Will this work for winter?

[sezjasper]

Was hoping to complete a shed conversion before winter, but I'm still laid off with no job in sight and I just can't spare the money right now. So my 4 girls will have to make do with what we have for the winter.

My coop is 4x4 and opens directly to a fully enclosed run that is 4x12. The run is in three 4x4 sections and each section has hardware cloth over half of it and wood roof with shingles over the other half, so for the length of the run you have alternating sun & shade sections. What I planned to do was to cover the open sections of the roof with clear plastic (was thinking of using one or two layers of clear shower curtain liner), and around the walls of the run as well. At the end of the run where the back wall meets the roof there is a triangular section about 8 inches tall at its peak which is also enclosed by hardware cloth. I was thinking about leaving this section uncovered by plastic to create cross ventilation between the run and the coop. We live in Maryland so our winters are impossible to predict...we've had mild, we've had blizzards, you never know what you're going to get! Mostly I'm concerned with keeping everything as dry as possible but I know there's got to be some air circulating. Could anyone offer an opinion about this plan...thumbs up? Thumbs down? Thanks for any advice or comments!

 

[teach1rusl]

I would definitely cover the open/wired roof section(s) to keep potential snow, sleet, icy rains out - does the roof of the run have a decent pitch, so that snow won't build up on top (and possibly cave it in)???
I think I'd only wrap the prevailing wind side of the sides of the run though, not necessarily all the way around. Of course, depending on how long/wide that 8 inch section is, then wrapping the whole thing might be okay. But you do want decent air flow...just not icy winds blowing on the birds.
Besides shower curtains, most fabric stores sell clear vinyl "cloth"...the stuff some use to cover picnic tables, etc. You might take a look that that.

 

[sezjasper]

Great idea about the vinyl "cloth," I hadn't thought of that but I do know what you're talking about. It's also a lot more substantial than the shower curtain liners would be. Good call!

Yes, the roof does have a good pitch. Looking at the setup from the front, it looks like a house that a child would draw...square on the bottom with a triangle on top. The 8 inch section is the triangle, so the 8 inches is the tallest part...the base of the triangle goes the whole width of the run (4 feet) but of course the height gets smaller as it goes towards the edges.

I'm thinking maybe I could attach the plastic in sections and then roll them up/down as needed depending on the temperature. But it sounds like you do think it would be a good idea to keep that 8 inch section open all the time?

I appreciate your help with this!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

My tractor and run sounds similar to yours. I plan on using clear plastic sheeting that you get in a roll from Home Depot, Lowe's, similar stores on the run. You can usually find it in the paint department and it comes in sizes like 10 ft x 25 ft and/or 12 ft x 400 ft, etc. That might make it easier to fit to the run frame without a lot of cutting. It's also a heavier mil plastic so should stand up to wind and sunlight a bit longer.

The girls also have a run outside of the tractor run so they'll have the option of playing in the weather or can sneak into the smaller covered run if the wind/rain/snow is too much for them.