I wanna build a coop but how do I get started?

[Chikenshiken]

Hey everyone I’m a newbie at building I have honestly never built anything before and my current coop is one of those premade cut out coops I’m not happy about because 3 years later it’s falling apart!!

I don’t know anything about building and I don’t even know how to get started or where to look for advice. Does anyone have any beginner threads or YouTube videos I could go to? Or any advice in general about material, measurements? People make it look so easy but I swear if I did it myself I’d be so lost!

 

[Sally PB]

To begin with, start reading the coop articles here on BYC. Look especially at hoop coop styles, as they take fewer carpentry skills.

Do you have a friend or neighbor or family member who has more experience? Offer to help them in exchange for the experience. You can be "an extra pair of hands" and still be helpful.

And then there are a bazillion you tube videos to teach you just about anything.

 

[homesteading101]

There's plenty of YouTube channels that have step by step. All you really need is a hammer, circular saw, and a drill/impact, nails, bolts, screws and you can make a great coop.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Coops are non-essential in warm climates if you have sufficient room for your chickens to wander

My heavy breeds don't go more than 50 feet from my house and are too lazy to hop a 3 foot fence

The athletic breeds go a ways farther but they avoid all humans, except for my original generation that's human imprinted

 

[Kentucky Fan]

This would be a good skill for you to learn. If you want basic building skills watch essential craftsman on YouTube

 

[nuthatched]

Bear in mind that a majority of utube designs are lacking in space and ventilation.
At LEAST
4 sq feet per bird, in the coop.
10 pb in the run
1 square foot pb of ventilation 1
4" of roost bar pb.

 

[homesteading101]

Bear in mind that a majority of utube designs are lacking in space and ventilation.
At LEAST
4 sq feet per bird, in the coop.
10 pb in the run
1 square foot pb of ventilation 1
4" of roost bar pb.

Indeed, a lot are severely lacking ventilation. They focus on how it looks rather than how it's supposed to function

 

[nuthatched]

Indeed, a lot are severely lacking ventilation. They focus on how it looks rather than how it's supposed to function

14, I meant 14 inches of roost bar.
As long as they sell, they don't care, usually.

 

[homesteading101]

Yeah I meant the ventilation only, those numbers look good

 

[Penpal]

DH and I made a hoop house for our sheep and donkeys. Two cattle panels with a 2 x 4 foundation. Two metal fence posts tied to the bottom of the west (wind) side to keep it from blowing away. It survived 80 mph winds. Then, it survived 100 mph winds, but one of the panels bent a little. It served as a windbreak for the animals that did not fit in the hoop house.

I currently have a hoop house for my chickens. All chickens prefer the greenhouse to the hoop house, but it is not secure enough so the greenhouse is fenced off. The hoop house is made from PVC pipes. It is very light. I put it on the east side of a sturdy wooden shed for protection and it has not blown away. I don't have to worry about ventilation because two sides are completely open. I used the design of "Square County Homestead" his YouTube.com "How to Build a Hoop Coop". He uses chicken wire, but you could use hardware cloth.

Once you build something like that you may have enough skill for something bigger or more complex.