post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Deleon98]

What im confused about tho how to put the hardware cloth on the roof vent gap.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Can you post a pic as to where on the coop you were planning on putting the hardware cloth

 

[TJordan]

What im confused about tho how to put the hardware cloth on the roof vent gap.

You can use sturdy hardware cloth staples. Get them from lowes and use a hammer to tap them into place. That's what we are doing. Going to run a bead of weather caulk around the joints to seal a few nail misses and add a second line of water control. If you can't find the staples use a bunch of nails... Bend them over half way to catch the cloth to secure.

 

[TJordan]

Can you post a pic as to where on the coop you were planning on putting the hardware cloth

I'll try. My phone is acting up and my son fried my iPad.

 

[Latestarter]

Ok wow thanks! I wondering for the roof, is it ok if it slanted in a triangle leaving ventilation gaps on the left and right side? Do you think stuffike snakes could get in like that?

Exactly right, there WILL be triangular gaps on the sides, highest at the open end, and none at the back where the roof ends for water shedding. What the others said is also correct, take a strip of hardware cloth and cut it a little larger than the opening and use POULTRY STAPLES (not regular staples like in a staple gun) to attach the hardware cloth to cover those gaps. Use 1/2" hardware cloth as the wire is heavier grade than 1/4" hardware cloth. It's not really for added ventilation as the entire front will be completely open... hard to get much more ventilated than that without doing a completely screen/wire fence open enclosure. Remember, the sides will be 4' tall, so unless it's a very long snake, 6-7' plus, it's doubtful it will be able to climb up the wall to get in. If you're in southern FL where they are now having a problem with huge invasive snakes like pythons and such, of course this could be a factor. The bigger issue will be it going UNDER the walls or the fencing. You will want to place a wire "skirt" around the entire enclosure; coop and run, to prevent diggers from getting in.

here's an example of skirting with pavers on top.



here's a picture of the poultry staples - the heavier ones seen.


You can see that I used hardware cloth over the top of welded wire fencing for added strength at the primary attack level, and skirted out welded wire fencing to prevent diggers.

I know you may be tempted to go with chicken wire to save $$, but don't! Chicken wire is weak and worthless as predator prevention. It is only useful for keeping chickens (or rabbits) in or out of an area. A fox/raccoon/stray dog/coyote/etc. can and will rip right through chicken wire in minutes and feast on your birds. Now others have said they've had dogs and other animals get through hardware cloth as well, and of course, they CAN, if they really want to. It obviously would be no deterrent at all to a bear or cougar either. But the animals that can and will go through hardware cloth aren't that frequent, and it's very difficult to justify spending huge $$ to protect a $10 chicken. You do what you can and hope for the best.

 

[bruceha2000]

OK @Deleon98 , not sure where you are in FL, but the coop will need to be very well ventilated as it is more often hot than cold, and it never really gets seriously cold there. It doesn't need to be anything really fancy, you could actually build a three sided structure (with a roof sloping toward the back of it) and leave the inside; ground (no floor) so you can use a deep litter method. You could build a roost along the back wall (about a foot away from it and a couple feet off the ground) making sure they also have head room while on the roost so they don't bang their heads. You can take some 5 gallon buckets (you'll only need a couple for 6 birds) to make nest "boxes" out of and place them 6" up off the floor over on one side or the other.

I'd do it in lumber increments to keep it easy. The shelter can be 4 foot deep, 4 foot high, and 8 foot across so basically, 3 sheets of plywood (1 full sheet for back, 1 sheet cut in 1/2 for either side, & 1 for the roof @ 4' X 8' or roof could be made of the corrugated fiberglass sheeting) so a rectangular box shape. I would move the sides in just a bit to give about a 3-6" overhang of the roof. You'd also need 2 - 4x4 posts for the corners and some 2x4s for roof support/framing. You'll also need some T posts & the fencing as well for the run area. Then you can extend the run directly from the open end out, however far you wish, I'd say 10', which would give you an overall "floor space" of "coop" and run of ~112 square feet... more than adequate. Your overall footprint for the coop and run would be 8' x 14' I'd advise making a gate at the end of the run so you have access for cleaning and egg collection as well as to let the birds in and out. You can always let them out to free range when you're there to keep an eye on them.

Another option would be to get a couple of cattle panels and build a hoop coop. There are examples throughout the site here.

