Ventilation in the South

[saraem]

I'd be leery about letting them sleep in the run. Even a deemed secure run may fail when a determined Raccoon or Dog wants to get in. I personally don't let chickens sleep outside, but most of the time they go on into their coop when they can. Right now it is drizzling, and has been all week, so most of the chickens are already staying in their coop all day anyways. But if you still don't mind the thought of the chickens sleeping out in the run, then go ahead! Just make sure it's secure enough.

We live in an urban area and our yard is completely surrounded by 10' fencing...no dogs have ever been in our yard but our own

Raccoons, on the other hand, will be another story. I've never seen one but I'm sure they're around.

Funny that your chicken stay inside in the rain, mine can't get enough of it! Their run is completely covered but they love to free range in the yard in the rain.

 

[BirdsNRabbits]

We live in an urban area and our yard is completely surrounded by 10' fencing...no dogs have ever been in our yard but our own

Raccoons, on the other hand, will be another story. I've never seen one but I'm sure they're around.

Funny that your chicken stay inside in the rain, mine can't get enough of it! Their run is completely covered but they love to free range in the yard in the rain.

We are in a whole different situation. Lots of houses around but our house is 3/4 surrounded by about 30 acres of woods. We've had to deal with Mice, Snakes, Skunks, Opossums, Raccoon, Weasels, Foxes, Hawks, Neighbors' Dogs, and even Bears!

We don't have a covered run, but lots places for the chickens to hide in case of an attack. But still our run is definitely not secure enough for letting them sleep outside. I don't claim our run is strong enough to keep from a determined attack at all, but it does keep most out and it keeps the chickens in (for the most part

) so I'm happy with it.

 

[junebuggena]

We live in an urban area and our yard is completely surrounded by 10' fencing...no dogs have ever been in our yard but our own

Raccoons, on the other hand, will be another story. I've never seen one but I'm sure they're around.

Funny that your chicken stay inside in the rain, mine can't get enough of it! Their run is completely covered but they love to free range in the yard in the rain.

Never underestimate urban predators. Just because you are in a densely populated area does not mean it is free of wildlife. Bobcats, coyotes, and raccoons are all plentiful in urban areas across the U.S., and they can all climb fences with easy.

 

[bigoledude]

Make sure the bottom 2-3 feet of your run is small mesh hardware cloth. Coons and possums here are terrible about pulling the heads of the hens through the larger fencing and eating the heads right off of a live chicken!

Ventilation is vital down here in SE Louisiana. One poster here came up with a great cleaning idea. He left a small gap between the walls and floor of his coop to be able to hose out the coop. He covered this gap with well-fastened hardware cloth. I did this to my coop. Now with ventilation at the peak and from the bottom, I get cooler air in from below and the hot air exiting at the top. Plus, I have windows that I can open with hardware cloth backup.

Winters here are so mild the cold is pretty much not an issue. I don't think we dipped below 32 degrees 3 times this past winter.

 

[saraem]

The run is totally enclosed in hardware cloth that is also buried into the ground at the bottom. Here's a pic mid-construction:

 

[Intheswamp]

When letting your flock sleep outside the coop, you must first have a very, very secure run.

#1 priority, I would think. The op's coop looks fairly secure, but that hardware cloth isn't going to stop a large predator from entering....needs some 2x4 mesh fencing at least around the lower sections to really kick the security up.

Yes, the coop is under a tree and should be shaded for most of the day. The roofing panels I used actually are supposed to cut heat transfer by about 50%. They were more expensive than some others but I hoped to allow light to enter, at least during the winter. If we want/need to we can cover during summer, but I'm hoping we won't have to.

It is interesting, but being under a canopy of leaves is *much* cooler than being under a solid cover such as a pop-up tent or something...that's really nothing to do with the conversation but just an observation. The roofing panels that you're using will probably be fine. They should be less conductive than metal and if they're designed to be a solar-gain shield (kinda like shade cloth) then they may very well block enough solar radiation so that you don't need to do anything. The added light is nice, too. One thing you might do is stick a thermometer on the inside *and* outside just to see what difference you might have. A wireless one, permanently installed in the coop with the base in the house would be a nice feature, too. If it does heat up you could simply get a sheet of rigid insulation (lightweight stuff) lay it on top, attach a couple of eye-screws to each end roof rafter and run a cord across the top of the insulation to hold it in place.

The run is totally enclosed in hardware cloth that is also buried into the ground at the bottom. Here's a pic mid-construction:

Nice looking coop. To re-emphasize it, if the chickens are going to have access to the run 24/7 I would put some 2x4 welded wire fencing at least along the bottom sections...dogs can chew through hardware cloth if they have a strong enough prey-drive. As for the open area above the house area, remember that in the winter you want ventilation...not drafts. It's best for the windows/vents to be above the chickens' heads so that the drafts will pass over them, expelling warm/moist air. I really don't see this build up of warm and moist air in this housing, but a cold breeze could possibly blow through and hit the chickens if the roost is high up in the house...I figure the roost is towards the back of the house so in the winter you might slide a board over the top that will cover the back half and help block off cold drafts/winds...it looks like there would still be plenty of ventilation towards the front/run side. In the summer I'm sure the chickens would enjoy a window on either side to get a breeze blowing through while they're on the roost. Cold drafts aren't good in the winter time, but cool breezes in the heat of the summer are.

 

[BirdsNRabbits]

@Intheswamp made some really good points here. Just a side note on the Hardware Cloth. I have rabbit hutches outdoors and a few weeks ago some dogs tore right through the hardware cloth and killed two rabbits. So yes, a very determined dog or other large predator can rip (easily rip at that) through hardware cloth, as I know from experience. Something else on fencing that I've seen people do is line the whole fence with Cattle Panels and then wrap that with hardware cloth along the bottom and chicken wire around the rest. Plus don't forget about the Electric Chicken netting.


That is an interesting idea about lining the bottom of the coop with hardware cloth to hose it out. I had never thought about that before. Lots of good ideas on this thread!

 

[saraem]

Interesting. I had never thought of wrapping the bottom in something else. Like I said, I'm not sure any dog can get into our fenced yard but I wouldn't put it past a coyote.

It will be interesting to see what the temps are like in the coop this summer. I think our current plan is to add a window opposite the pop door that can be opened for cross breeze. Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[bigoledude]

@Intheswamp made some really good points here. Just a side note on the Hardware Cloth. I have rabbit hutches outdoors and a few weeks ago some dogs tore right through the hardware cloth and killed two rabbits. So yes, a very determined dog or other large predator can rip (easily rip at that) through hardware cloth, as I know from experience. Something else on fencing that I've seen people do is line the whole fence with Cattle Panels and then wrap that with hardware cloth along the bottom and chicken wire around the rest. Plus don't forget about the Electric Chicken netting.


That is an interesting idea about lining the bottom of the coop with hardware cloth to hose it out. I had never thought about that before. Lots of good ideas on this thread!

Yes, after reading Daddymchicken's post, I pulled the bottom board from the walls of my coop and fastened hardware cloth to prevent anything from trying to come through that 2-inch gap. It has been a dream to clean and with my vent in the peak of the gable I get air movement, which is a good thing.

 

[Intheswamp]

Coyotes and fences...