Hi all! Posting here in case anybody is looking at prefab coops and might benefit from anything we have done...
An earlier post about our coop can be found here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1007888/coop-floor#post_15613945
In that post, I was unsure about how to go about finishing the floor of the coop. In the end, I did decide to go with throwing down some sheet vinyl, and attaching some 1/4" hardware cloth up underneath (pics below). The original design of the coop had floors that just sat down in the frame, and were not attached in any way. I presume the intention of that was to make it "easy" to clean the floor by pulling it out, but with the space underneath, I saw this as a potentially fatal flaw, giving predators an easy way into the coop from below. Thus, the solution described in my previous post, with the modifications pictured below to finish the job:
The hardware cloth is copiously stapled up underneath, including under the nest boxes. I am not sure that staples will be sufficient, but there are over 1,000 of them here, attached in multiple rows, so anything getting in would need to be pretty determined!
This is nicely textured low-gloss vinyl sheeting. I found a remnant of it at a local carpeting center... 6 feet x 12 feet (enough to do this job 3 or 4 times over) for $20. Not bad! I did not glue the vinyl down, as I want to be able to pull it out easily for cleaning as needed. Instead, I placed bricks around the edges of the living area to hold the sides down. You can see that in the next pic...
As the ladies are only three weeks old, and still learning to roost, I wanted to block off the nest boxes to prevent them from getting into the habit of sleeping in there. I figure I will remove the hardware cloth over the nest box opening (replacing it with curtains for dark and privacy) when the chicks are about 5 months old or so -- when they are approaching egg-laying age.
A minor mod, but an important one... the coop came with this little ventilation window, but had no way to prop it open. An inexpensive hook and eye fixed that!
We also had to add the hardware for the nest box. Not a big deal to add, but very important!
And here are our ladies, shortly after being moved into the coop from their brooder bin! They will be three weeks old tomorrow, and were starting to "fly" just enough to escape the brooder at will... it was time to move them to their new home, and they seem to really love it, especially the roosting bars!
Only time will tell what other modifications our coop will need. I have a thermometer set up in the nesting boxes to monitor temps in the coop; this will let me know if I need to add additional ventilation for airflow, but so far so good!
I am thinking of adding a frame inside the top of the coop below the roofline, where I can pop in a cover of hardware cloth. With that, I could remove one or more sections of the roof and still have the coop protected from predators attacking from above, while increasing available light and allowing any excess dampness in the coop to evaporate. If I do that, I will be sure to post pics!
Anyway, we are so far very happy with our coop! It's a pre-fab, but seeing as we have none of the appropriate tools, experience or know-how to build from scratch we decided to use a prefab as a base and modify it to be what we need. So far, we are happy and so are our babies!
An earlier post about our coop can be found here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1007888/coop-floor#post_15613945
In that post, I was unsure about how to go about finishing the floor of the coop. In the end, I did decide to go with throwing down some sheet vinyl, and attaching some 1/4" hardware cloth up underneath (pics below). The original design of the coop had floors that just sat down in the frame, and were not attached in any way. I presume the intention of that was to make it "easy" to clean the floor by pulling it out, but with the space underneath, I saw this as a potentially fatal flaw, giving predators an easy way into the coop from below. Thus, the solution described in my previous post, with the modifications pictured below to finish the job:
The hardware cloth is copiously stapled up underneath, including under the nest boxes. I am not sure that staples will be sufficient, but there are over 1,000 of them here, attached in multiple rows, so anything getting in would need to be pretty determined!
This is nicely textured low-gloss vinyl sheeting. I found a remnant of it at a local carpeting center... 6 feet x 12 feet (enough to do this job 3 or 4 times over) for $20. Not bad! I did not glue the vinyl down, as I want to be able to pull it out easily for cleaning as needed. Instead, I placed bricks around the edges of the living area to hold the sides down. You can see that in the next pic...
As the ladies are only three weeks old, and still learning to roost, I wanted to block off the nest boxes to prevent them from getting into the habit of sleeping in there. I figure I will remove the hardware cloth over the nest box opening (replacing it with curtains for dark and privacy) when the chicks are about 5 months old or so -- when they are approaching egg-laying age.
A minor mod, but an important one... the coop came with this little ventilation window, but had no way to prop it open. An inexpensive hook and eye fixed that!
We also had to add the hardware for the nest box. Not a big deal to add, but very important!
And here are our ladies, shortly after being moved into the coop from their brooder bin! They will be three weeks old tomorrow, and were starting to "fly" just enough to escape the brooder at will... it was time to move them to their new home, and they seem to really love it, especially the roosting bars!
Only time will tell what other modifications our coop will need. I have a thermometer set up in the nesting boxes to monitor temps in the coop; this will let me know if I need to add additional ventilation for airflow, but so far so good!
I am thinking of adding a frame inside the top of the coop below the roofline, where I can pop in a cover of hardware cloth. With that, I could remove one or more sections of the roof and still have the coop protected from predators attacking from above, while increasing available light and allowing any excess dampness in the coop to evaporate. If I do that, I will be sure to post pics!
Anyway, we are so far very happy with our coop! It's a pre-fab, but seeing as we have none of the appropriate tools, experience or know-how to build from scratch we decided to use a prefab as a base and modify it to be what we need. So far, we are happy and so are our babies!
