Safe coop design?

[jawsh]

I am buildings my first coop and I am wondering....
I wanted to make a very basic 8x10 structure, on a slab of concrete with the front wall completely open/(fixed with hardware cloth) and the top 2 feet (out of 6 ft high) around the other walls open with hardware cloth as well. I live in Southern California and we have almost no rain and temps are very mild. My question is, do I still need to fix something on the open areas for winter or do you think they will be ok? Also, all of the coops I see have a raised part. Is this a must have? They will have a high roost and raised nesting boxes. Is there any other reason to raise a part of the coop? I am a total newbie sorry for all the questions and I hope this makes sense.

 

[10AcreChick]

Welcome to BYC! That sounds like an interesting and wonderfully simple coop design. If you have mild temps that don't get too cold, I would say the most important things to think about in your case are protection from predators and winds. You want your coop to have good air flow but not be too windy, probably don't need to worry about cold drafts in Southern California! What is your lowest temps there? The cold hardy birds are good down to temps of like -10 or colder, as long as they have fresh water that is not frozen. But I doubt you have to worry about that! I think the reason you see coops with raised parts is that is where they put the nests and roosts, and they put a floor in it so the underneath part can still be used as part of the run. It's just a space saver. If they have a way to get to their nesting boxes and roosts, I wouldn't worry about it. Hens do like their nests to be kinda cozy and higher up, so you might consider that.

All in all, it sounds like it should work! Watch out for the chicken math!

 

[jawsh]

Welcome to BYC! That sounds like an interesting and wonderfully simple coop design. If you have mild temps that don't get too cold, I would say the most important things to think about in your case are protection from predators and winds. You want your coop to have good air flow but not be too windy, probably don't need to worry about cold drafts in Southern California! What is your lowest temps there? The cold hardy birds are good down to temps of like -10 or colder, as long as they have fresh water that is not frozen.  But I doubt you have to worry about that! I think the reason you see coops with raised parts is that is where they put the nests and roosts, and they put a floor in it so the underneath part can still be used as part of the run. It's just a space saver. If they have a way to get to their nesting boxes and roosts, I wouldn't worry about it. Hens do like their nests to be kinda cozy and higher up, so you might consider that. 

All in all, it sounds like it should work! Watch out for the chicken math!

Thanks! Yes the coldest I've seen it get here is 40's hahaha and I thought that was cold! I am a big wuss when it comes to cold. Thanks so much for your input I think it will come together nicely!