Chicken coop/run 2024: The Planning

[MightyChickenJF]

Yay! I will FINALLY be able to have a chicken run starting spring 2024! Now for the planning:

Coop: Will consist of two 4' x 8' sheets of plywood side by side for floor. Floor will be covered in peel-and-stick linoleum tile. Walls will also be 4x8 plywood, on 8' foot high pine studs. Roof will be flat, same plywood as floor, with standard composite shingles. Coop will be in one corner of the run, with a 2' x 6' self-made man door for me to access coop safely from outside. Chickens will access coop via a large dog door with flap removed and a small ramp. My big questions regard how it should be fitted inside. My grandfather's coop had shelving inside for chickens to roost. I will have a "chicken condo" that is handmade by a Sacramento feed store in another part of the coop for broody hens to lay/hatch chicks.

Run: I have 150 feet of wire to work with that will go 6 feet high. Run will be roofed with that black fabric meant to protect gardens from birds. With the 8x8 coop in one corner, how much wire will I need for each side? I will have 3 metal posts for each corner with the coop being the fourth corner. I stink at math, so somebody who has a PhD in mathematics will have to help me out.

 

[Penpal]

I would use marine board for the floor, even if it will be covered. Also for the roof.

The roof should be on a slant so that water will run off where you want it to run off. It should also have good overhangs, like 2 feet to keep rain from coming into the coop should there be strong winds.

I would not use a shelf for roosting. I would use a board, how wide depends on the size of the chickens. Under the roost you put straw, loose or in a bale. This way, all of the night's manure is under them and you rake the floor, not clean off the shelf. Make sure the chickens can turn around while on the roost. 14" from the wall is recommended.

Chickens nest under a bush, in the dirt. You might save money by using crates for the nest boxes. The chickens don't care.

Also, I would get portable electric netting (premier1supplies.com) and use that so you can figure out how you will eventually want your fencing put up. You can later use the electric netting to let them into other parts of the yard.

 

[perkolator]

Sounds like you just need to make yourself a drawing with basic dimensions to go off of for this type of planning - graph paper would maybe help.

As for the interior, all you really need is some roost bars and a way to manage their night-time pooping activity, whether that be a poop board/litter system you clean regularly, or a litter system that can be left alone for periods of time (deep dry bedding and deep moist litter)

 

[Sally PB]

Run: I have 150 feet of wire to work with that will go 6 feet high.

A circle will will give the greatest square foot area for a given circumference.

Pi x dia = 150
Divide bothside by pi (3.14 will work)
Dia = 47.77; Radius = 23.885

Pi (radius squared) = area
3.14 x 23.885 x 23.885 =1791.35 square feet.

If you need to make it a rectangle, a square will yield the most area.

150/4 = 37.5
37.5 x 37.5 = 1406.25 square feet.

 

[fuzzi]

Ventilation: standard house eaves ventilation at top of walls.

Bedding: probably fine pine shavings for coop. Run will be natural.

Whew, a lot of 100°F days out there!

Aside from that, we're in the same USDA zone 8a.

You're going to want maximum ventilation and shade for the summer, you can always put up plastic during the winter. I've seen people put a shade cloth over their coop with a gap of a foot or more between the roof and the shade cloth.

I recall reading here some builds that were in hot places. I will see if I can find them.

Your chicken wire will keep the chickens in, but dogs or wild predators can rip through it. You might consider installing a couple feet of hardware cloth on the outside to help protect your flock.

 

[fuzzi]

Yay! I will FINALLY be able to have a chicken run starting spring 2024! Now for the planning:

Coop: Will consist of two 4' x 8' sheets of plywood side by side for floor. Floor will be covered in peel-and-stick linoleum tile. Walls will also be 4x8 plywood, on 8' foot high pine studs. Roof will be flat, same plywood as floor, with standard composite shingles. Coop will be in one corner of the run, with a 2' x 6' self-made man door for me to access coop safely from outside. Chickens will access coop via a large dog door with flap removed and a small ramp. My big questions regard how it should be fitted inside. My grandfather's coop had shelving inside for chickens to roost. I will have a "chicken condo" that is handmade by a Sacramento feed store in another part of the coop for broody hens to lay/hatch chicks.

