New dog kennel coop in the works

I received a 10x10x6 dog kennel for a pretty good price locally to turn into a chicken coop.

There are a couple of things I had questions on before I embark in building it up.

Should I keep the kennel on the ground and put some type of wire material around the ground a foot or two all the way around so nothing can dig under it or put the whole thing on a 12x12 wood platform to make sure nothing can get underneath. I'm not sure if its ok for them to be on wood all the time or better to be on the ground.

I'm also not sure if I should build up a smallish 4x8 coop on 18" stilts so they have the whole 10x10 to run around in or basically block on 4' on one side and use that whole area as the coop, basically leaving them 6x10 to run around in outside of the coop.

across the top I figure i'll put some type of hardware cloth all across the top and then throw a 12x12 tarp over it to keep it semi dry so rain's not flooding it all out.

I'm looking at lots of pictures on here for ideas and I don't see any on platforms so that may not be the way to go...would also cut down on cost if I didn't need it, just getting some more opinions.

any other suggestions or if anyone wants to post pics of theirs for guidance or for ideas, that's cool too.

it may take a week or two between work and family time, plus I'm not the best at building things so that will take time as well but i'll keep this updated!

ETA: I'm thinking about using this for a template and turn it into a 4x8 with a flat roof if I go this route: http://www.simplesuburbanliving.com/2016/03/how-to-build-simple-suburban-chicken.html

Anyone?

wow...no help at all...pathetic

Hi, I just signed on 5 min.ago. you will need to raise your house off the ground for safety. Lots of thins want to eat free chicken. Çover the outside with Hardware cloth,use strong screws or heavy u shaped nàils. The also need the ďog run. CHICKENS Need To Forage AND scŕatch. You will need to run hardware cloth up the inside of the pen and attach firmly. Then bury it 2 ft in the grounď. If you leave a spot for a racoon to dig under or crawl over, they will eat your flock by the 3rd night. In the house you are trying to keep out rats and snakes. Çover all vent and windows,and the entire bottom of the house.
Good luck

pohnjarker said:

wow...no help at all...pathetic

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Welcome to BYC.
Sorry no one has responded within your timeline....it is a holiday weekend for many so activity might have been slower.
Chickens take patience, so maybe start practicing that.

I will try to answer some of your questions below.
There are 2 excellent articles, on 'Space' and 'Ventilation' linked in my signature, so check those out.
I took the time to look at your other posts to find out you live in Texas, putting your location in your profile can help folks give better answers suggestions.
In Texas you will probably need very good ventilation and shade.
And you can check out My Coop linked under my avatar for some ideas.


"Should I keep the kennel on the ground and put some type of wire material around the ground a foot or two all the way around so nothing can dig under it"
Yes, very good idea. Search on 'Aprons'.

"I'm not sure if its ok for them to be on wood all the time or better to be on the ground"
Better on ground.

"I'm also not sure if I should build up a smallish 4x8 coop on 18" stilts so they have the whole 10x10 to run around in"
Better choice...more room is always better.

The coop design you linked is pretty nice, but too small.
If you can stretch it out larger it wouldn't be a bad way to go.

I just created an account so I could reply. We just built platforms for our two coops, which are inside a 12 x 12 chain-link run. I modified the design for the platform from instructions given in the book "Reinventing the Chicken Coop" http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Chicken-Coop-Step-Step/dp/1603429808. The posts are about a foot tall, placed on top of concrete pier blocks, so about 18 inches of height total. The chickens have plenty of room to go underneath, and we are glad we went to the trouble of making the platforms. We put vinyl flooring on them before placing the coops on top.

I thought i had my location listed under my avatar but it should be there now.

I ended up putting the coop on 6 inch blocks so they cant really get under it, but it is low to the ground, it seemed like a good compromise.

i took the build plan i listed and extended it so now its a 4x6 so i'll have a little more room in the kennel that with a 4x8 and once i get the backyard outlined with a fence, i'll be able to let them out to run around so they will have much more room, then lock them in the kennel at night for protection.

i built the tray into the coop plans so i can use that or take it out and use the deep litter method and see which one i like more.

in those plans, he has the side door leading into the chicken run but i'll turn that into a window for more ventilation so i'll have the side window, the front door, and i may put a window in the back, not sure yet. It will have the same type of roof and then i'll cover the whole coop with a tarp for even more shade and to keep the rain off.

i think that is it for now, im doing a little at a time and seeing what works for me. this may cost a little more than i wanted it to in the beginning but in the long run, not only will it save money but the family will learn a lot and have fun with....i hope!

pwhit said:

I just created an account so I could reply. We just built platforms for our two coops, which are inside a 12 x 12 chain-link run. I modified the design for the platform from instructions given in the book "Reinventing the Chicken Coop" http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Chicken-Coop-Step-Step/dp/1603429808. The posts are about a foot tall, placed on top of concrete pier blocks, so about 18 inches of height total. The chickens have plenty of room to go underneath, and we are glad we went to the trouble of making the platforms. We put vinyl flooring on them before placing the coops on top.

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haha, thanks for the reply!

so far i have the base sitting on the blocks and one wall up. Its still not too late to unscrew the wall, lift the base, and attach 4 foot tall posts to get it off the ground just a bit more so they will have some extra room to run under. i could also throw some vinyl flooring on top before i attach the walls back.

man...so many choices and different options to go with...................................!!

I started with the coop on the blocks as you can see here but didn't like how close it was to the ground so I put it on 1 foot 4x4s. The bottom of the coop is about 14 inches off the ground and should be plenty tall for the chickens to get under if they want to.






ran into a snag with the plans last night, I'm going to have to modify it a bit to finish the front of the coop.

I hope to be 90% complete by this weekend, minus the roof probably...we'll see.

Looking good!