"We're Gonna Need A Bigger Coop." (sic.)

Doubt i helped, but i responded on your post on coops. Hope someone can located a source nearby for you!
Good luck
CT

Yeah. No prob, I kinda figured any source you might know of would be a bit of a commute already.

Home Depot?

Do you have any friends in construction who might know some local "off the beaten path" sources?

I have 6 hens and when they roost they go in order of this. 1 faces front 1faces back. 1 faces front 1 faces back and so on. It's so funny to see. Even though it's 90 degrees they still sleep close together and the have plenty of space. I use deep litter and I Chang it out twice a year. My nest boxes are outside the coop so they don't take up space and it's easier to collect the eggs. I built a new coop for them and my new babies and soon the 6 older girls will be enjoying the new coop as well. I just have to get the hubby to finish their new nest boxes.

Well I've finally come up with a design. I'm having to learn CAD all over again, But I did get a preliminary 'sketch' out. I figured that I don't need that much floor space, just headroom when I'm in there. The chickens are what need floor space, but their need of headroom is somewhat less than mine. Also, since the only winter heat will be that which they provide, the less volume the better. So I chose an A-frame design. This is a rough idea of how it will look from the front (facing my house).


Yeah, I am aware of the shortcomings of the A-frame, but as you can see, I'm not just nailing three 8' studs together end-to-end. I have modified it by narrowing the 'A' so I will be less likely to bump my head when I'm in there AND added full length corbels so that all the floor space will be available to my ladies. It will be 8'x6' with two nesting boxes 12"x13" each leaving over 45 Ft2 of available floor space.

The nesting boxes will be at the end of the corbels, either of which I will be able to cordon off to create a 5 Ft2 brooding area if need be. Since I will have 11 birds if all survive (once I cull my extra Roo, Blackstock), that will give at least 4 Ft2 per bird.

I still haven't been able to find any bargeboards outside of Australia or the UK, so I guess if I want any, I'll need to make them.

FlyWheel said:

Well I've finally come up with a design. I'm having to learn CAD all over again, But I did get a preliminary 'sketch' out. I figured that I don't need that much floor space, just headroom when I'm in there. The chickens are what need floor space, but their need of headroom is somewhat less than mine. Also, since the only winter heat will be that which they provide, the less volume the better. So I chose an A-frame design. This is a rough idea of how it will look from the front (facing my house).


Yeah, I am aware of the shortcomings of the A-frame, but as you can see, I'm not just nailing three 8' studs together end-to-end. I have modified it by narrowing the 'A' so I will be less likely to bump my head when I'm in there AND added full length corbels so that all the floor space will be available to my ladies. It will be 8'x6' with two nesting boxes 12"x13" each leaving over 45 Ft2 of available floor space.

The nesting boxes will be at the end of the corbels, either of which I will be able to cordon off to create a 5 Ft2 brooding area if need be. Since I will have 11 birds if all survive (once I cull my extra Roo, Blackstock), that will give at least 4 Ft2 per bird.

I still haven't been able to find any bargeboards outside of Australia or the UK, so I guess if I want any, I'll need to make them.

Click to expand...

Just curious, but why don't you build a standard gable roof coop? The reason I'm asking is because it'll probably be difficult to clean the edges of your design. Personally I don't want to have to stoop to clean any area of the coop if I can help it. A gable roof square building is a lot easier to construct as well.

ejcrist said:

Just curious, but why don't you build a standard gable roof coop? The reason I'm asking is because it'll probably be difficult to clean the edges of your design. Personally I don't want to have to stoop to clean any area of the coop if I can help it. A gable roof square building is a lot easier to construct as well.

Click to expand...

Ahh, but it does have a gabled roof! The gable just happens to be a little bit more pronounced than usual, that's all!

I don't mind bending over a little to sweep/shovel out the floor. I usually bend over a bit to do that anyway, even when outdoors. Now, if you are referring to getting around the 'rafters' there will only be three 'A's in the design, two will form the back and front walls the other will be dead center. Which I can get away with because the coop is only 6 feet front to back, and chicken coops don't have to conform to government building codes.

I have started a 'coop page' the link is in the sidebar ("My Coop")