Shade Cloth vs Poly Tarp

[juliect]

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Hmmm...wonder if I could sew together a combination of tarp and shade cloth? Tarp on top and shade cloth on sides. I must go see my mother and ask how her commercial sewing machine is working

 

[juliect]

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Thanks!!! I love it...and my girls do too.
I ordered it from http://www.chickenmobilestagecoach.com nice folks!

You girl, are an enabler!

I just checked out that site and am so ordering plans. My dh is gonna flip out and whack me upside the head-lol! It'll make the cutest coop for my new batch of chicks next year....

Yes...yes I am

I am pondering ordering a second one myself! My chicken-wish-list keeps growing and growing and growing!

 

[TexGardenGirl]

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I think this sounds like a good idea. I was going to say get a smaller tarp and use over one half, shade cloth over the other, but if you have access to sewing skills, I do like the tarp on top, cloth on sides idea.

 

[chuckzoo]

I like the shade cloth over the run, but then I have a covered area that they can get out of the rain.

 

[Junkmanme]

JulieCT,

In my "browsing" here at Backyard Chickens, I stumbled upon a picture of your chicken tractor (on a different posting). It reminded my of a greenhouse (hoophouse) that I built here at Dottie's Farm several years ago. It has worked out quite well.

Looking at your "chicken tractor/hoophouse", I decided that it was close to what I need for my second chicken coop. I looked at the website of the people who made yours. It's GOOD.

THIS will be the BASIC DESIGN of my 2nd coop also relying heavily on my experience building the greenhouse.

I've been "racking my brain lately trying to decide what type of coop to build. You've made up my mind! Not only is it relatively simple to build, it is also inexpensive....AND I probably have 95% of the materials on hand in my "scrap-pile".

THANKS for the Pictures !!!

-Junkmanme-

 

[juliect]

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I'm jealous! I can't build a bluebird house! The carpentry skills in my family skipped me entirely.
Good luck!

 

[Booswalia]

Why not cut out some flaps in the tarp so you could roll them up like tent flaps. You could even sew some velcro on there to hold them closed when it rains.

 

[Davaroo]

Since what you have there is in essence a 'fresh air house', I would be reluctant to change. Simply add some flapped, gable end vents and leave the rest alone - it works.

 

[juliect]

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Genius idea! Thank you.

 

[patandchickens]

I've used 70% and I think 85(?)% shadecloth for various things including shading a run. It is WONDERFUL stuff. If installed vertically or at an angle you will actually get much more shading than its official percentage says (that's measured with it at right angles to the sun's rays).

Some rain will blow thru it, yes, but a whole lot less than if it weren't there, and what blows in is mainly a fine spray rather than big drops. I have a couple large nearly-vertical panels shading my west-facing sliding glass doors, and we get some fierce thunderstorms from the west, and hardly ever does the glass of the doors get so wet that you can't see real easily through it nor the deck behind the shadecloth get wet enough to 'look' wet.

The very best thing about shadecloth vs tarps though is that it does not flap much in the wind, assuming all sides are fixed. With a tarp, no matter how tightly you try to stretch it or how many ropes you crisscross over it, it will still naturally 'want' to flap and thrash in the wind, which leads to premature destruction of the tarp and if it's attached too tight to something too weak it can actually demolish the structure it's attached to. Shadecloth doesn't do that. This is a great virtue in areas with big storms IMO.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat