Coop from scratch, a weekend vs almost 2 months

[CroneWild]

Originally this was going to take me a little over a weekend, yeah let’s factor a very agitated January and here we are weeks from chickens showing up.

Coop is finally functional as of today (painting, some of the trim and landscaping have yet to happen)

 

[orloffer]

Wow, that is a beautiful and very sturdy-looking coop! I would love to see a picture of the finished product. What color are you planning on painting it?

 

[Tonyroo]

Nice coop, how big is it?

 

[CroneWild]

Nice coop, how big is it?

About 5’by6

 

[jwsmith1959]

Cool. Looks like a nice all weather coop.

 

[MARANMAN2011]

Nice

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Very nice! So how long has it actually taken you? Two months?

Are the windows at the same height as the roosts, and if so can you close them at night so the chickens won't be roosting in a draft? (I made this mistake in my coop. I put a huge 3x4' window right next to the roosts. And virtually no other ventilation when we close it. ) And when the windows are closed, what other ventilation is there? There needs to be ventilation above the birds' heads. I think the standard ratio is one square foot of ventilation per bird. Lack of ventilation can cause respiratory distress and ailments plus frostbite.

Other than that, it is a fine-looking coop and your chickens can rightly thumb their beaks at any birds not authorized to live in it! In other words, Pret-ty Snazzy!

 

[GravityWaves]

Nice looking coop! Along with what @BigBlueHen53 said about ventilation, I'd caution you to keep an eye on the sides of the nest boxes and along the hinge where they open. My coop is basically the same design just a bit bigger and the nest box lid will leak some in those areas when we get a good blowing rain.

 

[CroneWild]

Very nice! So how long has it actually taken you? Two months?

Are the windows at the same height as the roosts, and if so can you close them at night so the chickens won't be roosting in a draft? (I made this mistake in my coop. I put a huge 3x4' window right next to the roosts. And virtually no other ventilation when we close it. ) And when the windows are closed, what other ventilation is there? There needs to be ventilation above the birds' heads. I think the standard ratio is one square foot of ventilation per bird. Lack of ventilation can cause respiratory distress and ailments plus frostbite.

Other than that, it is a fine-looking coop and your chickens can rightly thumb their beaks at any birds not authorized to live in it! In other words, Pret-ty Snazzy!

So lucky for me I’m not a great builder yet (first build project tbh) so there’s ventilation all along the roof.
The roosters are not yet in.

Rain is also not a huge concern since we are in the desert and high enough most of our rain is snow, I’m adding some planters to the box to keep it drier for sure.

windows are fully functional and can be open and closed as needed, but there’s also the ventilation along the roof.

On building time, due to family emergencies, snow, the fence around being installed and this being my first project it has taken me almost a month. During the weekends I work full time so it has been a challenge

 

[3KillerBs]

Are the windows at the same height as the roosts, and if so can you close them at night so the chickens won't be roosting in a draft? (I made this mistake in my coop. I put a huge 3x4' window right next to the roosts. And virtually no other ventilation when we close it. ) And when the windows are closed, what other ventilation is there? There needs to be ventilation above the birds' heads. I think the standard ratio is one square foot of ventilation per bird. Lack of ventilation can cause respiratory distress and ailments plus frostbite.

So lucky for me I’m not a great builder yet (first build project tbh) so there’s ventilation all along the roof.

Welcome to BYC. Nice job, especially for a first build. It looks good and solid.

BUT, I have to agree about the ventilation issue.

The usual guideline is to have1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per adult hen, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

So, by the numbers, a 4x6 coop (the nests don't count as floor space when you measure), can hold 6 chickens and needs 6 square feet of 24/7/365 ventilation.

Open soffits and a ridge vent/gable vent are one popular and effective way of doing this (all openings covered in 1/2" hardware cloth).