My dad and I are in the process of building a new coop now. About 5 years ago I had to rehome my last 3 hens due to too much predator pressure. Raccoons are wiley creatures and, like water, they'll find a way. My previous coop was a converted shed and the run was open on top (too big to cover). That was the 4th flock I had attempted , so I finally gave up. I said if I ever had hens again, I was starting from scratch and building Fort Knox!
The coop is still in progress, but you can see the bones of it in the attached pics. I've chosen to use crushed limestone sand/pea gravel as my litter. My coop is 8x4, and I'll end up with 5-6 inches of sand in the bottom. That sand weighs a little over a ton, so we built a rugged support frame to handle the weight. I painted the interior white based on the recommendation of that new Zealand chicken lady on you tube. It is supposed to be easier to spot mites on white wood. I used zinser mold preventative primer, then gave it a top coat of low voc high gloss clear paint to make the walls easier to wipe down. To make cleaning easier, both of the long sides of the coop have 3 doors that open. This puts every part of the coop in easy reaching distance at waist height for me. I'm in my 50's, and have to think about how things will work as I age.
The coop will be sealed up tight against predators when finished and is housed entirely inside the run. Coop ventilation is covered by regular 19 gauge 1/4 inch hardware cloth and secured with u-nails (NOT wood staples! Raccoons can pull those right out).
My run is 10 x 20. It will be covered on all sides and the top with 16 gauge pvc coated 1/4 inch hardware cloth secured by u-nails. We will cover all wire seams with a strip of wood so predators really have to work just to get eyes on the seams and hopefully I'll notice any attempts to pull wire off long before they even get close to gaining entry to the run. It was more expensive to buy the 16 gauge, but my neighbor up the road had a mink chew through 19g hardware cloth just about the time I was researching wire. She caught it all on her game camera
I'll have a 24 inch wide skirt of that same wire all along the ground perimeter of the run (6 inches up the wall, 18 inches on the ground out from the wall). I'll then cover the bottom of each wall with 2 x 6 x 10 "kick plates" - partially to keep debris inside the run and not on my patio, and partially to add extra security to the base of the walls, which are a common entry point.
Initially I'll cover the wire skirt on the ground with paver stones, but my ultimate plan is to attach raised garden beds along the entire exterior, wich will bury that wire deep.
We haven't quite figured out the door yet, but it, too, will have no gaps.
So, predators have to break into the run before they can even attempt the coop.
Avian influenza appears to be winding down, at least in Pennsylvania, but I still intend to tarp cover my run this year. We thought about a solid roof, but I'm out of money. Maybe in the future if needed.
Speaking of money, this was pricey and I had to pick up a lot of extra shifts at my second job to pay for it. The wire was about $1,000. Lumber for the coop and run was another $2,000. Incidentals added about $500 more to the total. It should last until I leave this world, though, and hopefully chicken keeping becomes fun again when I don't have to stress constantly about "what's going after my hens now!?"
