Look at my coop design

[Bologna Xpress]

After some looking at the end stall in my existing barn, here is what I am thinking for my chickens this year (first year). Please all suggestions welcome!

 

[rebbetzin]

That looks great to me. Are you planning to have only 7 chickens? You will have plenty of nest boxes. One for each hen!!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

How close is the roost to the nest boxes? I'm wondering if it may be too close? Anyone else have opinion on that? Otherwise I think it's awesome!

 

[azelgin]

Overall it looks good. You could easily get by with half the nest boxes you are planning on. i would also move the roosting bar to the other side across from the nests. Or, beside the nest boxes, if you put in fewer. They would be less likley to end up roosting in the nests that way.

 

[fisher man]

I would move the rost on the other side of the barn.Becouse my rost is about 5ft away and they seem to like rosting on my nest boxes.

 

[consdrs]

Great mark up! but I would, like everyone else said, put the roost on the other side higher than the nest boxes with a droppings board underneath. I have a drop down door on my nest boxes and I use shavings in them. shavings come out of the nest boxes all over the ground every time I opened it.... not good. So I put up a small 5-6"plastic barrier between the door and the actual box stapled it there and am good to go! great plans.

 

[digginchicks]

Looks awesome I wish I would have planned ahead like that

 

[Farmer Brown]

Nice design. dido on moving the roost. If predators could be a issue I would go with hardware cloth instead of the chicken wire. Not sure how secure you have your barn. Good luck.

 

[patandchickens]

Same re: roosts.

You might want to put the feed and water in different locations so there is less traffic-congestion and mess.

Make sure you do four times the predatorproofig you think you need to. It is usually rather challenging to make a stall in an existing barn really tight. Consider the potential for things to dig under (from outside, from aisle, from adjacent stall), to climb up barn siding and come thru gaps at eaves, to squinch through tiny gaps (a weasel can get through less than an inch gap, and barns are the natural habitat of weasels in wintertime).

I don't know what climate you're in, but if it's cold, you might consider setting things up so it wouldn't be too difficult to make a partitioned 'coop within the coop' for the dead of winter to help the chickens stay warmer at night, or to knock together an insulated hover over/around the roost. Be easier to consider it now, even if you never actually turn out to have to DO it, than to discover next winter that you'd have to do major renovation and reorganization to make it happen

Have fun!

Pat

 

[twodraftmom]

Hi, I just discovered this forum.. We have had chickens for 3-4 years now but these posts are making me wonder if my horse barn stall is warm enough for the chickens.

I also used the end stall, of an 8 stall barn, Part of the barn has a 2nd floor for hay, but the chicken stall is open to the roof. The walls are wood inside for 4 feet, but wire the rest of the way. The horse doors are always open for free access. Is this too drafty? or is it ok since the lower walls around the chickens prevent drafts? I have a roosting ladder and all 20 chickens will roost on 2 or 3 rungs, all right next to each other.

I also give the chickens 24 hr access to outside with a chicken door in the middle of the stall.. I'm now wondering if I should make it draft free somehow with a curtain , or cover the outside opening?

I haven't had any chickens die, but the egg production goes way down in the cold weather.

thanks, Claire in Jefferson City, MO