NEED TO BUY A COOP!

[Beekissed]

Do you get really cold temps? I would say our lowest is maybe teens never single digits since I have lived here the past 15 years.

The lowest recorded temps I had in my coop was this year and it was 10 below....and that was with a heat lamp on temporarily to cut the chill. Mostly though we have teens at night with the occasional single digit weather but this winter has been something different.

 

[aart]

Wichita Cabin Coops are pretty nice...and they can be built larger pretty easily by modifying the plans.

Insulation would not be needed in your climate....go for large roof overhangs and lots of ventilation so you can keep the rain out and encourage releasing humidity and ammonia.

It is overwhelming...take your time, read a lot and plan well before buying anything even tho it takes a long time to learn patience.

 

[bluefrog87]

Brahma's I am hearing are also good meat birds? Are Easter eggers or buff orpington? What about cross breeding because I would like to produce my own chicks so would need a broody hen or two? Would you say a Brahma rooster would be a good choice because they are friendlier? We have three kids so friendly is a good thing

Brahma's and Orpington are both considered dual purpose. So, either is a good choice. Both could be used as a meat bird. both lay (with 12 hens) 24-36 eggs a week. Both have the personality of a golden retriever. It's comparing an apple to an apple. I like orpingtons because my family has them and they are incredibly docile and sweet and easy to include the rooster. I think it's the same with the brahmas. So both breeds have friendly roosters.

Easter eggers are more of an egg layer and be a little hard as a meat bird. The multi colored eggs are fun though

Both breeds are pretty broody. If you cross the 2 you will end up with a broodier hen from the Charles Darwin experiment. Also the hybrid sometimes becomes better at laying. You only need a broody hen if you want the hen to raise them.

Orpingtons and Brahma's are great around kids. I think the only difference is the Orpington is a lays large eggs and the brahma lays medium. The orpington also is 7-8 pound and the brahma is more 8+

Yeah, you definitely want to avoid my childhood experience with your children. Definitely go with a friendly breed.

 

[bluefrog87]

6x12 or 8x12 would house a good 10-12 large size birds? My brain is on overload of information right now ha!

Also how did you insulate your coop? I have seen some coops on this page not insulated.

6x12 would equal 72 sq ft using the rule of 4 sq ft per bird it be 18 birds max and using the rule of 6 sq ft per bird it be 12

8x12 would be a little big at 96 using the rule of 4 sq ft per bird it be 24 birds max and using the rule of 6 sq ft per bird it be 16


I'd go with the 6x12 because the birds act as a heating element in the winter. If you have too much space you start to lose that element.

With your climate, you really shouldn't have to do much for winter, just draft protection. Most here either cover their coop with a plastic tarp or use green house roofing. Be careful to walk the line between draft proofing and ventilation. Too much draft proofing = no ventilation.

 

[Sonya9]

SnapLock coop - small size about $450 holds 4-5 hens if they are small to medium sized like - golden comet, cream legbar, easter egger, or large size has three roosting bars - each can hold 4-hens, and small has 3 nesting boxes, large has 6 nesting boxes. Large is $650- and literally does snap and lock into place. Racoons tried to get into one one night before I had run around it and didn't succeed, (latches must be firmly sealed though) - Plastic gives fewer places for red mites to live and needn't be painted, is insulated and light weight to move around Has poop trays.

I have looked at lots of prefab coops and keep coming back to the snaplock too. The large model is a bit pricey but it does look tough.

 

[aart]

6x12 would equal 72 sq ft using the rule of 4 sq ft per bird it be 18 birds max and using the rule of 6 sq ft per bird it be 12

8x12 would be a little big at 96 using the rule of 4 sq ft per bird it be 24 birds max and using the rule of 6 sq ft per bird it be 16


I'd go with the 6x12 because the birds act as a heating element in the winter. If you have too much space you start to lose that element.

With your climate, you really shouldn't have to do much for winter, just draft protection. Most here either cover their coop with a plastic tarp or use green house roofing. Be careful to walk the line between draft proofing and ventilation. Too much draft proofing = no ventilation.

With the proper amount of ventilation, no size of coop will 'hold heat' generated by the birds.

Better to have plenty of floor space for confinement due to weather (days and days of rain?) or predation issues....and lots of height to the coop also, to stack up ventilation well over roosts, and roosts over nests over litter depth.

Building to a size that minimizes material cutting can have advantages.

 

[bluefrog87]

With the proper amount of ventilation, no size of coop will 'hold heat' generated by the birds.

Better to have plenty of floor space for confinement due to weather (days and days of rain?) or predation issues....and lots of height to the coop also, to stack up ventilation well over roosts, and roosts over nests over litter depth.

Building to a size that minimizes material cutting can have advantages.

You want it to hold a little. Too much ventilation = no heat and frozen chicken. It's not fun dunking chicken in warm water/sticking it in the oven on low temp, and having them as a house guest for a bit in quarantine and observation. Chickens do need a little heat. Especially the non winter hardy breeds. We aren't talking full heating and cooling but still 10-20 degrees warmer than outside. I looked at your coop... Like it or not you have a heating element...


Covered runs can give protection from bad weather and predators and that space is not included in coop space. I use a covered run for predators and bad weather at 10-12 sq ft per bird

 

[aart]

You want it to hold a little. Too much ventilation = no heat and frozen chicken. It's not fun dunking chicken in warm water/sticking it in the oven on low temp, and having them as a house guest for a bit in quarantine and observation. Chickens do need a little heat. Especially the non winter hardy breeds. We aren't talking full heating and cooling but still 10-20 degrees warmer than outside. I looked at your coop... Like it or not you have a heating element...


Covered runs can give protection from bad weather and predators and that space is not included in coop space. I use a covered run for predators and bad weather at 10-12 sq ft per bird

That's for the water thawing, doesn't heat the coop at all, and it's doesn't work to even keep water thaw below about 12 degrees.
I have lots of ventilation but no drafts....no drafts are the key.
Always same temp inside and out, unless the sun is out strong then it might get warmer inside. It's often colder inside the coop than outside.
We've had day after day of below freezing temps, a little bit of frostbite on combs and wattles but no frozen chickens.

It's actually harder to properly ventilate and eliminate drafts in a smaller coop.

 

[ChicKat]

I have looked at lots of prefab coops and keep coming back to the snaplock too. The large model is a bit pricey but it does look tough.

When some folks suggest "build instead of buy"- I don't think that they are accounting for time -- if you take time as a factor - the prices move into reasonableness pretty fast. I'm pleased with the choice I made for plastic coops when I first got into chickens- because it doesn't require the maintenance that wood needs. :O)

 

[aart]

When some folks suggest "build instead of buy"- I don't think that they are accounting for time -- if you take time as a factor - the prices move into reasonableness pretty fast. I'm pleased with the choice I made for plastic coops when I first got into chickens- because it doesn't require the maintenance that wood needs. :O)

Build instead of buy is mostly about size for cost...most prefabs are way too small to be satisfactory.
Plastic can have some advantages, folks who are handy enough to build their own don't find woods possible maintenance an issue.