Chicken coop help!

[froginthepond]

Need some advice. We have bought a wooden chicken coop its all built and ready to go hut we dont have the birds yet. It has a wooden roof no felt. Last night we had heavy rain do this morning ds went to check his pretend chickens and when we opened the door to look inside it was all damp through on one side. This coop was not cheap it was over £700 it does have a guarentee but am i right in thinking it should not be getting wet inside? There was nothing in the build instructions about the wood needing treated. We are in a part of Scotland where it rains 80% of the year so this is not good. Do other wooden coops with wooden roofs let in water?

uch apologies about typos!

Ideally no, the coop should not be getting wet inside. Perhaps occasionally a bit damp around the joins but not properly wet. If your bedding etc gets wet it will go all mouldy and not particularly pleasant for chooks (not to mention probably quite unhealthy too). We stuck a section of corrugated tin on ours (less prone to harbouring mites than felt) to keep the rain out, but it is a home made job not a shop bought one. I'd be annoyed if a brand new one was not waterproof (especially at that price! )

Hi Smaths, i dont plan on putting anything in until the dampness issue is resolved as i know its not good for the birds. Its been raining again today, good old Scotland so not sure how long until it gets a chance to dry out. Im not sure how resolve the dampness its coming through every join that the wood has been nailed to. We thought the more expensive we bought the less problems and better quality. Or is it that we were supposed to treat or paint the wood? The instructions said nothing about that though? The roof is sodden inside!

Mine has a wooden roof and cost about that amount. No leaks, bone dry and cosy inside. I'd contact the supplier if I was you and explain the problem.

Who supplied your coop?

we put a sloping roof with asphalt roll on top of our roof when it started to leak but this is a v old coop. yours should not be leaking - take it back this is just so annoying for you.

I would seriously be taking it back if it cost £700 and is leaking!

We used to have a wooden coop (admittedly free off Freecycle ) but we've now got one made from recycled silage plastic and it is fantastic, so easy to clean & no maintenance. We've got this one from solway recycling, which is definitely cheap & cheerful (but does the job nicely for our 2 chickens), friends have a fancier one from Green Frog.