I don't want it to be by my own neglect for basic safety. Thank you.