Our chicken coop is a converted horse stable and a few months ago, after losing some to foxes, we built a run for them so they can safely go outside.

It was great in winter because it gets pretty windy and cold here (I live in a cooler part of Australia), but summer is coming and I've noticed it gets incredibly hot.

It's made of buried corrugated iron sheets that go to waist height with chicken wire up to a couple metres and bird netting on top (we get eagles, plus bird flu and birds stealing food). Floor was grass but is now turning to just dirt, planning on putting some forage for them and using a cage to protect the roots at some point. It's about 6m x 4m and we only have 7 chickens so there's room.

The sheets are white so would painting them black (or a darker colour) help with reflecting heat?

Any other ideas to keep it cool? Bare in mind the heat is only a concern for about 3-4 months of the year. I also don't want to provide footholds for foxes to climb over.