Building a chicken coup ...HELP?

[lesa]

Stubbornhill, that is one beautiful coop!! Is it only my chickens that manage to poop on the walls??

 

[thistlebloom]

Yes Stubbornhill like Lesa said, your coop is gorgeous! I love the skylight!

Lesa, you're funny !

What I don't like about mine is the size for my climate. It would be nice if they had more room for those blustery winter days when they don't want to go out. Mine will walk about in the snow, but not until I've shoveled it down to non chicken eating depth.

I also wish I had a poo catcher under the roost, although I still may be able to do that, it will just be a tight fit.

What I do like is that it's elevated and the girls can retreat for safety or shade, I have an outside access door to the nest box, and a walk in door.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Well thank you very much lesa and thistlebloom! I am very happy with it and the girls and roo seem to like it as well. It is hard to tell, but there are actually two 2x4's on their side for roosting poles in front of the windows. For the most part, gravity works and the poo ends up in the sand. However, I have an old wooden step ladder that some use and that gets poo'd on along with the 6x6 that runs along the back and outside wall. Not too bad though. My girls are usually busy fighting over the prime roosting spots and are too busy to practice their aim towards the walls! I forgot about the skylight. I really like that feature too! We have 1 section of clear roofing panels. It was my attempt to give them some more light without having to add any more windows.

 

[catjac1975]

We designed ours around the size of 4X8 sheets of outdoor plywood. Being able to stand up to clean them out is handy.

 

[Marigold]

Great looking coop there, Stubbornhill!

One question - I noticed that you don't have a board/ledge in front of the nesting boxes for the hens to hop onto before they go into the box. Your hens just fly up to the upper boxes?

Our hens favored one box (as typical). That box had a bigger 'landing pad' than the others. After we put bigger boards in front of the boxes, they started using the others...somewhat.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Great looking coop there, Stubbornhill!

One question - I noticed that you don't have a board/ledge in front of the nesting boxes for the hens to hop onto before they go into the box. Your hens just fly up to the upper boxes?

Our hens favored one box (as typical). That box had a bigger 'landing pad' than the others. After we put bigger boards in front of the boxes, they started using the others...somewhat.

Marigold, the boxes are actually pretty low to the ground, so the bottoms they just hop up into. The tops they fly. We definatly could add a ledge for them to fly to first, but I figure if they can fly to the ledge, they can fly to the edge of the box too. As you say, they do have their favorite boxes. Ours love the lower left and the upper right. And then we have one that escapes every day and lays hers on top of one of the cows round bales. Silly chickens!

I think with chickens, you could add, redesign, reconstruct and invent new things all the time and never be done!

Edited to say: Thank you for the compliment too!

 

[ninnymary]

Stubbornhill, your coop looks so large and clean! I bet you took that picture right after you built it. Are those speckled hens? They look very pretty. Do they go broody often? I shouldn't even be thinking it, since I'm maxed out on the number of chickens I can have!

Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nobody will ever accuse my coops of being clean. But I keep them dry.

If you elevate something, elevate it enough for the chickens to get under it. This applies to an elevated coop or things inside the coop like nest boxes or maybe waterers and feeders. And in the coop, consider the height of the bedding if you use any. If chickens cannot get under anything, it becomes a great place for Mommy Mouse to raise a family, or possibly rats, snakes, or other things you don't want around can hide under there. Also consider that you might need to get an injured or sick chicken that does not want to be caught from under a coop or somewhere inside your coop. Also, they can lay eggs anywhere. You need access and chickens need access.

Size of the coop and run matters. There is no one answer for everyone on how big the coop and run need to be because we all have different climates and different management techniques, but build it bigger than you think you need to. It gives you more flexibility in how you manage your chickens, it allows you to possibly expand the number of chickens, it helps reduce the chances of social problems from overcrowding like featherpicking and cannibalism, and the bigger it is the less work I have to do. If you squeeze them in a small space, you probably have to do a lot more poop management, for example.

Most building material comes in 4' and 8' dimensions. If you size your coop in increments of 4' and 8', you can use the material more efficiently. For example, you can probably build an 8' x 12' for about the same price as a 7' x 11' and have less waste and cutting.

Slope any roof, whether in the coop or the run, so the water flows away from the run, not into the run. Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people don't do this. Also when positioning your coop and run, locate them where water does not run into them. Build them on slight rises or divert rainwater run-off with a ditch or, my preference, a berm. And try to position you run where any water that does get in drains.

I'd keep any width that I'm going to cover, coop or run, to 8' maximum. The wider you make it, the stronger and more expensive the material to support snow, ice or wind load will be. 8' is plenty wide enough for you to be able to work inside if you have a walk-in coop and does not really waste space. You can span that width reasonably.

