Using A Tarp To Lower Ground Temperature

[Ocho 8 Farm]

Your coop and run are lovely, much nicer than mine. We call the connection between the coop/run and their extended run along the side of our house the “Chunnel”

Yeah I totally agree! Your coop and run are so nice and tidy looking, I would never believe chickens even live there

 

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

Interesting how everything under the shade was basically the same temp. I was theorizing that there might be a difference in heat between a compost run and a sandy run both in full sun. But, maybe not. I would not have thought that the full sun yard would be 40F higher than the shade. That is really a big difference. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Alrighty! Today I got some more readings for anyone that is interested. I have pictures of all the readings, but I figured it'd be easier to see if I wrote them down:

Outdoor Air Temperature: 98°
Humidity: 30%

Decking: 155°
Asphalt: 140°
Forest | Shade: 103°

Green Grass | Full Shade: 98°
Green Grass | Full Sun: 110°
Brown Grass | Full Sun: 140°

Dried Leaves & Grass Clippings | Sun (Aviary): 157°
Dried Leaves & Grass Clippings | Shade (Aviary): 96°
Stirred Up Dried Leaves & Grass | Shade*: 86°

Sand | Sun (Run)†: 113°
Stirred Up Sand | Sun (Run)‡: 101°
Sand | Shade (Run): 94°
Stirred Up Sand | Shade §: 84°
Sand in Coop: 97°

Rooster's Feathers: 106°


*This is the spot in the center of the Aviary, under the tarp, that they like to dust bathe in. The leaves and clippings were recently turned over.
† It was actually hard for me to find an area with sun in the run. It was 2:00 PM when I took these readings. Because of our latitude, the run actually gets almost full sun in winter and mostly shade in summer. It's awesome.
‡ I tossed the sand some to get readings of the temperature just below the surface.
§ This is their favorite spot to dust bathe. I kicked the sand up to get readings of the temperature just beneath the surface.

 

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

Yeah I totally agree! Your coop and run are so nice and tidy looking, I would never believe chickens even live there

Aww! Thanks so much! That's really encouraging to hear. It's taken a lot of work to get to this point!

Several years ago, we were hoping to get chickens. We wanted to build a coop that was safe and secure for them. Ultimately, we decided the best place to build it was on the concrete slab at the back of our property. At the time, the slab was overgrown: several inches to a foot of dirt, enormous vines that could've counted as trees, several fallen trees, and countless rocks.

In all we disposed of over 2,000 lbs of debris. That doesn't include the dirt that we removed and used for two raised garden beds we built, or the rocks that we moved elsewhere. It took a long time. Slowly but surely, we got it cleared off!

Building the coop & run was a lot of hard work too. My dad picked the plans for the coop. Without knowing it, he had actually picked the coop I dreamed of having!

When we finally got close to being able to house the chicks, we started researching how to best take care of them. BYC has been immensely helpful. My mom first found the website and poured hours upon hours of time into researching for us.

My family is wonderful! We all worked together and it turned out beautifully! All along the way, God has provided all the things we needed when we needed it. God has used some of the folks on here to even help save our chickens lives at different points.

 

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

Thank you for sharing this!
Very helpful along with the photos.

While my runs are covered, the sun still blares in the front during the summer. I hang shade cloth to help block a good part of it and it really makes a difference. I buy the cloth from Amazon. If you need custom sizes (which do cost a little more) look for "privacy screen fencing", you can have it made to fit whatever you want (most of the time).

We ordered some privacy screen fencing today for the Aviary! We never would have known to look up that term if it wasn't for you! The shade cloth was much more expensive and harder to find in larger sizes. Thank you so much for the suggestion! The one we were able to afford in the correct size was 90% blockage. Hopefully, that will still work. Thanks again!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We ordered some privacy screen fencing today for the Aviary! We never would have known to look up that term if it wasn't for you! The shade cloth was much more expensive and harder to find in larger sizes. Thank you so much for the suggestion! The one we were able to afford in the correct size was 90% blockage. Hopefully, that will still work. Thanks again!

I hope it works out for you.
Take photos of it all when you get it put up

 

[peastix]

That really helps to know that it is 95%. I have 40% shade cloth for my garden, but I knew the one for the chickens would have to have more coverage. I just didn't know how much. Thanks!
It'll actually work pretty well for us if rain and wind could go through. The roof can't support any water if the tarp were to catch it. It also wouldn't be able to support if we got strong gusts of wind. The tarp was our quick solution to helping them through this sudden heat wave. Shade cloth will be a great way to help it last longer!
I might even get some shade cloth to go over the front of their run as well!

I have a double layer of shade cloth over most of my run. Don't remember what percentage it was.It really helps and has lasted well down under in NZ with our very strong UV.

