I'm in a desert too...hot and dry with a monsoon season. I use plain dirt. I go in and flip the dirt every now and then to keep it soft. It stays nice and loose in a hot, dry climate. The chickens love it when I turn the soil. It's not fancy bedding, but it means I can see if theres a rattle snake since we have to deal with them here. I haven't found a way to keep the snakes totally out and it only took once of finding a rattlesnake in the coop to decide that bedding they can hide in is not for me. I don't like using sand because it feels hot to me.
In monsoon season the loose dirt absorbs the water as well instead of pooling like it does on our brick like dirt. I have wood that holds the dirt level a little higher then the surrounding ground on one coop and bricks on another just so theres no chance the monsoons will flood the coop or run. You can also put hardware cloth under the dirt at ground level to keep rock squirrels etc out. It'll last quite a while in dry weather.
I also recommend keeping a water bowl that the chickens can stand in for cooling. I use a shallow wide rubber feed bowl. You can have a nipple water set up too but a shallow bowl they can stand in is deeply loved by my chickens.
No idea on your roofing! That's a good looking set up you're building though! If you don't have it already...a wind free space for them to sleep in during the rare winter storms would be good too.
In monsoon season the loose dirt absorbs the water as well instead of pooling like it does on our brick like dirt. I have wood that holds the dirt level a little higher then the surrounding ground on one coop and bricks on another just so theres no chance the monsoons will flood the coop or run. You can also put hardware cloth under the dirt at ground level to keep rock squirrels etc out. It'll last quite a while in dry weather.
I also recommend keeping a water bowl that the chickens can stand in for cooling. I use a shallow wide rubber feed bowl. You can have a nipple water set up too but a shallow bowl they can stand in is deeply loved by my chickens.
No idea on your roofing! That's a good looking set up you're building though! If you don't have it already...a wind free space for them to sleep in during the rare winter storms would be good too.