open air coops

[WoodlandWoman]

Terri1nd, can you put 1/2" hardware cloth over your garage windows? That way the windows could be open as far as you want for more ventilation, but no predators could get in.

It can go on the outside, if you need the inside clear, to open the window. We usually use washers and wood screws to attach it, but you could use strips of wood screwed down over the edges, instead. That may reduce the number of holes in the wood. After the chickens move out, just unscrew the screws, add a dab of putty and repaint the frame.

If your husband doesn't want to do that, the other option would be to make a framed piece of hardware cloth that's fitted over the window on the inside. It would be hinged and have a sturdy latch. When you needed to open or close the window, you would unlatch the hardware cloth's frame and swing it open. If you do something like that, make sure you use wood screws to attach the hinges and latch.

 

[walbarbsa]

I also have an open air coop -- three sided -- about ten feet high. I've had chickens for five years and never had this problem until this year. An owl has been flying into the coop and grabbing chickens by their heads and dragging them outside and....well, you know. I would never have believed this if I hadn't seen it flying out of the coop. I'd heard the dogs barking and ran out to check and saw it. I "captured" it in my flashlight beam and watched it for about five minutes in the neighbor's tree.

I quickly covered the front of the coop with plywood and pieces of leftover wood. As of last night, no problems, but haven't been outside to check yet as it's FINALLY raining....I have another coop under construction and will definitely add that fourth side, along with a door. I had originally thought the culprit was a raccoon or possum and set up a trap but, then, when I saw that owl......

I lost six or seven chickens (only one of which was a rooster); the girls are traumatized and I didn't get a single egg yesterday.....

Fortunately, I have about 15 peeps in the garage ready to fill those empty nests next year in a four-sided coop!

Feliz Navidad,

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Barb, did you have any kind of wire over the open side? 1/2" hardware cloth is the safest choice for open walls or covering vents and windows. Attach it with wood screws, to keep it from being pushed or pulled out.

 

[walbarbsa]

No, but I'm going to cover the windows with wire, and put a front on both coops. This will involve a door for my entry....I'll be visiting flea markets soon....Watching your carefully raised "girls" end their lives like that it too much for me.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
That is the likeliest explanation, but first let me check: are these walls insulated at all, and what is the indoor (compared to outdoor) temperature. I'm asking because a large slab-floored garage can hold heat pretty well at least in early winter so that it is possible to be *considerably* warmer indoors than out, and then if you have UNinsulated walls the moisture will condense there even if coop humidity is not real high. The same way that house windows can frost up if it is *real* cold outside -- just because of a really big temperature difference across an uninsulated/conductive surface. (If your garage temps are not more than 15-20 F higher than outdoors, and/or if the walls are insulated, then yes, your likeliest problem is insufficient ventilation.

If it is a true humidity-and-insufficient-ventilation issue, I would suggest a multipronged attack:

first, try to keep the coop as clean (poo- and spilled-water free) as possible. Droppings boards under the roost, cleaned every morning, help quite a lot.

second, if the windows are all you can use to ventilate to the outdoors, fine, put hardwarecloth up like WoodlandWoman describes and leave them part-open as much as you can. If wind/snow comes in, you may be able to rig a baffle of some sort to discourage that.

third, as long as your husband will not have a fit about a bit of dust getting on the stuff in the shop, then yes, it would be helpful to open a small amount (high up) of the plastic that separates the chickens from the shop. Be prepared to experiment with how much is open. The only exception would be if there are fume-y things in the shop (paint, solvents, gasoline) or if it's heated with something like a propane heater that gives off a lot of water vapor.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[tiki244]

good thread

 

[claudicles]

Thanks for dredging this up tiki244. Good reading. I live in a warmish climate with the odd frost so I have open ended tractors. No problems. I love the look of the covered roosting shed on page 2. I sense a trip to the hardware shop to get building

 

[tiki244]

umbs up

 

[longlegz86]

Mine is open air... Can anyone tell me if I am going to need maybe a heat lamp during winter so they dont get too cold? Thanks

 

[Kjordanov]

Mine is open air... Can anyone tell me if I am going to need maybe a heat lamp during winter so they dont get too cold? Thanks

How cold does it get where you are? In my coop (which Is an enclosed coop) I turn on the lamp when it's in freezing temps.