Newbie 1st Post - Let's get'er started

My kids don't ever use the playhouse much anymore. I'm thinking it's time to repurpose it to a chicken coop? The house is 6' X 8' and the space to the left is bordered on two sides by a chain link fence (neighbors dogs on the other side). The run would start off as 8' X 14'. I have not purchased any chicks yet and not sure how many I may start with. Thinking 6-10. Now for all you chicken coop enthusiasts...Help me design and build out this new coop! Think design based on Utah conditions. I can get power to it. Are the windows to high to build a ramp to get in? I look forward to your responses!

How many birds you can have depends on the type/size of chickens you choose. Jersey Giants will need a lot more space per bird than the Mille Fleur d'Uccle. Just as important as the size is the temperament of the breed/breeds you choose. Some birds are a lot more mellow allowing you to have a larger flock. So if we go with you are getting a "normal" sized chicken you want about 2.5 to 3 square feet inside the coop per bird and twice that amount of space in the run.

I would recommend starting with 6-8 this year. Then you can add 2-4 new birds every spring so that you always have a steady supply of eggs as the birds age. I have a friend who gets chicks every spring. Each year she picks birds that lay one color of eggs so she know how her flock is laying by age. That allows her to know when to cull her birds. For example her birds that are 4yrs old lay green, 3yrs old medium brown, 2yrs old white, 1 yrs old chocolate brown, chicks this spring are olive eggers.

Absolutely beautiful base to start from, get power in it will make your life a lot easier, I wouldn't use a window for the door, cut a pop hole in the side near the floor"look into buying a auto door first"you will love it, for the run look in a dog kennel easy to set up easy to expand and strong, maybe some type of screening so the neighbors dogs don't horrify the chickens, which ever you choose make sure to take alot of pictures.

I checked out my city ordinance and I can have up to 25 chickens. I did not see anything specific to minimum distance from my house or neighbor's houses, which is currently 20-25'. Just curious, will the big tree to the left of the coop pose problems if it's in the middle of the run? Do squirrels pose any threat? Should I cut back all the ground cover or should I let the chickens eat and destroy it?

Tree limbs might damage any netting or wire if a limb falls, never had a problem with squirrels getting in, the chickens will have that ground cover gone in no time flat.

pfrosty said:

My kids don't ever use the playhouse much anymore. I'm thinking it's time to repurpose it to a chicken coop? The house is 6' X 8' and the space to the left is bordered on two sides by a chain link fence (neighbors dogs on the other side). The run would start off as 8' X 14'. I have not purchased any chicks yet and not sure how many I may start with. Thinking 6-10. Now for all you chicken coop enthusiasts...Help me design and build out this new coop! Think design based on Utah conditions. I can get power to it. Are the windows to high to build a ramp to get in? I look forward to your responses!

Click to expand...

That looks great for a coop!! Do you NEED to run power? Chickens will do just fine without heat and light all winter. I am in Michigan where it was -28 this winter and we got a total of 93 inches of snow!! I don't heat/insulate or light my coop at all and they all did fine. Chickens will acclimate to the weather wonderfully. They are very hardy birds.

I do think the windows are low enough for a ramp up. You will have to add a vent or two at the top to let our moisture so humidity does not accumulate. Also you will need a roost.

Good Luck!!

Unless the ground cover is toxic, leave it for the chickens. Squirrels aren't a threat to your chickens, but hawks/birds of prey are and require a top to the run to keep them out. I agree about not using the window as a pop door, mainly because that would allow a draft in the winter too close to where the birds will be roosting. But you want you pop door 4-6" off the floor of the coop so your bedding doesn't fall out through it. If you take the effort to make your run secure you won't need an automatic pop door because you will be able to allow your chickens free access to the run, making them much happier. It looks like you already have the start of a nice coop there, good luck and enjoy.

So instead of batting around the idea of building a coop and getting chickens. I took my 13 and 10 year old boys to the feed store and bought chicks: 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Black Sex Links, 2 Ameraucanas and 2 Barred Rocks. Was looking for 2 Buff Orpingtons as well but they were sold out. Now I'm much more motivated to get working on this coop while the birds are in the house.

I have 4 windows on the sides of the coop (play house) that sit right in the middle. I'll have a 4 ft fenced in uncovered run, so will be clipping wings. Questions:

• If I put the roost/poop boards above the windows, would that be too high for flightless birds/breeds I have? Too high for ramps?
• If to high I can drop them lower than the windows, too low assuming cold winters?
• I was thinking of starting off using the window on the left as the door to the coop just to see if it will work to avoid cutting a door in the wall. If I cut a door towards the floor, how do you deal with running into a stud?
• For 8-10 birds how much roost space do I need?

I think I'll add 4 nest boxes, probably directly under the roost/poop boards (Sweet PDZ filled) which I want to be 24 inches deep. The interior space is 5 1/2' x 7 1/2'. I have not measured height but I can stand up in it the house.

Opinions?

First advice would be find a taller fence for the run and don't clip the wings, put the nest boxes about 12 to 14 inches off the floor with the roost on top of them like you said, I would definitely cut a hole in the wall for them to get out, look for nails that should tell you where the studs are, I find a guillotine style of door works great, for roost you will need 12 inches per bird so 8 to 10 feet total. If you make your run taller it will be alot easier for you to clean and think about covering the run with netting or wire, as so as any bird of prey finds your girls they will most likely be attacked.

I have a big tree in the middle of the run. Will the chickens fly up into it? I also want to prevent them flying into the neighbors yard who has two bird thirsty dogs. Someone posted about limbs and leaves being an issue with netting over the run. How tall of a fence makes sense if I don't clip their wings?