Ventilation is extremely important in the coop but you don't want drafts directly on the chickens if you have cold winters. Wind chill can be an issue, but your big risk in cold weather is moisture build-up in the coop. That can cause frostbite. Chickens handle cold much better than heat, so you really need a lot of ventilation in the summer if you are in a hot climate, but they need ventilation in the winter too. The way I recommend getting around the draft versus ventilation issue is to have overhangs on your roof and leave pretty large openings up there. As long as the openings are over their heads when they are roosting, they are out of drafts. A cross breeze over their heads won't hurt them. The overhangs will help keep rain out. In the summer, openings low to let in more ventilation is great, but you need to be able to block off any low ventilation openings in cold winter weather to avoid drafts directly in them. Cover any opening with hardware cloth so predators cannot climb in.

I put in doors so I could collect the eggs without going in the coop, but that was a waste for me. I don't use them or like them. They can be drafty, may let in rainwater, and may be weak spots that can allow predators access, depending on how you build them. But the big reason I don't like them is that I like to look in the coop when I collect eggs. I've found a possum, snakes, and dead or injured chickens in the coop when I look inside. If I collected eggs without looking inside I would not see those things. Id hate to leave a possum, raccoon, or other predator locked in with the chickens overnight.

I built my nests so I can lock a hen in there if I want to. That has come in handy a few times for different reasons. It just adds flexibility to your ability to manage them. I also built mine with a space between them where I can lock a hen in the nest and give her food, water, and some room to go poop. This I can and do access this from the back. This has also come in handy for a few things, a broody while hatching, a place to isolate an injured chicken, a broody buster, many different uses. If I could do it again, Id make it a lot bigger. It would be a great way to have a built-in brooder for baby chicks. Thats one thing Ill probably do next spring, build in a permanent brooder in the coop instead of taking mine in and out. The big design issue for me, other than space, is how to put the heat lamp and keep the adult chickens away from the heat lamp. I may build it under the roosts so the top can be a dropping board.

I made my roosts removable. This comes in real handy in a walk-in coop so you can clean. I just drilled slightly oversized holes in the ends of the roosts and the supports and used large nails to hold them in place. Some people design them so they can fold up or otherwise get them out of the way.

Be careful of running out of vertical room, especially in the small coops. My minimum height is determined by the height of the roosts. They need to clearly be higher than anything else in there, especially the nest boxes, since chickens like to roost as high as they can. You dont want them sleeping in the nest boxes because they poop a lot while they sleep. But remember you need room over their heads while they are sleeping for ventilation. The building materials have thickness that adds up. Be kind of careful with that. Dont ask how I know in my smaller coop. And dont forget the thickness of any bedding you might have.

I did not get a high enough lip on the bottom of my nest boxes at first. The hens would scratch the bedding and fake eggs out while preparing the bedding to make a comfortable nest. I found that about 5 is the right height for mine, but some people get by with less.

I suggest giving plenty of roost length. Mine can be pretty vicious on the roosts at night, especially when I am integrating new chickens. Often, one or two of the hens decide to become brutes and bullies toward the newcomers. It is usually hens lower in the pecking order that become brutes, surprisingly. I actually put up another roost away from the main ones and lower down so the young ones had a place to go to get away from those brutes. As in many things related to chickens, more space proves better.

Whether you have a small elevated coop or a walk-in coop, if you provide bedding, plan on the openings being high enough to keep the chickens from scratching the bedding out. Either have lips on the bottom (removable maybe for cleaning) if elevated or make the pop hole high enough that the bedding doesnt come out. And dont forget your doors. If they swing in, make sure they are above the bedding.

If I knew a bit more about what you plan, I could maybe be more specific with things that might be more geared to your specific situation, but maybe you can pick something out of this that is helpful. I tend to long posts anyway and this is long enough.

Good luck!!!

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Stubbornhill, your coop looks so large and clean! I bet you took that picture right after you built it. Are those speckled hens? They look very pretty. Do they go broody often? I shouldn't even be thinking it, since I'm maxed out on the number of chickens I can have!

Mary

ninnymary, you are correct. That picture was taken when we first built it. We keep it pretty clean, but I have DE all over at this point, so there is white powder all over the wood, and it doesn't look as pretty. The hens in the picture are Speckled Sussex. They are just shy of 8 months old so they haven't gone broody yet and I honestly think that the broodiness has been bred out for the most part. They are a pretty docile breed, large and because of their built in camoflauge a lesser target for flying predators. (They don't stick out like a pure black or white flock would)

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Nobody will ever accuse my coops of being clean. But I keep them dry.

If you elevate something, elevate it enough for the chickens to get under it. This applies to an elevated coop or things inside the coop like nest boxes or maybe waterers and feeders. And in the coop, consider the height of the bedding if you use any. If chickens cannot get under anything, it becomes a great place for Mommy Mouse to raise a family, or possibly rats, snakes, or other things you don't want around can hide under there. Also consider that you might need to get an injured or sick chicken that does not want to be caught from under a coop or somewhere inside your coop. Also, they can lay eggs anywhere. You need access and chickens need access.

Size of the coop and run matters. There is no one answer for everyone on how big the coop and run need to be because we all have different climates and different management techniques, but build it bigger than you think you need to. It gives you more flexibility in how you manage your chickens, it allows you to possibly expand the number of chickens, it helps reduce the chances of social problems from overcrowding like featherpicking and cannibalism, and the bigger it is the less work I have to do. If you squeeze them in a small space, you probably have to do a lot more poop management, for example.

