Newbie Questions

[Ehogan]

Good morning,

I am about ready to move all of my ideas from paper to the backyard. I was playing with the idea of using an open air coop. However, I am really leaning towards a traditional coop. I have a few questions that I need some advise on:

With an open air coop
a. How deep should you keep it?
b. Will it get to drafty for the chickens during the winter in GA?
c. How do you keep rain from blowing in?

Thanks
Erik

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Why not atleast wall in 2 sides, & a roof to protect from rain. I lived in Ga. for a couple of years, & the winters shouldn't get too cold, as long as they can stay dry.

Oh yeah.......

 

[patandchickens]

Really, having at least a couple sides open (hardwarecloth-protected, obviously) is a much much better idea for hot regions like GA. There is just no reason for a closed, 4 solid walls, storage shed style coop, and a lot of disadvantages to it.

You don't need to keep rain from blowing in *totally*, just make sure the birds have somewhere to stay out of the rain. One common plan is to have a sheltered area around the roost, not totally boxed in but high enough and with enough in the way of 'sides' that rain cannot get there. Two other things that help keep the non-roost area dry are to have ample roof overhangs (which also help with shade and thus coolth), and put a partial solid covering over the middle or upper portion of a side where you have particularly-persistant problems with rain blowing in.

I don't know what part of GA you are in, but if there is any question about "cold" (heh

) winter winds, just staple some 6mil plastic over the open portions of the N and W sides, and there ya go. Or plywood or whatever you prefer. You can't close in the whole enchilada or it will get way too humid, but 2-3 sides covered over is no problem.

Sorry, not sure what you mean by "how deep should you keep it"?

Good luck, have fun, welcome to BYC,

Pat

 

[Ridgerunner]

What size coop are you planning, both from a length and width perspective and a height? That may determine whether an open sided coop is a good idea. There is a difference in a 4'x4' 4' high and one 8' high as far as how much protection you will be able to provide them. I do think rain getting in could be a problem if you use organic matter as litter, like straw or wood shavings. You really don't want that stuff getting wet. Of course, you can always use sand as a flooring. Then I would agree that rain won't hurt as long as they can roost out of the rain. I assume you occasionally but rarely see overnight lows in the single digits in the winter, maybe just down into the teens Fahrenheit if you are way far south. They can handle that as long as they ared not in a direct draft.

What I would consider is boxing in three sides and leaving one side as wire. That will give you all the ventilation you could possibly need. Unless you are in the shade, I'd make sure one side that was boxed in was the south to keep direct sun out and keep it cooler, maybe angling it to protect a bit from the southwest. You know your site and where the worst of the sun will come from. Then I would look at where the prevaling winds come from and try to have the open side away from the prevaling winds. Doing that and having a decent overhang should keep the worst of the drafts and rain out. And I would plan on having the roosts toward the back of the box.

 

[95yj]

where do you live, that really makes a difference, if your south of delaware I'd say go for it. In my humble opinion birds always do better when they have plenty of fresh air, always, but up north its a little too cold for 3-4 months out of the year. This could easily be rectified by sealing up the open front in the winter with plastic or tarps. the other problem mentioned, rain blowing in, can easily be designed around to prevent rain from entering. Trust me the bedding will get moldy, disgusting and a breeding ground for disease if it gets wet, even if you use sand.