meat bird coop ideas

[kylen2007]

Last year we raised ours with our layers my coop is on a hill and my coop is 3 feet of the ground. They were in the coop every night when I locked them in. Our fencing is very simple but the coop itself is a fort. Lol. Recently had to cover my run after I chased off a hawk trying to take one of my layers. I definatwly want something I can lock them in at night. Just not sure if I want a perminant structure or a tractor. I have about 6 weeks before I will start my first batch. What demensions would you suggest for 25 birds as far as a run?

 

[SCFarmMom]

I was about to post a similar question. I ordered 50 meat chickens and they should be arriving next week so I'm designing their coop. They will free range in a pasture during the day so I was thinking a simple coop. I had originally thought about a 4x12x8 coop with plenty of perching room since my RIRs prefer to perch up high in their coop. However the more I read about Jumbo Cornish X Rocks I'm beginning to think I should build a coop not as high and instead wider. So my question is, considering jumbo Cornish x rocks get so big, should I build the coop on a frame on the ground and with enough floor room for them, or should I build it high enough for perches? Sorry to hijack your post. Lol! Hopefully someone can answer both our questions.

 

[kylen2007]

The ones I raised last year never roosted. They could have since they were in with my layers but they were too lazy to get up there. Then when they did go in the run they just sat in the shade under the coop. The first few weeks they were like normal chickens but come 4-5 weeks they got lazier and lazier. Plus they are poop machines! I don't want that mess in my layers coop again. I was constantly cleaning it. So i would definTely keep cleaning in mind when designing.

 

[Corazon Ranch]

Yeah, meat birds are more sedentary, especially the Cornish x Rocks. They mostly just lay down on the ground, and waddle a few feet. Very aggressive eaters though!

If you build something off the ground, keep it low and make sure there is plenty of room. Those bird will be the size of a wild turkey.

 

[sonofabish1]

Maybe mine don't like to coop since the food/water is in the run? I want my run to be secure enough that they can stay out all night and I dont have to worry about putting them in at night (another chore to me). I don't have layers so I keep mine in the brooder for 3 week (garage) and then 3-4 weeks outside.

If you're talking space, think floor space, not height. Cornish Cross don't care about roosting. For a run it sounds small but 1 sq ft per bird is OK but minimal. My run is 8'x8' so 64 sq ft is "huge" for 30 but my coop is only 4'x8' so it's real tight if they're all in there. My thinking is they are only out there for 3-4 weeks and the coop is for rain/weather. Food and water stay out in the run...

Click on my profile pic and you'll eventually get a big one to look at. I have made upgrades since then but at the time they were 4 weeks old.

 

[blucoondawg]

I raised rangers and rainbows in a hoop coop last summer. I like it a lot and if I hadn't already built a regular shed coop for the layers I'd build some hoop coops for them too, they're cheap and fairly easy to move. I have a very large section of yard fenced with chain link so I put the hoop coop in there and use the yard as chicken pasture along with surrounding woods that are in the fence as well. The only predators I've had are hawks and owls and they haven't messed with the meat birds. My hoop coop is built with 3 sections of cake panel, around 12 feet long. I'm going to add some wheels to the bottom frame to make it easier to move around.