I think this is a good idea for Deleon especially in hot humid Florida. If you make it without a solid front (I WOULD if I lived in Florida), put a center "post" in the middle and make four 1/2" hardware cloth covered doors (really windows I guess). Hinge 2 on the center post and 2 on the sides. You could make just 2 doors but they would be really big and would need a lot of reinforcement to keep their shape. Use barrel bolts that can be "locked" closed with a carabiner or other clip to keep the doors latched and keep the birds in it at night.



I would not let my birds free range if I were in your situation. As was pointed out, LOTS of things can get your chickens even when you ARE home. I am still taking my chances but have lost 2 birds to foxes, late April 2014 and again 2015 in the evening WHEN we were home. Never heard a thing from either of them. It would have been three but Echo let out a huge squawk (same day in 2015) while I was making dinner and I saw a fox with it's mouth around her neck about 70' behind the house but only about 20' from the side of the barn. Not sure if I scared it enough yelling while I was STILL in the house but my daughter ran out one door, I ran out another and the fox took off to the woods 200' across the field, Echo the other direction. We found her 300' down and across the road at a neighbor's house 2 hours later (now you know why the chicken crossed the road). She was missing a lot of neck feathers in the front but apparently no other damage.

I would plan on making a cattle panel hoop run. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to build and easy to expand when you have the time/money. Make the base the same width as the coop. There might have to be some "weirdness" where it meets the coop, maybe just a piece of plywood tall and wide enough to fill the arched space, cut to match the curve or just leave the "points" out and decorate them

. Cover at least the first hoop with a sturdy tarp. You don't want to use the blue plastic ones, they will not last long and it will cost more in the long run to continually replace them. Believe it or not a CANVAS tarp will last much longer than a plastic one, especially for this use since being open on both sides allows it to dry after rain and it won't suffer from the sun nearly as much as a plastic one. Look for a nice natural color (ie off white) tarp for boats.

You can use sturdy hardware cloth staples. Get them from lowes and use a hammer to tap them into place. That's what we are doing. Going to run a bead of weather caulk around the joints to seal a few nail misses and add a second line of water control. If you can't find the staples use a bunch of nails... Bend them over half way to catch the cloth to secure.

They are called "poultry" or "fence" staples and look like this:


NOT this. NEVER uses these to attach hardware cloth, other than to hold it in position during construction. To find out why, do it, then pull on the wire and watch the staples pop out.


If you go to a hardware store that sells loose nails by the pound you can pick up however many you need. But if you don't have one, you can buy a pound box for about $3.50 at the big box stores. DO NOT pound them all the way in until you are sure they are where you want them to be. Once they are in, the only way I know to get them out is to pound a narrow flat tip screwdriver (I know) or maybe a punch/nail set under the "staple" and pry. 99% guaranteed you will break the wire underneath when you do.

Other options for attaching 1/2" hardware cloth are screws and fender washers (more expensive) or sandwiching it between 2 pieces of wood screwed together. I think the second is a better plan for making the wire covered doors I suggested because the edges of the hardware cloth will be covered. This is where you could use the Arrow style staples so the hardware cloth is held tightly in position while you screw one piece of wood over the other.

 

[Deleon98]

And what size roll of hardware wire do i need in order to have enough for a run and vent coverups if i was going with a coop made from 4 by 8s and slanted roof?

 

[TalkALittle]

And what size roll of hardware wire do i need in order to have enough for a run and vent coverups if i was going with a coop made from 4 by 8s and slanted roof?

Deleon98, you may want to start a new thread about your coop plans and ask questions that are specific to your plans there. That way people don't have to scroll back through all the other posts in this thread to find the ones about your coop. Plus, your probably going to get more responses if you have your own thread because I'm sure there are members that don't bother checking this thread at all since it's usually just a place where people post pictures of their coops, not ask for advice on a build project.

As for the size roll you'd need, it depends on the size of your openings. A drawing to scale will help you determine the answer. It doesn't have to be anything fancy to start, just a rough sketch on graph paper so you have an idea of the size of things. You can take a photo of your sketch and post it on your new thread and it will be much easier for people to give advice.

 

[Deleon98]

Ok thank you and good advice ill start a new thread XD

 

[the poppster]

And what size roll of hardware wire do i need in order to have enough for a run and vent coverups if i was going with a coop made from 4 by 8s and slanted roof?

Be sure that the hardware cloth is at least 2 inches higher than the run height...so you have a bit of over lap to put the staples in...so if you go with 4 ft high HC you want to be sure the Finished height of the run frame is no more then 4 ft...if your run is to be 4 ft high by 8 ft long by 4 ft wide you will need At least 25 ft....not less...any extra can be used to cover the roof vents.