water-logged pens

[gryeyes]

Quote:
You're not kidding about wind load! Even with just mesh, I had 3 t-posts bend over JUST enough to open a gap in one corner of the run (granted they weren't pounded all the way in past the flanges) during that 50 mph wind. Can you say "Free Range Chickens?" Four of the seven were out, but when I opened my back door, they saw me and came flapping and clucking in my direction.

Made it very easy to herd them back into the run. (Except for Bernadette, who overshot the gate and got confused, but she still WANTED to go back inside the run, so I didn't have to chase her far.)

I've now pounded every single t-post into the ground past the flange - thank goodness for the rain, actually, because my yard is made of fossilized adobe earth or something akin to that - and rehung the fence material.

But now I think I'll also put up the bamboo rolled stuff mentioned by the Warden, along one or two sides of the run. Thanks!

 

[95yj]

i'm skeptical of dumping hay/shavings into the coop when its muddy, i used to try to use shavings to absorb some of the water but eventually learned that you'll just have bigger problems 2 days later. i prefer putting pallets down, it keeps the chickens out of the mud keeps the ground from getting too torn up.

 

[chickbliss7]

Lots of good suggestions--thank you all! I will try some of them this weekend when I can get some help with construction.

When we had one pen, we had a corrugated tough plastic roof on it (about 5.5 feet high), but it turned out that in the summer (many 90-100 degree days), it was cooking in there! This last fall, we built another run, raised the roof to about 15 feet in both old and new, and used wood on the roofs. Much better ventilated, but the rain is able to sweep in and soak everything when it rains. I want something solid on some of the sides, but not so it cuts out light. Does anyone know if plexiglas conducts heat when the sun hits it? As I said before, we tried heavy plastic sheeting on the sides, but after a storm or two, ripped to shreds! Have put sand in the new run, which has worked out well. The girls seem to love digging in it (it looks like a mine field), and no musty odors. It, too, takes a while to dry out, but is a good alternative to hay/alfalfa.

If I could figure out how to put photos into my messages, I would show you the coop and runs!

 

[LynneP]

You might like polycarbonate panels made for greenhouses- they admit full spectrum light and if you pay attention to ventilation when you position them you will get light and protection from rain. You may need to reposition some supports to fit...

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Quote:
Pat, where were you at a few years ago. I could have saved some money and heartache. I picked up a dog kennel one Saturday morning, put it around a small coop, and put a tarp on the west side to block the wind from blowing the chickens all over the run. I went out to eat later that evening and when I got home all of my birds that were in the run were roosting on the front porch railings. I just knew something was wrong. I proceeded to the backyard to find my new kennel destroyed. It's not that I didn't know better, it's just I did not think about it. I learned one lesson that day>>>A $300.00 kennel+$10.00 tarp= $310.00 of scrap when improperly installed. I took it all to the dump on Monday.

On the kennel I have now, I use silt fence material to block the wind from the top 36" where the roost poles are. I did have it on the bottom but they roost more than they walk around when it is windy. I remove it during the warmer months. It's only $15.00 a roll and very convenient to roll off and use what I need.