Foundation & run ideas

I have a small coop for my four hens, but I just adopted 6 chicks that someone bought for a photo-shoot and then didn't want. I also have over 30 free range muscovy ducks (all rescue). I was planning on building an 8x8 coop with a roughly 350 square foot run to keep them all contained. I also planned on have a lean to duck shelter away from the coop as the ducks prefer to sleep outside anyway.

I'm on a budget but want to do this right. I was thinking of either building on deck blocks which are sort of expensive, or laying a thick layer of stone down and putting my treated 2x8s directly on that. The stone would be cheaper as I have plenty extra laying around already, but I think deck blocks would help prevent moisture getting to the wood.

For the run I planned on framing it with treated 2x4s but was concerned about ground contact over the course of several years. Also with the ducks I regularly dump their water troughs & kiddie pool and that is a lot of water that could be coming in contact with the 2x4s regularly. Anyone have any suggestions on this?

Any thoughts, suggestions, or money saving tips would be greatly appreciated!

I don't think that is enough room for all of your birds there is about 40 square foot left in the coop after your chickens have room I don't know how much room they need but 40 square feet for 30 muscovy's seems like a tight fit, the min. sq. footage for chickens is 4 sq ft per bird, I would go way bigger. go to a re claiming place or post an ad on Facebook or craigslist for free scrap lumber.

The actual coop will be 64 square feet and is for the hens only, the ducks have no interest in their current shelter so I don't think they'll bother with the new one. I should also note that I will not be having all 30 ducks in the run (I'm trying to find homes for quite a few of them).

ok that makes more sense some people put their ducks in with their chickens, that is why I thought you had them together but again with the scrap places you can still get decent wood there, if it is a little dingy you can spray with bleach and set it out in the sun.

I have an 8x10' shed in my backyard. We elevated it off the ground using two 6x6" treated posts laid down on the ground. The floor was framed on top of them. You could do this on top of a gravel bed for your coop (since a coop is basically a modified shed). Just make sure to block off the area underneath so you're not trying to fish birds out from underneath the coop!

Jensownzoo said:

I have an 8x10' shed in my backyard. We elevated it off the ground using two 6x6" treated posts laid down on the ground. The floor was framed on top of them. You could do this on top of a gravel bed for your coop (since a coop is basically a modified shed). Just make sure to block off the area underneath so you're not trying to fish birds out from underneath the coop!

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where did you get your shed from? I have been trying to find one or get a good(hopefully cheap) design to build a coop my coop was one of those crappy things that are pre made, and the roof started leaking and peeling.

Well it was a crappy premade shed, but I got it very cheaply ($850, free shipping) from Amazon on Black Friday the year before last, so was able to spring for some additional quality materials for reinforcing the base structure as well as shingle roofing. It's my garden shed, not my coop. My coop I am building from scratch with 4x4's sunk with concrete as the foundation so I can use the space underneath as part of the run. I did read both a shed-building book and Building Chicken Coops for Dummies to develop my basic plan, then looked on this forum for customization options.

Ok thanks I found one but it was 10X10 and 100 sq. foot here in town we are required to pay property taxes so I don't want to go that big, so now trying to find a better design.

The concrete deck blocks are great, definetly worth the money. Cinder blocks work well too, but they don't have grooves for the 2x4s (or 4x4s). I built my run out of an old circular aluminum trampoline with a net. I tied chicken wire to the trampoline legs around the bottom with some wire and wire cutters. Predator proofing was not a goal, or else I would have used welded wire around the bottom and in place of the net. The aluminum won't rot like wood and doesn't show any sign of rust. You can use several trampolines side by side or pull them apart and fit them together into a bigger structure, or use PVC to build panels and tie fencing to that for a waterproof run.

Thanks for the great ideas! The PVC run really got me to thinking. I'm going to have to look into that and do some pricing and planning!