Well, I've managed to keep chickens alive for two years now. We've had predator losses by various predators, 4 broody hen hatches, mastered the art of first aid and performed bumble foot surgery. All this while with the chickens living in a "temporary coop." We've had the lumber for my big permanent coop for almost the entire time, but between August 2013 and now, life happened. I think we've done well.
So, here we are and my days of cleaning out the track and fighting with the sliding doors on a metal shed are limited!!
You can imagine by this point I had come up with a list of do's and don'ts on my coop design. The biggest thing was that I wanted it to be wide open on the inside. No obstacles. I can fly in, turn litter under the roosts and get out. Another reason I wanted it to be open and more shed-like is because I do not like single-purpose buildings. Should the day ever come (oh forgive me) that I get out of chickens, I want to still be able to use this building.
-Measurements: 10' x 10, because, you know, you get the most out of a square building.
-Two windows facing out (I got at a yard sale for $10) that will have hardware cloth on the outside. One human door and two pop doors. One pop door will enter the run. The other will be on the opposite side and will also be used to push old bedding out into the bucket of the tractor to be composted once or twice a year. This outer pop door will also be used for free ranging. The run will be a shared run with my mini broody coop, so I wanted a second exit option. Dual purpose=awesome.
-Vents all the way around under the eves covered in hardware cloth and also at the gable ends.
-Single roosts down both sides. I may double the back side in the future, but at this point this will be more than enough.
-6 nest boxes, stacked 3 on top of 3 on the inside of the coop, but with outdoor access on the back side (right side in pictures, with 2' overhang).
I think that's about it for now. Quick pic of the interior layout below. Progress pics to follow! Super excited!!!
So, here we are and my days of cleaning out the track and fighting with the sliding doors on a metal shed are limited!!
You can imagine by this point I had come up with a list of do's and don'ts on my coop design. The biggest thing was that I wanted it to be wide open on the inside. No obstacles. I can fly in, turn litter under the roosts and get out. Another reason I wanted it to be open and more shed-like is because I do not like single-purpose buildings. Should the day ever come (oh forgive me) that I get out of chickens, I want to still be able to use this building.
-Measurements: 10' x 10, because, you know, you get the most out of a square building.
-Two windows facing out (I got at a yard sale for $10) that will have hardware cloth on the outside. One human door and two pop doors. One pop door will enter the run. The other will be on the opposite side and will also be used to push old bedding out into the bucket of the tractor to be composted once or twice a year. This outer pop door will also be used for free ranging. The run will be a shared run with my mini broody coop, so I wanted a second exit option. Dual purpose=awesome.
-Vents all the way around under the eves covered in hardware cloth and also at the gable ends.
-Single roosts down both sides. I may double the back side in the future, but at this point this will be more than enough.
-6 nest boxes, stacked 3 on top of 3 on the inside of the coop, but with outdoor access on the back side (right side in pictures, with 2' overhang).
I think that's about it for now. Quick pic of the interior layout below. Progress pics to follow! Super excited!!!
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