Greetings from first time chicken momma-would be very grateful for coop and run design and construct

[SlickChick76]

Good Afternoon, Friends at BYC!

Well, this is my very first post at BYC, but I have been an avid follower for about six months. I have learned so much and am so very grateful for the existence of this site and its wonderful resources.

I grew up in Staten Island, New York, but moved to Ormond Beach, Florida in November 2013. I could not stand living in a snooty HOA with all of their rules and regulations- particularly those about keeping chickens, so two months ago, I moved to a five acre, fully fenced and gated, wooded property in Port Orange, Florida with my fiancé, Josh, and our two dogs, three cats, eleven Koi and our newest additions, “Elaine” and “Susie”, our two Red Star hens.

I have wanted to have pet chickens for almost 20 years- from the time I was watching an episode of a Martha Stewart cooking show where she was holding a chicken in each arm! I was shocked that she was holding them, and they were so calm; I was thinking about becoming a vegetarian at the time, and that sealed the deal for me! I had no idea chickens could be “pets”.

So after twenty years in the making, I bought two, one day old chicks from an ad on Craigslist. I am one of those overly thorough, “research something to the point of exhaustion” people, and so I decided on Red Stars for all of their great qualities. They have been living in a large dog crate in my foyer at night, and outdoors in a large dog cage during the day. I am not sure where time has gone, (although I think it has been absorbed by the inordinate amount of renovations we are doing in this home) but my girls are now 14 weeks old. This weekend, my fiancé and I would like to build their permanent run, and next weekend, would like to complete the inside of their coop. I want to do this once, do it right, and give them the best life I could possibly give them.

We are fortunate to have bought a property with many outbuildings, and the one I have chosen for my girls is brick veneered, wood framed with inner dimensions of 11’5”x13’3”. (I plan on having a total of 8 girls) It has its own electric panel, water, and a gable vent (I plan on adding a ceiling fan). Their run will be approximately 11’5x30’. Both the coop and the run will be built like Fort Knox- I am well aware of the predator issues, and will not be taking any shortcuts on security. I also plan on using screen on the inside of the run (behind the ½”hardware mesh) to keep out flies and mosquitoes.

I am hoping that you guys and gals can give me some pointers- some do’s and don’ts based on experience. My biggest concern is keeping the girls safe and happy, and keeping their home easy to clean and maintain- I am truly appreciative of your input! My first real question is, how do I chose materials that I know will be safe for my chooks- i.e., can I use pressure treated lumber, etc…
I would like to incorporate the following into my coop: storage area, extra ventilation, roosting bars, poop board with PDZ for scooping, external nest boxes, deep litter, food, waterer area…
I would like to incorporate the following into my run: dusting box, swing, seating (for me!), roofed and un-roofed area, play things/toys, sprouting box…

Here are some pics to possibly assist in advice, first of my girls, and then of their upcoming home- I hope you enjoy!
Thanks in advance, all!
Danielle

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi there - you certainly seem to have some great space for your chickens! I use my existing shed as a coop, but i let the birds out to "free range" during the day in my .5 acre property. From your photo you could certainly put your feed in plastic containers and keep them in the cupboard shown in the photo, and maybe consider putting 3 nesting boxes on top of the cupboard (make sure you put an angled roof on top of the boxes to prevent birds roosting on top of them). I have my roosting bars in front of the window which go the full width of the shed. The floor is concrete so i don't bother with a poop board, i simply sweep the coop out every day and scrub it thoroughly twice a week - hence i don't use any type of litter. My design is all very temporary as we usually let our property - just staying here while some renovations are done.

As long as you make your roosting bars the highest point in the structure, they are unlikely to use anything else for roosting (my bars are around 1.3m off the ground). Heres a couple of photos. Yep, i use plastic basins for nest boxes (and that particular hen looks like she about to go there) and branches from trees in the garden as roosting poles! The screen you seen on the roost is to reduce squabbling at bed time as i have some 2 month old chicks and some adults.

Im sure your design will be a lot more professional and elaborate, but at least from my cobbled together, temporary shed-coop, you can see what i have done.

Good luck!

CT



Cant really help with the run issue as i have never used one -sorry!

 

[aart]

Check out My Coop page linked under my avatar to the left.
I built a coop inside an existing building and have several of the things you mention.

One thing different is you're probably going to need some serious ventilation in summer...unless you plan and an ACer for your coop ;-)
I'd suggest you search on open air coops. or hot climate coops.