question about new coop and run that was just built "PICS"

[countrygirl911]

ok ty for letting me know i will have to do that i am going to town later today and will have to pick up some. We do not want anything happening to them we are very attached to them again ty for the info

 

[rancher hicks]

First please get a book on "chicken keeping" to find not only answers but ideas. Not eveything in the books is written in concrete and modifications can be made to suit each situation.

Second not sure what area of the country you are in, (which seems to be with most newbies), this is important to answering your questions and should be noted.

Third poultry wire is just fine. Hardware cloth is not a "little" more expensive, it "is" expensive. Every location has different predators and risks.

Fourth your coop is an oven and/or freezer in the making and completely inappropriate for housing chickens. It has no windows for ventilation, which is a must.

Fifth I see no access to the run or coop from the outside.

Please do some research so you and your chickens will have a happy experience.

Wishing you the best

Rancher

 

[countrygirl911]

i am in the US in southwest mississippi, i have ventilization hole in the buliding not big windows to be seen by the necked eye unless u are next to the coop they are about 3 inches wide and they are place alond the top of the sides of the coop on all sides, as for the door to access the run and coop it is on the back side of the coop to where i can walk in and tend to their needs and walk inside the coop itself. I have a door over the front made of wood and chicken wire and it is open all day except for when they are sleeping. When i go in their there is a nice breeze inside that keeps it cooler than outside in the run.

 

[rancher hicks]

You may want to put a large thermometer inside to monitor temps. It may not get to cold at night but may get to hot during the day.

Rancher

 

[chics in the sun]

I am new to this too, and did some research beore building my "southern" coop, which I call the "Florida Cracker coop". (My parents were both raised with chickens, but in Ohio) Chickens have very sensitive respiratory systems, and they are also less heat tolerant than cold tolerant. That means we have to make some modifications to raise them in the south from the typical enclosed coops you see in the north, which are mostly to keep the birds warm and safe in really cold weather. It is best to make AT LEAST one wall completely open with nothing but chicken wire (or hadware cloth) so they are shaded but have LOTS of ventilation. Here is my funky coop. If I did it over, I would actually build the walls on the right and left down to the ground instead of just around their little roost "loft", as that would provide a more shaded area. The tree I had hoped would provide the shade does not actually provide enough in the morning, so right now I have a piece of plywood proped up against it. In the winter I am going to hang a vinyl sheet on each side, and I may add a little corner that is wall on both sides. If I were you, I would take a grider saw and open up a big-ol- hole almost the size of the entire wall. (If I read it correctly, the door that is closed at night is also solid ?) And find some way to provide shade - especially over the run.

 

[chics in the sun]

And here is the addition I put on with the nesting boxes, which they like but have not started using yet... soon, very soon!

 

[countrygirl911]

hi ty the door that is closed at night is made of 2 2x4's but together with the chicken wire over the whole thing so the door is closed so that preditors do not get in and the holes in all the chicken wire lets air blow in and outyou can see thru the door and they can peep their little heads out thru the holes in the chicken wire. for winter time we are still trying to figure out what to do to keep them warm and toasty it really does not get cold around here until close to november. I am thinking of running an extention cord out there and place a heating light so they can stay warm i will try to post a pic of the door that is closed at night tomorrow to give a better look at it i am not really good at describing things