Are there any "rules' for the interior layout?

If building a door as opposed to buying I would go surface mount. I did inset and snow load has caused some minor binding.

I used white corrugated lexan for the roof and it lets in LOTS of light and cheaper than windows. Just need to make sure to secure it well enough that nothing can squeeze under.

Thanks for the input. I guess I should have mentioned that the coop will be off to the side of my house and a little in front so the back of the coop will be the closest access for me when approaching. That is one reason I was saying I am putting the nest boxes in back. So with them in back I won't have to walk around it all the time.

aart those numbers below is the exact type of information that I am looking for.

I will most whole-heartedly agree with not restricting yourself to a run squared with the coop. Because we were space limited, and the only place to put our setup would have put a straight-from-the-coop run smack dab over Ken's prize apricot tree, we had to think outside the box a bit. So we offset the run, built a short box between the opening to the run from the coop, and we have been so happy with it.

One thing I would add, too, is what you touched on in your initial post. You are right to think of your convenience as well as what's most comfortable for the chickens. Our first design was a raised coop contained within a huge run. I'm so glad we opted for a shed type coop now. We're in our 60s and it's just a little tough to try to get under a raised coop to rescue an injured chicken, retrieve eggs they may have decided to lay there, and clean poop out from under it while crouched. Um, I don't do crouch well. So we built it so that we can both stand upright.


The tunnel box...blocks drafts from the north, shields the opening to the coop and run from predators, and allowed us to put the run in a totally different orientation.


Rather than come right off the run in a straight line, our run had to sit beside and in front of the south edge of the coop. By golly, it worked!



You are smart to pre-plan. Paper, pencils and erasers are way cheaper than wood and wire! Good luck with your build. As @aart said, there are lots of designs and builds in the forums...peruse to your heart's content, and steal ....um....borrow the most workable parts and pieces of the various setups, or even copy the entire thing. Whatever works for you is perfect! My Coop link, under my avatar, will take you to my build. (Don't tell anybody, but when we were designing ours, anytime I'd see a post with that little blue "My Coop" under the name of the poster, I'd click on it and go visit, even if we were actually discussing broken eggs in the thread! Shhh....our secret!)

And welcome to BYC! Glad to have you!

Blooie said:

The tunnel box...blocks drafts from the north, shields the opening to the coop and run from predators, and allowed us to put the run in a totally different orientation.

Click to expand...

I also like that configuration because you can easily block off the tunnel if you want the chooks in the run while you clean their house, or vice versa.

With my house and run, you have to access the house through the run and all the chickens can get out of the run every time you open the door (inconvenient if you want them to stay in there) or they stay in the run and try to trip you over*. (*yes, I know that's not what they are really doing, but it's the upshot of having them milling about hoping you've got treats for them). Until I get the new run/yard up, accessing the coop means trying not to step on the girls.

You also might want to consider a cover over the nest-boxes. My girls are sleeping in there and I've been recommended to install a flap to keep them out.

flyin-lowe said:

Thanks for the input. I guess I should have mentioned that the coop will be off to the side of my house and a little in front so the back of the coop will be the closest access for me when approaching. That is one reason I was saying I am putting the nest boxes in back. So with them in back I won't have to walk around it all the time.

aart those numbers below is the exact type of information that I am looking for.

Click to expand...

These are the things that are important looking at the 'big picture'....long term wide view.

The 'stack up' theory came from my engineering background with tolerance stacking...another aspect in relation to height is foot print of coop.
Height of nests and roost boards can increase floor space for birds,
but if coop is narrow flying down from roost and nests without crashing into walls or other things can be tricky.
I ended up using ramps for bird egress because my coop is only 6 feet wide..some birds use them, some don't.

Another thing you might want to look at is roost, or poop, boards for under the roost...makes for more daily chores but can be a great feature.
Here my post on a long thread with lots of other designs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...raphic-gross-poop-pictures/1100#post_13179595

aart said:

some birds use them, some don't.

Click to expand...

I've only had 3 "lots" of chickens. My first lot years ago were Australorps. My older girls are isa browns, and my new girls are araucana crosses. With my very limited chicken experience, I've noticed differences. My Australorps were "walkers", they were big, and heavy and I didn't really think of them as birds with wings who flew. (no doubt they could do it if they were startled, but they didn't flutter about, or jump up on stuff). My isa browns came to me with (severely) clipped wings. Even without flight feathers, they still leap about, and flap and act like birds. My little girls are the type who might try to roost in trees. Today I found one on top of the coop and the other on a box next to it. I think my Australorps would have needed a ramp to get up into a raised coop, whereas my little girls could just jump or flap themselves up there..... It'll be interesting to see whether they keep up their "flappiness" when they are fully grown, because they are crossed with big chooks so they might grow big (I've no idea how they'll turn out).

Options are a good idea. The chooks you have now might be joined by others who can't jump the same or need a less steep ramp or whatever. You've got the opportunity to add that little bit of extra room so you can change things or add things if you need to or want to.

Oh, and hooks! You'll want hooks in there! Either pound some long nails in partway or get some kind of tool hooks. Invaluable for keeping stuff handy, like a rake or fork for turning litter or the poop scoop if you use sand. I also keep a wide blade putty knife in there on a hook for occasionally scraping roosts and have a flashlight hanging up in there too.