Tips on ventilation and cleaning this coop.

[FrannyNZooey]

Great thread. My husbands “the builder” and I max out my skill set when I use the drill.

I shared this on another thread, but wanted to share here regarding securing the hardware cloth. We had an incident where we initially suspected major pecking due to a pecking order fight. But after reading stuff online and examining our coop and run, we think a mouse or rat pushed through at the top of the roof where staples were holding down the hardware cloth, and then attacked when cornered. Since the metal roof was laying across the hardware cloth, I don’t think he realized that the little beast could push their way in (it was secured everywhere else, and they found the weakest link!) Read that they can fit in through spaces as small as 2cm.

Needless to say, as soon as we saw the HC pushed up, we removed the roof, secured with washers and screws about every 6-8 inches all around, and additional stuffed the crevasse with medium-grade steel wool. It was pretty terrifying to hear her distress and see a bloody comb. This was two weeks ago, and so far so good. I definitely recommend securing the hardware cloth with screws and washers.

Cheers! And hope your build goes well!

 

[tori729]

Coming to update. For the more recent posters, I'm not sure he changed the floor joists. I'm hoping it works fine as is!
There are still a number of holes/gaps but I'm torn as to whether I need to work to fix them all or just leave them and see how it goes.
Now I have run questions. We ended up with 2' of HWC at the bottom of the run all the way around and it's attached to chicken wire with zip ties. However, there are gaps between the zip ties. Should I go through and put more ties or should I try and pull down the chicken wire to overlap?
After spending all this $$ on HWC, I don't even know how helpful it will be to keep things out and I'm wondering if I should have just dealt with chicken wire and focused more on keeping the coop predator proof. We don't have day predators other than hawks (hence the netting) and our girls have been just ranging our backyard with no issues from morning to dusk. We plan to shut the coop at night and let them out in the morning. So again, not sure how much work I should put into predator proofing the run from ground predators.

 

[rosemarythyme]

We ended up with 2' of HWC at the bottom of the run all the way around and it's attached to chicken wire with zip ties. However, there are gaps between the zip ties. Should I go through and put more ties or should I try and pull down the chicken wire to overlap?

It's about risk assessment, if you are willing to take some losses you can cut costs a bit. If you are not (i.e. a flock of pets for kids, or valuable show birds, so any loss is devastating), then you'd need to shore up your defenses a lot more.

As far as the gaps in fencing, beyond the type/size of wire used, the fence is only as strong as the attachments. ALL WIRE should be overlapped. Seams are a weak point and attachments should be done at least 1" in or further from the edge, with a material of equal or greater strength (i.e. "sewing" with matching gauge wire, using hog rings, j-clips, steel zip ties, etc).

 

[tori729]

It's about risk assessment, if you are willing to take some losses you can cut costs a bit. If you are not (i.e. a flock of pets for kids, or valuable show birds, so any loss is devastating), then you'd need to shore up your defenses a lot more.

As far as the gaps in fencing, beyond the type/size of wire used, the fence is only as strong as the attachments. ALL WIRE should be overlapped. Seams are a weak point and attachments should be done at least 1" in or further from the edge, with a material of equal or greater strength (i.e. "sewing" with matching gauge wire, using hog rings, j-clips, steel zip ties, etc).

They are pets, so we don't want losses. However we don't have reason to believe we will have issues with ground predators during the day. I suppose it *could* happen but if they are ranging in the yard when we are home, what's the point in armoring the run?
It seems like a lot of work and stress to Fort Knox the run when it's really more important to Fort Knox the coop. If the coop isn't 100 percent secure but it's not enclosed by the run would it really help to secure the run?

 

[rosemarythyme]

It seems like a lot of work and stress to Fort Knox the run when it's really more important to Fort Knox the coop. If the coop isn't 100 percent secure but it's not enclosed by the run would it really help to secure the run?

Coop should always take priority, yes. I don't have a predator proof run either, I tried to build my set up to take into account our predators (main concerns are BoP, large mammals), our lifestyle (hubby works from home, I'm usually at home), etc.

 

[tori729]

Always eggciting having a new build

Is there a reason for those zigzag floor joists? I would redo those straight across on 16” centres, that way your flooring will be properly supported. Plywood is 4x8 and fits perfectly on boards that are on 16” centres.

Follow up on floor joists: this is what it looks like from the bottom of the coop. And a pic of my chickies getting used to their new run!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Follow up on floor joists: this is what it looks like from the bottom of the coop. And a pic of my chickies getting used to their new run!

Those look like 2x2s. That is woefully inadequate as floor joists. I get it you don't want to hurt the builder's feelings. I would rather his feelings get hurt over you and your birds getting hurt.

 

[tori729]

Those look like 2x2s. That is woefully inadequate as floor joists. I get it you don't want to hurt the builder's feelings. I would rather his feelings get hurt over you and your birds getting hurt.

Just curious: why do they need to be bigger? Just to hold the litter inside the coop? Chickens won't be walking around in it too often and will be on roosts at night.
Is there something I can look for to make sure they are still holding sturdy?

 

[aart]

Those look like 2x2s. That is woefully inadequate as floor joists.

Yes, for a floor that will be walked on by humans....but this is not that.

why do they need to be bigger? Just to hold the litter inside the coop?

Will you be crawling on the floor to clean or retrieve a bird?
I'd be careful and stay near the sides.
How big is the coop again...IIRC it's 6 x 6'?
How thick is the plywood floor material?

 

[tori729]

Yes, for a floor that will be walked on by humans....but this is not that.


Will you be crawling on the floor to clean or retrieve a bird?
I'd be careful and stay near the sides.
How big is the coop again...IIRC it's 6 x 6'?
How thick is the plywood floor material?

I'm sure at some point I'll have to go in to get a bird; I'm not a large person and I have even smaller children who could help with that if needed.
It's 6'x6', yes and the floor is just your run of the mill plywood, I'd say 1/4"? I plan to cover it with vinyl