Polycarbonate Roofing... too hot?

[CrazyChickGirl]

Thank you! Any other comments about the roofing?

 

[Alaskan]

just make nice deep eaves, but make sure you can still open and close the doors!

 

[cafarmgirl]

I live in central CA too, in Turlock. I would go with solid roofing so you don't get a greenhouse effect. We also have open front coops covered with hardware cloth. In winter we add those clear panels across the front to block the wind and take them down in summer, works perfectly, birds are very comfortable. Even with open front coops we still put up fans in the summer. Last summers extended heat wave was a killer, fans ran 24/7 during that.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

Hmm, so will we need to cover that side during winter then? Why not just use windows if that's the case? I guess I still feel confused. I've been reading different threads ALL DAY (lol) and it seems like everyone has different opinions on this stuff. I think that confuses me the most.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

Also, how do I transition my chicks to this open sided coop? They have been spoiled inside with 68 degree days. I have been slowly putting them outside in their "play pen" for a few hours during the afternoon, trying to get them to adjust to real world weather a little bit. Don't want to shock their little bodies... they just stopped using the heat lamp yesterday. So I think we still have a ways to go before they could sleep in the coop...

 

[4 the Birds]

Also, how do I transition my chicks to this open sided coop? They have been spoiled inside with 68 degree days. I have been slowly putting them outside in their "play pen" for a few hours during the afternoon, trying to get them to adjust to real world weather a little bit. Don't want to shock their little bodies... they just stopped using the heat lamp yesterday. So I think we still have a ways to go before they could sleep in the coop...

We move chicks from the garage brooder to the coop at 5 weeks of age and then move them to the coop with a brooder lamp a few weeks. This will acclimate them nicely. We also have them in a separate area from the mature birds before they join the flock.

I would for sure use a sturdy leak free roof material that does not allow sunlight through (even partially). This will give maximum shade. The three sided design sounds fine but the ability to have vents or windows or large openings that can be closed off will greatly improve your control over your ventilation and storm protection. A portion of my coop is three sided in the warm months and panels are added during the Winter.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

Thank you. I am just trying to put all of this information into our design, but still keep it as simple as possible for us. Maybe instead of doing one whole open side, we will place windows on the long sides and make the door "open" with hardware cloth. It will be a smaller opening then a whole side being open. The whole coop is 3 ft by 8 ft. They will also have a HUGE run that they will be allowed to roam for most of the day. Like 10-12 hours. So they will not be in the coop at all at the hottest part of the day.

And thank you for the transition ideas and pictures!

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

Also, if most are agreed that I should skip the polycarbonate, what SHOULD I use?

 

[mallege]

I am getting to build a run in the next few weeks. I was leaning towards covering at least a portion of the run with dark brown or green polycarbonate, so I'm very curious about the recommendations.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Thank you. I am just trying to put all of this information into our design, but still keep it as simple as possible for us. Maybe instead of doing one whole open side, we will place windows on the long sides and make the door "open" with hardware cloth. It will be a smaller opening then a whole side being open. The whole coop is 3 ft by 8 ft. They will also have a HUGE run that they will be allowed to roam for most of the day. Like 10-12 hours. So they will not be in the coop at all at the hottest part of the day.

And thank you for the transition ideas and pictures!

Mine have a partly shaded run and they free range in my pasture but in the hottest part of the day they retreat into the coops where there is solid shade and where they can park themselves in front of the fans I put up in the summer. Since my coops are open-front in summer they also get any breeze that is blowing through the barn. (The coops are built into the back of my open goat barn)

Mallege: I would think the dark colored polycarbonate would be fine for a run since the sides are all open.