Can you use deep litter method in an open chicken run?

[Lynn Manes]

Hate to harsh your excitement, but.....I wouldn't put more than 2 full grown large fowl chickens in that coop.
Prefabbed coops are almost always way too small....and often not built very well.
But it would work great for raising chicks in for a few months....which is what most folks do after buying one of these and finding it too small.

For that kind of money you could build a much more appropriate coop and run.

The Cedar Coop that you posted about here is a better go if you're still convinced to buy a prefab.

 

[Lynn Manes]

Here are pix of the outside and small view of one side of the enclosed area of the coop we built using OSB, plywood fir the nest boxes and 2'x 4' framing with chicken wire. It's a walk in coop so easy to keep it clean. We didn't like the looks of those prefab and expensive coops, so for about the same money, we now have a larger, and for me who has back problems and want no stooping to clean, much easier one to be functional. We painted the OSB white, bc I'm a professional artist and plan to paint some cute "chicken-y" artwork on the sides inside and big sunflowers on the outside. Hope this might give you some ideas. Good luck

 

[Lynn Manes]

Oops sorry. The pic of the inside of my coop didn't add to my first post to you. Here it is. The nest boxes are at a height of 4 ft from the ground.They are actually one long box from wall to wall divided into 3 nesting areas. There is a roost about 3" from the boxes at the bottom edge. They have a hinged top but that's not necessary. And there is another set on the oppsing wall. We have 1 rooster and 1 Australorp,1 Plymouth Rock, 2 RI Red crosses, 1 Americauna & 2 Delawares. My rooster is a beautiful black & white Frizzle. I'd love to have an Easter Egger and an Orpington too

 

[Two Chicksahs]

Lazy Gardener, you gave some awesome encouragement! We waiting on our prefab coop which my partner thought would be easier and more affordable than we could build but I have my doubts about them since the ones I've seen at Costco and home depot are lacking in so many ways. I issued a challenge but... After reading not only your comments but that of other helpful people, I am strongly leaning to us building our own. The people in this "community", BYC, seem so eager and willing to help and I for one really appreciate it!

Ellen

 

[sandi333]

We lost our chickens this January to a coop fire, which also burned our garage/barn to the slab. We are planning our new garage, which will have a 10x10 room to house our new chicken flock. The garage will be heated (a minimum amount, but temp will not go under 45 degrees). My question, Do I need to worry about ventilation, and how do I incorporate it, if I do need it? I can add windows, doors, etc. I don't want holes in the walls, as I feel like I would just be heating the outside...
(we are including a sprinkler system this time too)

Any comments, ideas???

Thank you!!!

 

[Lynn Manes]

We lost our chickens this January to a coop fire, which also burned our garage/barn to the slab. We are planning our new garage, which will have a 10x10 room to house our new chicken flock. The garage will be heated (a minimum amount, but temp will not go under 45 degrees). My question, Do I need to worry about ventilation, and how do I incorporate it, if I do need it? I can add windows, doors, etc. I don't want holes in the walls, as I feel like I would just be heating the outside...
(we are including a sprinkler system this time too)

Any comments, ideas???

Thank you!!! 

I'm so sorry about that fire and your loss. Glad you are able to rebuild.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, you will need ventilation, even with heat. Chickens generate a lot of moisture, and there will be some ammonia from their feces. Is the coop going to be on an outside wall? Perhaps even at a corner? Just install some windows with some hardware cloth over them. Sandi, I wish you the best with your rebuild and new flock.

 

[RonP]

We lost our chickens this January to a coop fire, which also burned our garage/barn to the slab. We are planning our new garage, which will have a 10x10 room to house our new chicken flock. The garage will be heated (a minimum amount, but temp will not go under 45 degrees). My question, Do I need to worry about ventilation, and how do I incorporate it, if I do need it? I can add windows, doors, etc. I don't want holes in the walls, as I feel like I would just be heating the outside...
(we are including a sprinkler system this time too)

Any comments, ideas???

Thank you!!!

How did the fire start?

What are your coldest expected temperatures?

Do you have cold hardy, fully feathered, healthy birds?

Regardless, read this article on the virtues of proper ventilation. It is a great start.

 

[16 paws]

For the cost of that, you could build a house much bigger, that you can even walk into without bumping your head, and provide enough space. Limited space presents a myriad of problems.

x2

 

[Kiki]

Ok, so this thread has inspired me to NOT go with the prefab option and to hire someone to help us build a coop instead. We've been scouring the web and we've come to love the Wichita coop (https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/wichita-cabin-coop). I'd still love to keep our plan for 5 chickens. Currently the coop is (I believe) designed for 5x8. We'd probably enlarge it to 6x10.

Now, since we are getting the chance to customize this coop to our exact specifications, is there anything folks would recommend changing/adding? Does the ventilation look like it's ok? We live in Chicagoland, so it can get somewhat stuffy in the summer and in the winter...well it's currently -10! Also, we were thinking of putting in a skylight in the coop for extra light, especially in the winter...silly idea?

Or any little tidbits that you've picked up along the way? Even little things that you would tweak if you did it all over again. We are only 'booksmart' and haven't learned anything yet by trial and error We have the next week to build our idea of a dream coop - we've found a great craftsman who is up for the challenge so the sky (and our budget ha!) is the limit!

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

@GrandmaDeKorte10 Is this the thread you are talking about?