Preliminary coop and run design- Thoughts?

[NicholeT]

The coop area will be 8x12 with an 8x4 storage area with access panels to collect eggs as well as PVC Tubing to feed and water from the storage area. We plan to have around 20 chickens so I am not sure how much roosting area is needed. This plan is for 16 linear feet of roosting space and a back up of another 6 in case the 16 isn't enough. I am still looking for a 24 inch screen door that connects the storage area to the main coop area but they are not easy to find. I am a little worried that the door/food/water/nesting boxes all on that wall may be a little cramped. Thoughts, concerns, suggestions, ideas?

The coop will be 7 ft high on the back end and 8 ft high on the front end where the run will be attached so any snow or rain should run off to the back. Al gables will be vented and all windows will have hardware cloth and remain open unless there is rough weather.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Use two rows of three nests for a total of six. Should be enough for 20 and gives you more room for food and water.

Not sure how you are framing the roof but leave the top of the tall and short wall open for a few inches under the overhang. That provides a lot of ventilation and should keep rain and snow out.

Build your own door.

I'd extend the two roosts an additional foot and call that good for roost area. I know you see that 1' of roost space per chicken on here a lot but that should be overkill for you. That way you can turn around in there with something in your hand. Since you are collecting eggs from the storage area you don't have to have good access to the front of the nests. You can squeeze in there on the few occasions you have to.

A 1' drop in 12 feet will not cause snow to run off. I'd drop the back wall some more or raise the front.

Your entry door is where rainwater runoff will hit you as you enter. Swap out your entry door and the hooks and rakes area.

 

[RojoMarz]

Yes. Raise the front roofline to help with snow and add "skylight" to allow more light.

 

[rosemarythyme]

General numbers for recommended minimums:
4 sq ft per bird in coop
10 sq ft per bird in run
1 linear ft per bird on roost (so plan on putting in that 3rd roost)
1 nest box per 3-4 hens

Note these are general guidelines, however you will find more space is never an issue, while too little space may become an issue down the line.

With the run space being the main limiter, you have room for about 15 standard hens. Coop space allows for about 16. Some breeds and some individual birds don't tolerate confinement as well as others. Are you planning to get all birds at once? If not, keep in mind that integration greatly favors MORE space over the minimum.

 

[NicholeT]

General numbers for recommended minimums:
4 sq ft per bird in coop
10 sq ft per bird in run
1 linear ft per bird on roost (so plan on putting in that 3rd roost)
1 nest box per 3-4 hens

Note these are general guidelines, however you will find more space is never an issue, while too little space may become an issue down the line.

With the run space being the main limiter, you have room for about 15 standard hens. Coop space allows for about 16. Some breeds and some individual birds don't tolerate confinement as well as others. Are you planning to get all birds at once? If not, keep in mind that integration greatly favors MORE space over the minimum.

I'm confused about the 16 bird statement. The coop size is 96 sq. ft- 4 sq ft x 20 is only 80 sq ft. - that's an extra 16 sq ft??

I've read in multiple places that 8 ft of run per bird was sufficient. We also plan to free range as much as possible but it probably wouldn't hurt to bring it out another foot or two in case predators become a real issue. THANKS!

 

[DobieLover]

I've read in multiple places that 8 ft of run per bird was sufficient.

Can you do that? Yes. Will it be enough prevent space issues with the birds. Maybe.
Is it optimal? Not even close. There will be times when you cannot let the birds out. I consider my run their harsh weather home. They cannot come out to enjoy their pen in this:

The MINIMUM recommended run space is 10 sq ft per bird but I personally think it is too small. When I started framing out the run for my first coop and saw what 100 sq ft looked like for my 10 birds, I knew it was inadequate. I tacked on another 80 sq ft and they did well in there when I couldn't let them out to free range.
I upgraded to a larger walk-in coop with a larger walk-in run and the current size flock now has a little over 17.5 sq ft/bird in just the run. This is what it looks like with most of the birds showing:

No one here that wants the best for your birds and you will recommend less than 10 sq ft of space per bird in the run. I will not recommend less than 15 total square feet of space per bird between the coop and run. They need more room. Yes, up front cost is more but it is better in the long run.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

On the poop board with two roosts: The inner roost is 1 foot from the wall and the outer one one foot from the inner one and less than one foot from the edge (The poop board looks like about 2' 8" wide.) I'm wondering whether those widths are wide enough. Maybe others have thoughts on this.

