Information overload - seeking advice on coop design

[Godzillamax]

My wife and I will be picking up our eight baby chicks on Tuesday (4 Rhode Islands Reds and 4 Ameraucanas). They will go in our basement for a while, then to a spot in our barn until I finish building a coop (still waiting on the remaining foot of snow on the ground to melt before I can start construction). I've spent the past few weeks intermittently researching chicken coop designs on-line and I think I've reached a point of analysis-paralysis. I really liked the design, features, and concept of the Woods-Style coop JackE built in this thread, but I don't know if that would be too large for our small flock.

Things I'm trying to factor into coop design:
1) We live in mid Wisconsin, and have long, cold, snowy winters
2) We live on 10 acres in a rural area surrounded by corn crops and woods
3) Predators including fox, coyote, black bear, bald eagles, and hawks are on/above my property frequently
4) We have no zoning ordinance to fret over
5) The birds will be free range, being let out in the morning and put back in at night

I'm handy when it comes to carpentry, and have most the necessary power wood working tools to build what ever I would want. But I'm not very imaginative (I usually have an idea of what I want to build, then go online and find a design, modify it to fit my needs, and build it). I don't want to build a Taj Mahal for eight birds, and would prefer to build a coop of appropriate dimensions for that quantity of chickens.

So for coop design, I could use some recommendations. Also, what wood materials would you recommend. I was planning on using pressure treated for the structure, but have read some opinions against it due to the chemicals used in the treatment process.

Thanks!

Max

 

[Ridgerunner]

The chemicals used to treat wood these days aren’t as bad as the ones they used to use, but if you use any treated wood you cannot be considered “organic” if that is important to you. Personally I use treated wood for anything that touches the ground and untreated wood for anything else. Jack raised his so he doesn’t have to worry about treated wood but he had to build a floor. Depending on how he handles the bedding, he may have used treated wood for that. I’d suggest you consider building it on the ground with a dirt floor but use treated wood, cinder blocks, or pour a concrete for a foundation. That way you don’t have to worry about a floor rotting out. But there is no right way or wrong way to do any of these things. A whole lot is personal preference and how we choose to do them.

If you follow the link in my signature you can get my opinions of what factors you need to consider as far as how much space you need. It’s pretty hard to provide too much space but especially in your climate it is easy to not provide enough.

Most building materials come in 4’ or 8’ dimensions. If you take that into consideration and watch the out-to-out dimensions instead of centerline dimensions, you can often build a larger coop with less cutting and waste and usually very little more money. For example a 5x7 will require the same materials as a 6x8 and you will do a lot more cutting. An 8x8 seems like all it would take is an extra piece of plywood compared to a 6x8, but consider foundation and roof costs, especially if you have an overhang on your roof. You’ll need longer rafters to span that.

I’m probably not helping you on your information overload problem. Follow that link on space and make a decision. As long as you don’t go too small, you’ll be fine. And get started as soon as you can. You’ll be amazed at how fast they grow.

 

[Godzillamax]

As long as you don’t go too small, you’ll be fine. And get started as soon as you can. You’ll be amazed at how fast they grow.

Thanks for the good info, I will check out that link soon. I think my concerns about coop size are not wanting something too large that for just eight birds it is too spacious and it hinders warmth generation, but at the same time wanting something large enough that if we elect to grow our flock we have the space. Using the rule of 4 sq feet per chicken (not including nesting space or run space), with only eight chickens, I would only need to construct a coop about 6'x6' in size. But that would only allow for the addition of one bird. I'm thinking of going up to a 6'x8' design since that would allow for a flock up to 12 birds, which would probably be farm more than we would ever need (but you never know!).

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens sleeping in trees when the temperatures drop below zero Fahrenheit are not too worried about warmth generation. Don't beat yourself up about warmth generation. They'll take car of that if they need to by sleeping close together, which they will do. Concern your self on adequate ventilation and stopping direct breezes hitting them when they are on the roosts. And give them plenty of room on the roosts. They will spread out in the summer.