Open/Fresh Air Coops

I have a nice 12 x 12 coop with a huge run (it used to be a 50 x 50 play yard for my kids). Last summer someone gave me a chicken tractor with a solid roof, enclosed back and two of the sides closed for about 4 feet. The rest of the sides are chicken wire and the front is wire also. I put that tractor in my chicken run and I have chickens who have chosen to live in it for the winter. I never shut the tractor door, they are free to go wherever they like, and they free range, too.

I mention all this because this is in Illinois where the weather is nasty! It truly is the humidity in a coop that does the harm. I haven't seen the first bit of frostbite on any of my birds. I have a lot of ventilation in my big coop, also, and I have one of the many windows open about 5 inches.

I think that an open coop would be even more beneficial where you live.
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wow, how do you keep kids off of it?
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What kids? My baby is mostly grown. If everyone can use the kids old playhouses for coops I thought I could use the toys, too!

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I can picture the chickens bouncing on it when you are not watching. Clever use of a toy.
 
Down here in Louisiana, we have VERY hot summers, so the Open/Fresh Air Coops are perfect. The winter can be cold but it doesn't last long. Here are a few pics of my open/fresh air coops. I have about 150 chickens, so I have about 12 coops for all of the gang.

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I have something of an open air/three sided coop. I think I'm too new to be able to post pictures, but I live in the Texas Hill Country where it is generally mild and heat in the summer is the biggest concern rather than cold in winter. My three sided coop blocks the north wind and is open to the south. The coop is completely open to the south and the entire thing is enclosed within a 25x25' run. Because it is completely open, we electrified the run to protect from predators by running an electrical wire near the bottom and near the middle. The electrical fence is grounded to the run fencing so if a predator (or myself) touches the electrical wire and the fence they get quite a shock!
 
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Thank you. And to make cleaning easier, I place hay in the bottom wired raised coops, so when it's time to clean, I just remove the hay and place more hay inside. There is little to NO poop on the wire of the coop once the hay is removed.
 

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