new coop ideas

hi. im going to be building a new chicken coop this spring! i need some ideas. the coop has to be big enough for up to 50 chickens. i only plan on getting a dozen or so but want to have room to expand.it will most likely go up against our pole barn but you never know. picture of your coops would be great! thanks!

You are going to need a large coop, I have a 40x40 pole building divided up into different areas, my chickens have access to about 3/4 of it, I presently have around 38 chickens and eight muscovy hens with total free ranging.

There's a how many can I fit in my shed number, and a how many can live together without killing each other number, a behavioral number, and mine is 30-45 in my setup, so keep that in mind, especially if you have winters where chickens will spend more time inside.

I also have many places where chickens can get away from each other as well, as well as a couple of actual coops in my shed if I need to lock someone up.

So bigger is always better when it comes to housing chickens.

Hi Very good idea to go bigger! Most of us have been victims of "chicken math". It's always better to plan way more space than you need. Old Hen has given you great information and things to consider. Breeds, climate all play into the ammount of space you will need. If you're a carpenter, ignore the rest of this post! Some folks are at different levels of "handy"! As a general guideline, 4sq ft floor space per bird inside the coop, so your coop footprint should equal minimum 10X20. If you plan your dimensions in multiples of 4, (8,12,16,20,...) you'll avoid wasting material and labor.
You'll also want a minimum 1 ft per hen roosting space, keeping in mind that they all seem to want to roost on the highest bar.
10 sq ft/bird run space is standard minimum, so 20X 25.
I use a barn stall for my coop. 12X16.
There are hundreds of great pictures and ideas in the coops tab to help you with every aspect of the design. Here's the link. Best of luck, keep us posted!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/kruer-duplex-coop
this one i like. here are some of the ideas i have running through my head:
i would make it bigger and i think i would wrap the run around the pole barn
also i wouldn't bother with the top wire as i have never lost a chicken due to hawks.
next i would add a storage area on the top for a big auto waterer and feeder. (would that work?)
i might add an extra area for my meat rabbits.
i might not add a run at all... idk i might see if i can free range them...
those are just a FEW of the ideas i got running through my head

ill try n get the rough draft on scetch up and post pics!

I was thinking for fifty chickens to run the coop the whole length of your pole shed, though I don't know the dimensions.

Don’t know where you live so we don’t know what your climate is like. Putting a rough location in your profile helps with questions like this.

You might follow the link in my signature to get some of my thoughts on room for chickens. I don’t give specific numbers, more things to consider. We are all so unique that one specific number is not going to cover us all.

If you build a reasonably predator resistant run then you have a lot more flexibility in managing them. What do you do if you try to free range them and a predator starts taking them? There are times I want to keep them locked up instead of free ranging. If you are not covering it all you are talking about posts, wire, and a gate. Make the gate big enough to get a wheelbarrow through, or if it is a big run your mower. I don’t have trouble with hawks either but raccoons, foxes, possums, bobcats, and others can climb. That’s why I don’t call an open-topped run predator-proof, but it can still be really predator resistant.

You can put the waterer and feeder bins up there if you wish, but think about how you refill them. Make it convenient for you. How do you handle water freezing in winter? That’s the kind of stuff knowing where you are could help us know what to ask or suggest.

This is the coop I just built. Right now I have 45 chickens in it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/945110/finally-started-my-big-coop I am going to be keeping around 60 in there once my younger ones get a little older.