 

[NicholeT]

On the poop board with two roosts: The inner roost is 1 foot from the wall and the outer one one foot from the inner one and less than one foot from the edge (The poop board looks like about 2' 8" wide.) I'm wondering whether those widths are wide enough. Maybe others have thoughts on this.

The plan has the front roost 6 inched back from the poo board edge.

 

[FunClucks]

If you're going to keep food and water in your coop, I'd recommend you add another food and water station in addition to what you have shown, maybe at the opposite end of the coop, and do something to block the sight line from the first station. Stick a piece of plywood or cardboard in there or something.

Head birds will often guard the food, and keep those younger or lower on the pecking order from eating. If you have two stations, especially if one is "hidden", that can ensure the younger ones/lowest on the pecking order get enough to eat. For those times when you have to lock the birds in the coop due to bad weather, I'd say having two stations would help prevent someone not getting enough to eat and drink. If you have another food/water station in the run, that will be great for when there's good weather, as long as you keep the coop open whenever birds are outside in the run, but I'd make sure that all birds always have access to two stations for food and water.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How much space is required is a common question on here and we have different opinions. I've seen recommendations on this forum anywhere from 1 square feet per bird to as much of 15 sq ft per bird, all these for the coop, many of those recommendations don't even mention the run. You can get some of my thoughts on space if you follow the link below in my signature.

How much space you have can be variable. How much space they have depends on how much space they can use when they need it. If you keep them locked in the coop when they are awake the run is not available. All you are using is the coop space. In Wisconsin you will get a lot of snow. If the run is filled with snow it is not available. You said part of your run will be covered. Snow can still blow in from the side. Your cold shouldn't bother them going out to the run if it is calm, but chickens hate a cold wind. In summer a warm wind isn't a problem but in cold weather a cold wind ruffles their feathers and gets the cold down to their skin. If you don't block the wind in winter the run can be unusable for them at times.

A lot of people look at coop space and run space as separate entities. I don't. I see coop and run space as a system. How much room do you have overall when you need it? If they have access to the run or to a free range space every day of the year when they are awake the pressure on coop size is a lot less. If they have access to food and water outside the pressure on coop size is less. If the run is really hot without shade in summer they will want to spend more time in the coop so they probably need more coop space.

To me there are three aspects of space requirements. Probably the biggest for most people is behavioral. The more they are crowded the more likely you are to have behavioral problems. If you have any behavioral problems crowding makes it worse. The individual personality of the chicken is important and something you don't know ahead of time, some of the sweetest chickens to you can be raving maniacs with other chickens, regardless of breed. A tiny bantam that may weigh less than 2 pounds generally doesn't need as much room as a Jersey Giant that can weigh over 10 pounds. Integrating new chickens, letting a broody hen raise chicks with the flock, or having more than one rooster generally does much better with more room. One aspect of chicken society is that when there is conflict the weaker runs away from the stronger and then avoids them so they need room to run away. One fairly common problem on this forum is some chickens are staying in the coop and won't go outside. A common cause is that they are afraid of a chicken in the run and the run is not big enough for them to avoid the bully out there. If you have a small number of chickens the 4 and 10 guidelines does not give you that much room to run or avoid, but once they get out of puberty and if you are not integrating there usually isn't much conflict.

The tighter the space the harder you have to work. That's mostly poop related but can be other things. Chickens poop a lot. The less room they have to poop in the more it builds up. Some people do something with poop every day. Some of us don't.

The more you crowd them the less flexibility you have to manage things that come up. Say you get a broody and want to break her from being broody. Where do you put the broody buster? If you have an injured chicken where do you put the "hospital and recovery room"? If you have a predator issue can you leave them locked safely in the coop until you deal with the predator. Stuff happens and I really appreciate room to deal with it.

Can you get by with less space than those guidelines suggest? Yep, I do it every summer. I have more chickens than that 4 sq ft guideline requires for the coop. Most of them are fairly young growing to butcher age and I have over 3,000 square feet outside they can use. My space system and the way I manage them can handle it. And I have a separate place to lock up troublemakers if I need to. I have the flexibility to manage it.