Run: I have 150 feet of wire to work with that will go 6 feet high. Run will be roofed with that black fabric meant to protect gardens from birds. With the 8x8 coop in one corner, how much wire will I need for each side? I will have 3 metal posts for each corner with the coop being the fourth corner. I stink at math, so somebody who has a PhD in mathematics will have to help me out.

Congratulations!

What type of climate do you have?

How will your coop be set up for ventilation?

What type of wire are you using for the run?

What type of litter/bedding are you planning to use in the coop? Run?

What type of predators might visit with the intent of a meal?

Where will you be placing the coop/run? Is it a shaded area or full sun?

Roost: I have a 2x4 with the wide side on top. The chickens roost but their droppings basically miss and land in the litter, below.

 

[MightyChickenJF]

Sorry y'all, internet connection is being funky. Pic of run:

 

[fuzzi]

Here's one of the builds I was remembering:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

You can adapt some of the design elements for maximum ventilation during the summer.

Also, the author added this comment:

MUCH needed update..... this coop did indeed NOT have enough ventilation.... go figure. We ended up cutting a good chunk out of each of the three sides of the plywood, covering the hole in hardware cloth, and using the cut piece of plywood as a shutter/protector from rain.

 

[MightyChickenJF]

Whew, a lot of 100°F days out there!

Aside from that, we're in the same USDA zone 8a.

You're going to want maximum ventilation and shade for the summer, you can always put up plastic during the winter. I've seen people put a shade cloth over their coop with a gap of a foot or more between the roof and the shade cloth.

I recall reading here some builds that were in hot places. I will see if I can find them.

Your chicken wire will keep the chickens in, but dogs or wild predators can rip through it. You might consider installing a couple feet of hardware cloth on the outside to help protect your flock.

The problem is essentially the weather extremes we have here. In summer, very broiling hot. In winter, bitter cold, albeit not as cold as some other places. I will need a way to keep the chickens cool in the summer and protected from cold and snow in the winter. The link in your second post was to a coop in South Texas, a desert environment where extreme heat and humidity are the biggest issues, since the winters are mild. Here, we have heat but it's dry heat. In the winter several inches of snow per storm is normal, although with global warming the amount of snow has gone down although it still gets really cold. The likely solution is to have the wall ventilation cutouts on hinges, so the chickens don't broil alive in July yet the hinged wood can be closed in winter to keep temps higher in the coop.

There aren't much in the way of land based predators such as canines (which would include foxes and wolves along with dogs), roaming domestic felines, or other ground predators that would rip through wire. The area has a rancher with superior grazing rights, so there are cows here in spring and early summer. Another area resident pastures horses and alpacas here too. That's a lot of incentive to keep ground predators away. The big concern here, as far as I can tell, are avian predators, mainly hawks and vultures. Thus the cloth roof on the run.

 

[fuzzi]

The problem is essentially the weather extremes we have here. In summer, very broiling hot. In winter, bitter cold, albeit not as cold as some other places. I will need a way to keep the chickens cool in the summer and protected from cold and snow in the winter. The link in your second post was to a coop in South Texas, a desert environment where extreme heat and humidity are the biggest issues, since the winters are mild. Here, we have heat but it's dry heat. In the winter several inches of snow per storm is normal, although with global warming the amount of snow has gone down although it still gets really cold. The likely solution is to have the wall ventilation cutouts on hinges, so the chickens don't broil alive in July yet the hinged wood can be closed in winter to keep temps higher in the coop.

There aren't much in the way of land based predators such as canines (which would include foxes and wolves along with dogs), roaming domestic felines, or other ground predators that would rip through wire. The area has a rancher with superior grazing rights, so there are cows here in spring and early summer. Another area resident pastures horses and alpacas here too. That's a lot of incentive to keep ground predators away. The big concern here, as far as I can tell, are avian predators, mainly hawks and vultures. Thus the cloth roof on the run.

The Texas link was for a chicken coop and run in extreme heat. Whether you have humid or dry heat you'll still need ventilation and shade.

I have read here on BYC that insulation isn't a good idea, it attracts rats and mice.

With winter you can cover or wrap the sides to keep the worst of the cold and snow out of the coop and run, but you still need ventilation. As long as the chickens have a dry and draft free place to roost they can handle cold.