Don't close off the ventilation at night. That's when they need it the most since they're shut in there with the moisture and ammonia from their poop.
Run coverage question…
- Thread starter mldlm
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Don't close off the ventilation at night. That's when they need it the most since they're shut in there with the moisture and ammonia from their poop.
- Thread starter
- #12
mldlm
Songster
This is my coop with our extended run. I think we are going to move the whole thing - it is 5 x 15’ (ugh!) in to a more shady area, as it is in full sun where it is now..any thoughts or ideas? Also, putting hardware cloth across the door opening will be ok to leave the door open at night?
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Shade is good.
Here's my article on hot climate chicken keeping if you haven't seen it yet: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/
The fans will help a lot with the heat. Do make sure to check them regularly for dust build up - especially the one pulling air out of the coop. Chickens are very dusty creatures!
A couple of ideas to add additional temporary shade to the run- When we first built our run, we used a shower curtain as an awning on the western side. We also sometimes used a beach umbrella in the summer to shade the southern side of the run. We have also leaned either plywood or a pallet on the western side as well for additional shade- not very attractive, but effective.
I would like to add that if by chicken wire you mean the traditional hexagonal wire, it is not at all secure. Our neighbor lost most of his flock to raccoons when they tore through his chicken wire like tissue paper. Once he replaced the chicken wire with hardware cloth, the raccoons were no longer able to get into the coop and run.
A couple of ideas to add additional temporary shade to the run- When we first built our run, we used a shower curtain as an awning on the western side. We also sometimes used a beach umbrella in the summer to shade the southern side of the run. We have also leaned either plywood or a pallet on the western side as well for additional shade- not very attractive, but effective.
I would like to add that if by chicken wire you mean the traditional hexagonal wire, it is not at all secure. Our neighbor lost most of his flock to raccoons when they tore through his chicken wire like tissue paper. Once he replaced the chicken wire with hardware cloth, the raccoons were no longer able to get into the coop and run.
- Thread starter
- #15
mldlm
Songster
Thank you for the speedy reply. You may not be able to see it in my picture, but we have the chicken wire going up two feet from the bottom all around while also coming out from the chain link two feet and buried.
These are good ideas.
I used cheap picnic pavilions for shade over my smaller coops:
- Thread starter
- #17
mldlm
Songster
I thought about these, but the hottest time is from about noon to 4pm when it comes overhead and then at an angle where it shines right on the coop and so something right overhead won’t really help.
You could set them up wherever they need to be in order to cast shade where it's wanted.
Patio umbrellas also work.
- Jul 7, 2015
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i have the same coop. How did you add ventilation?
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