TSC Producers Pride Defender 2020 Version

[Thomaswgordon]

Deep shade is good. Heat is much more dangerous to chickens than cold is.

But you still need that minimum of 1 square foot per adult, standard-size bird to remove moisture and ammonia and it needs to be at the roof level because heat and ammonia both rise.

The problem with the roost level vents is drafts. A cool breeze across the roosts is OK on a hot summer night, but in the winter it ruffles their feathers and steals their heat:

View attachment 3128256

And without roof-level venting the ammonia and moisture still build up.



You don't.

You still need ventilation in the winter to remove moisture.

Chickens tolerate DRY cold down to at least 0F when acclimated, but wet cold can cause frostbite even just barely below freezing.



I'm going to stare at those pictures and think for a bit.

Interesting, so I could potentially remove a good bit of the top portion of front wall and cover with hardware cloth. With the covered run I think it should be safe from getting wet. I get nervous without covering as I don’t want the inside of the coop to get wet from rain. I sealed some small holes and gaps the other day to reduce possibility of rain entering

 

[3KillerBs]

I’m hoping the coop itself is good for 5, I’ve heard of people holding 10 in this same coop. The run is a 10x10 and will be covered

Here are the Usual Guidelines:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

After blowing up the photos it looks like the panels are held in a metal frame with some structural wood at the corners to hold the metal frames together, right?

If I'm seeing it correctly, you should be able to do this at the front, cutting out the area marked in blue and replacing it with hardware cloth:

With a roof on the run you won't need to put an awning on it.

The back roof is so low to the roosts that you might have to just leave the existing vent, which is, at least, baffled so wind won't blow directly on the roosts.

Sandwiching the hardware cloth and the panel between trim boards is probably the most secure way of doing this.

 

[Thomaswgordon]

Here are the Usual Guidelines:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

After blowing up the photos it looks like the panels are held in a metal frame with some structural wood at the corners to hold the metal frames together, right?

If I'm seeing it correctly, you should be able to do this at the front, cutting out the area marked in blue and replacing it with hardware cloth:

View attachment 3128267

With a roof on the run you won't need to put an awning on it.

The back roof is so low to the roosts that you might have to just leave the existing vent, which is, at least, baffled so wind won't blow directly on the roosts.

Sandwiching the hardware cloth and the panel between trim boards is probably the most secure way of doing this.

Correct, it’s secured in between the metal trim. There is a little support going vertical in the middle of the wood so maybe just cut on either side of it to make two separate vents? You think after adding those cents that should be enough for the inside of the coop?

 

[Thomaswgordon]

Correct, it’s secured in between the metal trim. There is a little support going vertical in the middle of the wood so maybe just cut on either side of it to make two separate vents? You think after adding those cents that should be enough for the inside of the coop?

Here are the Usual Guidelines:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

After blowing up the photos it looks like the panels are held in a metal frame with some structural wood at the corners to hold the metal frames together, right?

If I'm seeing it correctly, you should be able to do this at the front, cutting out the area marked in blue and replacing it with hardware cloth:

View attachment 3128267

With a roof on the run you won't need to put an awning on it.

The back roof is so low to the roosts that you might have to just leave the existing vent, which is, at least, baffled so wind won't blow directly on the roosts.

Sandwiching the hardware cloth and the panel between trim boards is probably the most secure way of doing this.

Also if need be, the existing vent has a sliding wood board to cover it on demand.

 

[NatJ]

I’ll attach more pics I have.

How big is the inside of the coop area? (Not the nestboxes, just the space where the chickens might walk around or hang out in bad weather.)

 

[3KillerBs]

Correct, it’s secured in between the metal trim. There is a little support going vertical in the middle of the wood so maybe just cut on either side of it to make two separate vents? You think after adding those cents that should be enough for the inside of the coop?

If there's a structural piece in the middle then yes, go around it. I don't know if it will be enough -- the test is that the coop's temperature and humidity are the same inside and outside -- but it may be all that you can realistically achieve with that prefab.

Also if need be, the existing vent has a sliding wood board to cover it on demand.

It should probably never be covered. Fresh air is one of the main keys to keeping chickens healthy.

They are wearing built-in down parkas so as long as they are dry and out of the wind they can keep themselves warm.

 

[Thomaswgordon]

Just finished filling in the run, gotta add the apron and hardware cloth going half up and then gonna throw some mulch on top. The girls are adjusting well to the coop. Not 100% sure if this RIR is a pullet or cockerel.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Pullet

 

[Thomaswgordon]

Pullet

I hope your right! It’s noticeably bigger than our other RIR with a little bigger legs and comb.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

I hope your right! It’s noticeably bigger than our other RIR with a little bigger legs and comb.

I could be wrong! I'm not an expert sexer like @TheOddOneOut but Im usually right. I say pullet because tge cimb is still yellow and no wattles, but watch for wattles, red comb, pointy saddle, and pointy hackles as she gets older.