Texas

Just wanted to say hello from Wichita Falls. I'm glad to meet my fellow Texans on here-I've been anticipating needing advice on how to keep my chicks cool when the temperatures heat up this year and I'm sure many of you are already experts!
 
We bought a used chicken coop with a little run with a very secure roost/nest box to lock up while they sleep. It is in a 6x8 chain link kennel which I wrapped in plasticware cloth netting attaching it to the chainlink with cable ties. We made an openable roof for the kennel from aluminum poles we had and covered in hardware cloth. We did it this way because we had limited funds and had to use what we already had and used stuff. It works out fine for 2-3 chickens, and I have a few chainlink panels I hook together for a temporary pen so they can get out in the grass while I clean the yard and coop. Ours can't be free range and coop has to be secure due to lots of dogs and wild predators. We are fencing an area by the yard for a future garden which they can get out into to scratch around, and building another coop from scrap wood we've collected so we can expand the flock.

You can build a pallet coop :)!
 
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Very photogenic pretty kitty!!

My photogenic mouser Gator. :)
 
So here are the pics taken of our messy storage building before we cleared it out. I'll take pictures again in a day or 2 now that we can see the floor and walls.

Any tips for converting this into a chicken coop that is OK for Texas heat?
It is 8 X 14







 
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So here are the pics taken of our messy storage building before we cleared it out. I'll take pictures again in a day or 2 now that we can see the floor and walls.

Any tips for converting this into a chicken coop that is OK for Texas heat?
It is 8 X 14








Ventilation, Ventilation, Ventilation!! All you really need to do is put some kind of ventilation in the top of the building. Cut a hole in the upper eave and put some hardware cloth over the opening. If unsure about the amount of "ventilation", put a few in the side walls. Gotta keep the ladies cool!!
 
Ventilation, Ventilation, Ventilation!! All you really need to do is put some kind of ventilation in the top of the building. Cut a hole in the upper eave and put some hardware cloth over the opening. If unsure about the amount of "ventilation", put a few in the side walls. Gotta keep the ladies cool!!

My husband and I want to cut ventilation out in the front and back wall, at the top near the eaves. Sort of like a flap that can act as a partial roof in case of rain or drizzle. And we want to cut removable panels on both sides, take the panels off during summer and put them back on during winter. The ventilation and removable panels would be covered with a chicken wire layered under chain link fence combo as we have a bunch of both laying around. We might have to add a fan to our ventilation area as the building is in a recessed corner and wont get good breezes. I am planning to sink some spare metal roofing panels that are 3ft X 4ft around the coop to keep predators from digging under and getting in through the floor. We have the building cleared out and are assessing repairs needed before we begin remodeling the building. There are nails to pull out, broken boards where the building shifted (which means I get to crawl under there and re-level it as well, I was hoping I didn't have to get under another building for that after I did my house!), some gaps in the walls that need to be shut, etc. Shouldn't take long, I am pretty handy wood worker. lol

If the building is 8X14, how many chickens can live in there comfortably? I keep forgetting the minimum square footage per bird........
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Any other suggestions? tips? Things I missed?
 
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