Open coop

[AuntieAHiloSide]

We are near Hilo Hawaii. It rarely gets below 60 at our elevation, usually it goes down to 64 degrees or so at night. The predators are mongoose, hawks, owls, and wild dog or cat. The coop is an open cage and we thought shade cloth would be ok for sides. Do chickens need enclosed coops if it doesn’t get too cool?

 

[Ryguy3684]

I've seen many people, in hot weather climates, that have open coops. I would use 1/2" hardware cloth, or similar, for the walls. I've seen horror stories of chickens getting pulled through cage openings that are larger than that. The shade cloth is a good idea. As long as it's predator proof, an open concept is a fine idea.

 

[Ryguy3684]

Do you have pics of what you're using?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

In those temperatures you don't have to worry at all about cold. In Hawaii not sure how hot it actually gets either. Heat is often more of a problem for many of us but you may not have that much of a problem with heat either. Still shade is a good idea.

I'm not sure how strong shade cloth really is. Can a big dog rip it? That would be my worry. You might consider covering your run with stronger wire to keep dogs out and then use the shade cloth to keep smaller critters from going through that wire. Something like 2" x 4" welded wire might be a good choice.

You need to keep feed dry. You don't want rain to fall into your nests. I imagine you get some pretty good thunderstorms. I'd build something that would keep these things dry and give the chickens some shelter against windblown rain when they are on the roosts. If you have a prevalent wind direction maybe block off a corner of your run to give hem some protection. Not sure if shade cloth would work for that or not.

 

[NatJ]

Do chickens need enclosed coops if it doesn’t get too cool?

No.


They need shelter from rain and from sun.
They need protection from predators.
They sometimes need protection from wind (depends on where the coop is.)
They need food and water.
They need enough ventilation (fresh air.)
Laying hens need nestboxes to lay their eggs in.
It's good to have a roost for the chickens to sleep on.

None of those really require an enclosed coop, and ventilation in particular is easier if the coop does not have solid walls. Welded wire or hardware cloth are often good choices for predator-proofing, depending on what kind of predators are in your area.

 

[BleuSaphir]

Open air concept are great with hot or dry climate. I worry about chicken getting too hot from the heat from my California summers. Especially when you live in the desert part of California.

 

[cmom]

I have a couple of coops that are completely open on one side. My problem was rain blowing in and getting the feed wet so I put tarps over the openings. You will need to completely cover with hardware cloth to keep the mongoose out. They are veracious killers. There are some videos on YouTube of them picking off chickens in their coop while sleeping/roosting. They would kill one then another, then another until all of the birds were dead and being dark in the coop the mongoose just kept picking them off. I think someone on BYC also posted a video of a weasel doing the same thing. Good luck...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators

 

[NatJ]

I have a couple of coops that are completely open on one side....

I think you got caught by an old thread.
(But it's only a year old, not a decade or more.)

 

[cmom]

 

[saysfaa]

I have a couple of coops that are completely open on one side. My problem was rain blowing in and getting the feed wet so I put tarps over the openings. You will need to completely cover with hardware cloth to keep the mongoose out. They are veracious killers. There are some videos on YouTube of them picking off chickens in their coop while sleeping/roosting. They would kill one then another, then another until all of the birds were dead and being dark in the coop the mongoose just kept picking them off. I think someone on BYC also posted a video of a weasel doing the same thing. Good luck...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators
View attachment 2833316

Even if it is an old thread, I'd like to ask about the rain coming in. I'm building an open sided coop. Is there ventilation in or between any or all of the other three walls, the roof and the floor? And what are the dimensions?