Newby with some questions

Hi You all; Glad I found this BYC site. I have been reading and studying everything I can get my hands on, chickens of course. Downloaded many pictures of coops and ordered the plans for the Winchita coop. Have modified it and it has turned out to be 6 by 12 ft. The coop will be 2 feet up off the ground and 3 by 6. Since I am handicapped and in a power chair, I have to consider making the coop and run accessible to taking care of my flock. Intend on putting in 4 or 5 large breed chickens with one Roo. It will have a 3 by 6 pull out poop shelf with one or two inches of PDV in it and a 6 ft long roost above it. The nest boxes will be copied from Mr OPAs roll out nest box plans. I'm thinking I should put in three nest boxes just in case I expand the flock in the future. The nests will hang out the end of the coop so I can roll up in my chair and gather the eggs real easy. The run will be screened with 1/4 inch galvanized wire and also have a 1 ft wide roll of the same all the way around the bottom to discourage digging. We are here in NW Fla and have an abundance of both sycamore and Oak leaves So I plan on putting in a layer of leaves in the run, about 4 to 5 inches thick. That should be good for the chickees to play around in. I am considering an automatic door, but they are very expensive and I'm wondering if it is necessary since the entrance to the coop is from the run which is fully enclosed with 1/4 inch wire.

Here are some pictures; Hope you enjoy them and I would greatly appreciate any and all comments. Its been 50 years since I raised any poultry.

Building the front and back walls and stapling predator wire to the bottoms


Walls standing up. The area behind the coop is where there was a greenhouse and shade room. One of the hurricanes took it out several years ago. MY good neighbor came over with his tractor and leveled it out for the coop to go there.



My DW wanted it red so she got it RED !




This is an end view after it got painted yesterday. You can see where the land was leveled and the coop placed in its permanent position. The two horiz 2 by 4s at the far end is where the house will be and the Poop board will slide out right to left. Its really straight and plumb, the picture is tilted.

Looking good! Welcome to BYC!

IMO, you don't need a roo unless you want to breed. The roo isn't necessary at all if all you want is eggs for eating.

I'm quite interested in your accessibility modifications. Please keep us posted on how well they work.

Thanks for the reply. I was wanting a Roo because I was wanting to free range the flock on my 5 acres. I heard a big Roo would help protect them. I will be posting upgrades to the coop as we go along.

Best Regards
OB

Coop is coming along good, and it is RED. As far as having a rooster, to protect the flock while they are freeranging. I have found they are little more than feathered speed bumps as far as predators go. They may be able to handle a hawk, but a 4-legged pred, not so much. Good luck with your birds.

Whether you lock them up at night purely depends on how confident you are that the run is truly predator proof. I still would want a pop door of some kind. There are times you might want to lock them in the coop section and out of the run or vice versa. And if you do find out your run is not predator proof, you have an option. A pop door just adds flexibility even if you never use it.

That is red! I painted mine dark green so it would blend in. But if the wife wants it, the wife gets it. I understand that part.

oop . Sorry trying to do from my phon . I too have a too for my 5 hens. But he is a little guy (banty . I just love the crowing even tho he does it all day long. And my neighbors are farmers and not close enough to care. I am counting on him to make me some noise if something is happening,but they probably won't be out by themselves. I know me being there won't stop some predators,but for the controllable things maybe I'll get lucky. First post ever, so sorry for the blank one.