 

[peastix]

Ma'am, there is a massive Tulip tree right above the Aviary that provides shade at different levels throughout the day. We have another 100 sq. ft. attached run that is 2/3 to 3/4 shaded all day. Plus they like to rest in the shaded coop which has a fan running during the day. They have lots of roosting bars and tunnels to rest in the shade as well. We put this tarp up on the day that is got too hot. Plus they have cold drinking water, kiddie pools to wade in, and frozen treats. They are very happy chickens, and even get the luxury of coming inside in the AC occasionally.

You are welcome to go back and read previous posts where we have been discussing these things.

The Coop & Run:
View attachment 3873560
View attachment 3873608

The Run:
View attachment 3873602View attachment 3873603View attachment 3873606

The Tunnel that connects the Run (100+ sq. ft.) to the Aviary (300+ sq. ft.):
View attachment 3873610
View attachment 3873568

The Coop (There is a big window I open wide for air in the Summer.):
View attachment 3873597
View attachment 3873577

The Aviary:
View attachment 3873614
View attachment 3873615View attachment 3873619

The Tulip Tree (plus an Eclipse):
View attachment 3873578

You can see the tree trunk right behind Molly here:
View attachment 3873617

LaFleche was super kind and helped us see the importance of putting things for the chickens to do in the Aviary!

Wow!!! lucky chickens

 

[gtaus]

Wow! That looks fantastic! How did you get them [trees] to grow in there? Was it sectioned off for a bit so the chickens didn't eat the little saplings? What sort of trees are they?

All that yard where my chicken coop and run are located used to be a forest/wetland years ago. I did not have to section off that area of the chicken run where the "junk" trees are growing. The chickens just let them grow as they pushed up through the compost litter. Maybe they did not taste good, I suspect.

I don't know what kind of trees they are. I call them "junk" trees because they grow about as fast as weeds. "Real" trees usually take years and years to grow that much. (Edit: I consulted a Minnesota Tree guide online and it led me to the Boxelder tree. Fast growing and good for wildlife habitat. Not good for lumber.)

Here is the picture again of those trees in the chicken run. Maybe someone could help me identify them...?

Anyways, it makes for a nice mini-forest for my chicken run so I only trim those trees and/or thin them out if I get too many. On the hotter days, all the chickens are under those trees chilling out. It might be an option for others who live in northern climates where half the year is under snow. You could not leave a tarp or shade cloth up over our winters due to the snow load.

 

[GenuineJo]

Yep, it's in their chicken nature to scratch and peck, and dig holes.

Sounds like you have a nice composting system set up for your aviary. The bulk of my compost run litter is indeed leaves, then grass clippings. All our kitchen scraps and leftovers get tossed into the run as well. What the chickens chose not to eat gets mixed in with the other compost litter and the worms eat it. Then the chickens dig out the worms and eat them. Good system that breaks down my compost much faster than what I could do with compost bins back a few years ago.

Have you measured the ground temp in your sand only run compared to the composted litter area? I suspect that the sand would heat up faster and retain more heat than a compost ground cover. But I don't know for sure.

Well, another advantage that I found with compost in the run is that it never smells. I used to have a sandy run (I live on a lake) but I found it too much work to keep clean. The sand always seemed to smell bad despite how often I cleaned it. My compost run smells like the forest floor. Very nice.

But as I always say, we all live in different environments and what works for me might not work as well for someone else. So, if your sandy run works for you, that's great.

I am interested in this composite run idea, right now my ladies are on dirt (only a few months old) but I hated all the work and cost of changing out wood chips weekly to keep down the smell. Do you know where I can find more info on it? I have tons of pine trees and never at a loss for pine needles but I doubt that is as good as leaves/grass.

 

[GenuineJo]

Ma'am, there is a massive Tulip tree right above the Aviary that provides shade at different levels throughout the day. We have another 100 sq. ft. attached run that is 2/3 to 3/4 shaded all day. Plus they like to rest in the shaded coop which has a fan running during the day. They have lots of roosting bars and tunnels to rest in the shade as well. We put this tarp up on the day that is got too hot. Plus they have cold drinking water, kiddie pools to wade in, and frozen treats. They are very happy chickens, and even get the luxury of coming inside in the AC occasionally.

You are welcome to go back and read previous posts where we have been discussing these things.

The Coop & Run:
View attachment 3873560
View attachment 3873608

The Run:
View attachment 3873602View attachment 3873603View attachment 3873606

The Tunnel that connects the Run (100+ sq. ft.) to the Aviary (300+ sq. ft.):
View attachment 3873610
View attachment 3873568

The Coop (There is a big window I open wide for air in the Summer.):
View attachment 3873597
View attachment 3873577

The Aviary:
View attachment 3873614
View attachment 3873615View attachment 3873619

The Tulip Tree (plus an Eclipse):
View attachment 3873578

You can see the tree trunk right behind Molly here:
View attachment 3873617

LaFleche was super kind and helped us see the importance of putting things for the chickens to do in the Aviary!

That is super awesome! Wow. Seriously happy chickens.