Coop design input!

[OHchickens87]

We are located in cleveland area Ohio so we will be dealing with snow as well as warmer temps.

Looking to get 4 to 6 chickens mixed standard size breeds (orpington, wyandotte etc)

The henhouse is 4x4 with abt 2 in walls and exterior nesting boxes. The run size will be a 4×10 which includes the 4x4 under the henhouse. The henhouse is elevated 2 feet.
I'm not completely sure I like the layout of everything but rather than redo it a bunch of times I figured I'd get some experiences eyes to take a look first.

Concerns/questions I have are:
the height of the vents above the roost.
The overall interior layout
Should the access door to the run open into the run or out?
I'm concerned the hens may decide to next under the poop board under the roosts rather than the nesting box

N

 

[jthornton]

The biggest issue I see is it looks like all the designs you see on the net and the nest box is too high. With such a small (in height) roost area I'd put the nest box in the run.

Here you can see what I ended up doing to "fix" my design I copied from the net.


Is the run covered with a roof? If so make long overhangs to help keep the rain and snow out. Make the wall to the run a wall of hardware cloth with 2/3 of the lower part having a winter cover and the top 1/3 open year round.

I get the 10' part but put it far enough from the house/garage so you can do maintenance on both.

JT

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

It looks like a nice plan! One thing I'd suggest is if you want 6 chickens, plan a house for at least 12. You may say you only want so many, but "chicken math" will almost always mess with your plans! It's easier to build a bit bigger than to redo! I'd have the access door opening out towards the run, it makes for easier cleaning. It looks as though the house is raised, correct? Make sure you have some steps or a ramp.

 

[OHchickens87]

The biggest issue I see is it looks like all the designs you see on the net and the nest box is too high. With such a small (in height) roost area I'd put the nest box in the run.

Here you can see what I ended up doing to "fix" my design I copied from the net.
View attachment 1851892

Is the run covered with a roof? If so make long overhangs to help keep the rain and snow out. Make the wall to the run a wall of hardware cloth with 2/3 of the lower part having a winter cover and the top 1/3 open year round.

I get the 10' part but put it far enough from the house/garage so you can do maintenance on both.

JT

The nesting boxes are 6 inches off the floor of the coop? Is that too high? I haven't decided on the roof for the coop yet. At minimum it will have hardware cloth for predators but I am not sure about a full roof yet. I'm working out the details on the henhouse first.

 

[OHchickens87]

It looks like a nice plan! One thing I'd suggest is if you want 6 chickens, plan a house for at least 12. You may say you only want so many, but "chicken math" will almost always mess with your plans! It's easier to build a bit bigger than to redo! I'd have the access door opening out towards the run, it makes for easier cleaning. It looks as though the house is raised, correct? Make sure you have some steps or a ramp.

We are only supposed to have 4 chickens by city ordinance. I may sneak it up to 6 but in our current location (we rent) I wouldnt be doing more than 6.

The house is raised 2 feet off the ground and will have a ramp.

 

[jthornton]

The nesting boxes are 6 inches off the floor of the coop? Is that too high? I haven't decided on the roof for the coop yet. At minimum it will have hardware cloth for predators but I am not sure about a full roof yet. I'm working out the details on the hen house first.

The nest box needs to be lower than the roost or they will sleep in there and poop in there all night. The roost needs to be below the vents so they don't get a draft in the winter.

Very nice drawings to scale too!

JT

 

[rosemarythyme]

We are only supposed to have 4 chickens by city ordinance. I may sneak it up to 6 but in our current location (we rent) I wouldnt be doing more than 6.

Your current plans really house about 4 comfortably. If you're trying to sneak in 6 I highly recommend you go bigger. If that's not an option due to space restriction, you'll need to stick with a smaller flock.

 

[OHchickens87]

The nest box needs to be lower than the roost or they will sleep in there and poop in there all night. The roost needs to be below the vents so they don't get a draft in the winter.

Very nice drawings to scale too!

JT

Currently the nesting boxes are lower than the roost. The bottom of the roost sits about 9 inches above the top of the nesting boxes.

The vent height above the roost was a concern of mine, I thought they might be too low compared to the roost. How high above the roost should the bottom of the vents be minimum? Right now there is about a foot of space.

 

[OHchickens87]

Your current plans really house about 4 comfortably. If you're trying to sneak in 6 I highly recommend you go bigger. If that's not an option due to space restriction, you'll need to stick with a smaller flock.

Thanks for your input. What is the sq ft per bird number for a henhouse? I keep seeing mixed information on that.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks for your input. What is the sq ft per bird number for a henhouse? I keep seeing mixed information on that.

Recommendation on here is 4 sq ft in coop + 10 sq ft in run per bird, minimum. Roost bar space, around 1 linear foot per bird. Ventilation, 1 sq ft per bird or 10% of floor space, whichever is greater. If at all possible you want to go above minimums as the more space you can provide, the fewer behavioral problems you should see.