Most building material comes in 4' and 8' dimensions. If you size your coop in increments of 4' and 8', you can use the material more efficiently. For example, you can probably build an 8' x 12' for about the same price as a 7' x 11' and have less waste and cutting.

Slope any roof, whether in the coop or the run, so the water flows away from the run, not into the run. Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people don't do this. Also when positioning your coop and run, locate them where water does not run into them. Build them on slight rises or divert rainwater run-off with a ditch or, my preference, a berm. And try to position you run where any water that does get in drains.

I'd keep any width that I'm going to cover, coop or run, to 8' maximum. The wider you make it, the stronger and more expensive the material to support snow, ice or wind load will be. 8' is plenty wide enough for you to be able to work inside if you have a walk-in coop and does not really waste space. You can span that width reasonably.

Ventilation is extremely important in the coop but you don't want drafts directly on the chickens if you have cold winters. Wind chill can be an issue, but your big risk in cold weather is moisture build-up in the coop. That can cause frostbite. Chickens handle cold much better than heat, so you really need a lot of ventilation in the summer if you are in a hot climate, but they need ventilation in the winter too. The way I recommend getting around the draft versus ventilation issue is to have overhangs on your roof and leave pretty large openings up there. As long as the openings are over their heads when they are roosting, they are out of drafts. A cross breeze over their heads won't hurt them. The overhangs will help keep rain out. In the summer, openings low to let in more ventilation is great, but you need to be able to block off any low ventilation openings in cold winter weather to avoid drafts directly in them. Cover any opening with hardware cloth so predators cannot climb in.

I put in doors so I could collect the eggs without going in the coop, but that was a waste for me. I don't use them or like them. They can be drafty, may let in rainwater, and may be weak spots that can allow predators access, depending on how you build them. But the big reason I don't like them is that I like to look in the coop when I collect eggs. I've found a possum, snakes, and dead or injured chickens in the coop when I look inside. If I collected eggs without looking inside I would not see those things. Id hate to leave a possum, raccoon, or other predator locked in with the chickens overnight.

I built my nests so I can lock a hen in there if I want to. That has come in handy a few times for different reasons. It just adds flexibility to your ability to manage them. I also built mine with a space between them where I can lock a hen in the nest and give her food, water, and some room to go poop. This I can and do access this from the back. This has also come in handy for a few things, a broody while hatching, a place to isolate an injured chicken, a broody buster, many different uses. If I could do it again, Id make it a lot bigger. It would be a great way to have a built-in brooder for baby chicks. Thats one thing Ill probably do next spring, build in a permanent brooder in the coop instead of taking mine in and out. The big design issue for me, other than space, is how to put the heat lamp and keep the adult chickens away from the heat lamp. I may build it under the roosts so the top can be a dropping board.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/22249_nest_boxes.jpg

I made my roosts removable. This comes in real handy in a walk-in coop so you can clean. I just drilled slightly oversized holes in the ends of the roosts and the supports and used large nails to hold them in place. Some people design them so they can fold up or otherwise get them out of the way.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/22249_roost_nail.jpg

Be careful of running out of vertical room, especially in the small coops. My minimum height is determined by the height of the roosts. They need to clearly be higher than anything else in there, especially the nest boxes, since chickens like to roost as high as they can. You dont want them sleeping in the nest boxes because they poop a lot while they sleep. But remember you need room over their heads while they are sleeping for ventilation. The building materials have thickness that adds up. Be kind of careful with that. Dont ask how I know in my smaller coop. And dont forget the thickness of any bedding you might have.

I did not get a high enough lip on the bottom of my nest boxes at first. The hens would scratch the bedding and fake eggs out while preparing the bedding to make a comfortable nest. I found that about 5 is the right height for mine, but some people get by with less.

I suggest giving plenty of roost length. Mine can be pretty vicious on the roosts at night, especially when I am integrating new chickens. Often, one or two of the hens decide to become brutes and bullies toward the newcomers. It is usually hens lower in the pecking order that become brutes, surprisingly. I actually put up another roost away from the main ones and lower down so the young ones had a place to go to get away from those brutes. As in many things related to chickens, more space proves better.

Whether you have a small elevated coop or a walk-in coop, if you provide bedding, plan on the openings being high enough to keep the chickens from scratching the bedding out. Either have lips on the bottom (removable maybe for cleaning) if elevated or make the pop hole high enough that the bedding doesnt come out. And dont forget your doors. If they swing in, make sure they are above the bedding.

If I knew a bit more about what you plan, I could maybe be more specific with things that might be more geared to your specific situation, but maybe you can pick something out of this that is helpful. I tend to long posts anyway and this is long enough.

Good luck!!!

ridgerunner, I really like your idea of the nesting box with the "holding box" in the middle. That would truly be a great idea especially if you were trying to figure out if a certain hen is laying, etc.