I have a couple of canopies gaven to me. As soon as I saw them I thought chicken coops..LOL I plan on cover each 4 sides with tarps and on one side clipping the bottoms to roll it up to let light in and a Place to be able to walk into it. I plan on making pens inside to house 1 hen 1 roo in each pen having a bottom and top row Using ply wood as the tops pens floors to keep dropings from falling on those below. pen floors will be pine shavings cleaned weekly. What do you all think about this? This is what the canopies look like. They ARE (9x9) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-9-x-9-Express-Gazebo/16451712
I'm sure you've already thought of this but these things like to fly away if there's any wind so just make sure to weigh down the corner posts really well.
I plan on hinging them down with garden steaks that hammer into the ground & venilation will be fine in the summer whole sides would be open and closed at night and at the top where the tarps would meet the roof would be about 1inch open.
Surely not just tarps on the sides? You'll use welded wire too, right? Tarps wouldn't offer much in the way of predator security.
I used a screened in canopy as a temp house for my daughters rabbits last year. I went to TS and bought a small 2 mile charger, 6 push in posts and a roll of wire, about $50 in all. It kept them out all summer while I built their barn. Will this be permanent? I don't think it would carry much of a snow load. I have seen what happens to them from high winds, and it's not pretty.
Considering those things' dismal track record for surviving high winds (it's not just that they get damaged, they quite often *leave*, no matter how much you thought you had them weighted/staked down) I would not personally even consider putting chickens in them with a tarp on. With *just* wire mesh it would not be such a bad option, esp. if you were getting the frame free or real cheap. JMHO, good luck, have fun, Pat
