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Hot take: I went with the cheap plastic coop over the fancy wooden one and I regret it
Bought a $180 plastic coop from Tractor Supply 6 months ago instead of the $650 wooden one my wife wanted. It went together in 20 minutes and I thought I won. Then August hit here in Tulsa and that thing turned into an oven, 105 outside and my 4 hens were panting with wings out. The plastic held heat like crazy and the vents on top did nothing. I ended up rigging a box fan and shade cloth just to keep them alive. Wood breathes, plastic bakes, lesson learned the hard way. Anyone else run plastic in a hot climate or am I the only one who got cooked?
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joseph_hart23d ago
Did you see those backyard chicken guys on YouTube test coop temps with a heat gun? I watched one where plastic coops hit like 130 inside while wood ones stayed closer to 95 in full sun. The plastic just soaks up the heat and holds it, and those little roof vents can't move enough air to matter. I've also read that painting the roof white or adding a reflective layer helps a bit, but it's kinda just putting a bandaid on it. If you throw a shade sail over the whole thing and keep that fan going you might limp through summer. Next time wood all the way, or at least something with real airflow.
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