South Texas

[Edith_b21]

Hi folks,
I am located in South Texas and we practically have only one season which is summer. Our Winter is maybe one month and the average temperature during that time is high 70's and low 50's. I have done so much research and love this group. However, every question I had has lead to 2 or more questions. We are currently working on building our chicken coop and have not come up with a design for the coop, because I love so many designs. The yard for the coop which we have started to work on is 15 ft by 20ft. How big should the coop itself be for about 16 to 20 chickens? I have read windows should be facing east and west due to the air. So where should my door be facing? So if anyone can help me with the following questions or can give me any pointers on what they recommend or ideas for a design I would greatly appreciate it. TIA. Oh, and what kind of chickens do you recommend and should we have a rooster?

 

[rosemarythyme]

So heat is likely your main issue. I'd really suggest looking at doing an open air coop or coop/run combo, rather than a traditional 4 solid wall type coop, where you only have solid walls facing predominant winds for protection against winds/rain. Kind of like this, but bigger since you want more birds: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/open-air-coop-with-reclaimed-wood.64691/

For 20 you're looking at roughly 80 sq ft in coop space if you were to close it in. If you leave it as an open combo type set up you'd have your coop and run space all in one, which would be enough for 20 birds.

As far as the rooster, the only thing you need a rooster for is to breed. Past that it's up to you if you want one for any other reason.