A few terms on this page get read in more than one way. Rather than leave them open, here is what each one means when it appears in a note, a plan sheet or a stock line.
It means the item or layout was used through at least one full season on a working smallholding, not a single afternoon. Where a plan was only drawn and never built, we say so instead of borrowing the phrase.
Refers to frost, dry cold and sharp night temperature drops inland. It does not cover coastal damp, salt air or prolonged humidity, which need different materials and ventilation.
Measured inside the coop, excluding nest boxes, feeders and the run. Dual-purpose and heritage breeds are given more room than the minimum, because heavier birds crowd a small floor faster.
Describes brooder and incubation setups that keep working when mains power drops, using hot-water bottles, thermal mass or a low-draw alternative. It is not a claim about runtime on any specific schedule.
Applies to a complete perimeter: buried skirt, tensioned mesh and a secured top rail. Mesh on its own, however heavy, is not described that way, since jackal and caracal work gaps and corners first.
A short line on current availability and any substitution we would suggest. It reflects what is on hand at the time of writing and can change between orders, so treat it as a guide rather than a guarantee.
Where a breed, plan or fitting sits outside these definitions, the listing says so plainly. If something on this page still reads two ways, tell us at info@redfoxfowl.com and we will tighten the wording.
These are notes from smallholders who built from our coop drawings, ran our brooder schedules through a Highveld winter, or fenced a run against jackal and mongoose. We publish them as they came in, with the bird counts and conditions attached.
Highveld Winter Coop Plan
Built the six-bird version outside Bethlehem in April. The raised floor and 40 mm walls held up through two frost weeks, and the ridge vent kept the bedding dry without a draught on the roost. The broody nook closed off cleanly when one hen went clucky in June.
Thabo M., eight dual-purpose hens, Eastern Free State
Coastal Humidity Coop Plan
We are 4 km from the sea near Port Shepstone, so rust was our main worry. Switched the fittings to stainless as the notes suggested and used the slatted floor. Bedding stays dry through the humid months, and the 600 mm overhang keeps the driving rain off the ridge vent.
Riaan and Elsie K., twelve layers, KwaZulu-Natal south coast
Predator Mesh and Fencing Kit
Lost four birds to jackal before we fenced properly. The buried skirt turned outward at the base and the top rail made the difference. We overlapped the panels at the corners as instructed and have not had a break-in since, including a mongoose that used to work the gap under the gate.
Nomvula S., twenty hens, bushveld smallholding near Thabazimbi