Open front coop/run

[Gatngran]

I live is southern Illinois and my husband is building a 12x20 three sided roofed coop/run. It will house chickens on one side and ducks in the other. We let them free range during the day, but want them to have room when they can not get out due to weather. I have two questions I have a lot of cats so do not want sand on the floor so what is a good suggestion for flooring that can be cleaned? And two do I need to make a smaller area for when it is cold to keep them warm? Such as a little boxed in area. We will have the front open until it gets really cold then we will put up a tarp. We are I process of building so I have no pictures.

 

[wamtazlady]

You might want to research the Woods Coop. Several members on BYC use them. You can find several articles about them if you use "woods coop" using the search feature here. The coop is open fronted and does really well for cold weather. If I'd known about the coop before I built mine I would have built one.

 

[cholland]

Love my woods coop. Just close the upper windows when it gets down below about 40F. The front stays wide open.

I painted my floor with porch paint. Some people like to use Blackjack 57. Then use wood chips. I start with about 4 inches deep and add more occasionally. I clean them all out twice a year and start fresh. Kind of like deep litter, but not quite. Works for me.

 

[MissChick@dee]

A box for warmth would be very good. Around here the wind from the North is BITTER COLD. I provide hideouts for when they free range too. Winds and drafts can make your chickens sickly. If you watch them sometimes you can pick up on where they prefer to go.