Small compact coop vs. tall coop?

[MissMonty]

I am very new to chickens, I am doing research now as my husband and I are getting land this winter and we plan on getting chickens in the spring



I went through the whole Coop Design thread (yes all 47 pages....) and I noticed a huge variety of coops and runs! One thing I've always thought even before I did any real research is that I wanted a coop I could comfortably stand in to make it easier on my back to clean and if I need to go in for any reason.

Well I noticed a lot of coops are smaller and more compact, often with part of the run under. Is there a real benefit to the compact and off the ground style? One other thing I am slightly worried about is how cold it gets in the winter and I don't plan on doing heat lamps or anything but I feel the raised coop would make the inside of the coop even colder than if it were on the ground?

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I've always had a walk-in coop, and wouldn't have anything else. I'd love to have a Woods type coop, but mine is a shed with additions, on an old concrete foundation. Nobody can dig into it, which is wonderful, and some of my birds roost on the rafters eight feet up! You won't see complaints about the coop being too big, but many are too small, and either the birds are overcrowded, or another building project happens. Ventilation and shade from summer heat is more of an issue than cold, and breed selection matters related to your climate. Mary

 

[MissMonty]

Welcome! I've always had a walk-in coop, and wouldn't have anything else. I'd love to have a Woods type coop, but mine is a shed with additions, on an old concrete foundation. Nobody can dig into it, which is wonderful, and some of my birds roost on the rafters eight feet up! You won't see complaints about the coop being too big, but many are too small, and either the birds are overcrowded, or another building project happens. Ventilation and shade from summer heat is more of an issue than cold, and breed selection matters related to your climate. Mary

I didn't know if there was a benefit to the smaller off the ground ones that I wasn't seeing. I plan on building a large enough coop that I don't have to build on in the future. I don't plan on starting out with too many birds, so I may have end up with a palace sized coop.

I was just trying to make sure there wasn't a big reason people were doing that as far as health or something that I wasn't seeing.

My other question is the runs I've seen many ways. I've seen some with roofs and others with just cage on top. Is there a benefit to just the wire mesh on top? I figure I'll have to have a roof with a decent structure due to how heavy the snow can get here.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have had several kinds of coops. I will list what I found as benefits and drawbacks of each.

Walk in converted shed.
Benefit

1. easier to clean
2. more room for the chickens

drawback
1. mine had inside sheeting so the mice liked to live in the walls.
2. Had to modify it and getting ventilation in was harder than expected

Raised compact coop.
Benefit

1. easy to clean so long as the weather was nice out.
2. always some shade and dry ground for the chickens
3. able to add ventilation during construction
4. no sheeting so no place for mice to hide.
drawback

1. if it was raining or there was snow or it had rained it was a pain to clean
2. not much space for the chickens inside.
3. where oh where to put the food and water
4. not much space to add nest boxes.

Large walk in coop made just for the chickens.
Benefit

1. able to add many windows and a lot of ventilation during construction
2. easy to clean
3. plenty of space for nest boxes
4. lots of room for the chickens to be inside
5. no sheeting on the walls inside so no mice hiding places.

drawback

only one I have found is that it takes up a lot of yard space.

A lot of the coop design is affected by how many chickens you plan to have and if they will be free ranged. Some breeds do well in close quarters and others fight like mad.

My current coop

 

[21hens-incharge]

To answer the run question. Many have roofs on the runs to help keep them dry. I find with a roof the sun never shines in a large run and smell can be a bit on the rank side of things.
Mine is wire topped for 2 reasons. Budget and I like the sun to shine in there to help with the poo decomposition.

I too would have had to invest heavily in the structure due to snow.

 

[MissMonty]

To answer the run question. Many have roofs on the runs to help keep them dry. I find with a roof the sun never shines in a large run and smell can be a bit on the rank side of things.
Mine is wire topped for 2 reasons. Budget and I like the sun to shine in there to help with the poo decomposition.

I too would have had to invest heavily in the structure due to snow.

So in the winter do you cover the top to keep some of the snow out? I love the idea of it having more free flow air for the spring-fall but winter I'm still lost haha!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Quite the opposite I am afraid. In the summer I do add a couple shade tarps. The kind that lets the water through but blocks the strong sun. I got mine from Lowes sold by the linear foot so a 1 foot by 6 foot piece is like a buck fifty.

Shade with air flow and some sun penetration in the summer and fully open in the winter. I do have to shovel it out if we get a heavy storm.

If you try and use a regular tarp it will fill with snow or rain and drag your run down with it.

The chickens handle the cold far better than the hot. Mine go out in all but the coldest or windiest times in the winter.


This was taken last January or February.
I did spread some straw in the spring when we had unusually rainy time.

 

[Mutt Farm]

Hi! some folks truly have "backyard" chickens, subdivision chickens, so space is very tight. The raised coop allows for shade, a dry spot in rain/snow, more range sq ft and puts collecting eggs from nest boxes and cleaning easier on the back. I have walk in coop/run. Covered run or not: I throw up a tarp for shade or if by chance we get rain, but a run with no sun is

even in my bone dry climate. You might look into covering a small portion so they can stretch their legs in inclement weather. Ditto on everything @21hens-incharge said.
As far as size, "not starting out with too many birds" Chicken Math! It will get you. Go big or do over!

Palace sized coop

The ones you find on line, that say they hold X # of chickens, plan to cut that in half for happy healthy hens. Best of luck to you!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I will add that a hoop style run if done properly can be tarped in the winter and shed most if not all of the snow off of itself.

Just a thought I had since you will be starting fresh.

 

[MissMonty]

Maybe I can look into building the run with half of it to have a roof and the other half not that way they have the option of shade or sun. I know I've also seen clear roofing, so I may look into that. I also just don't want my run to turn into a muddy mess in the spring and fall either. Usually our yard currently (not where we will be living then) is super soft and soggy in the spring and fall. A lot in the spring is due to the snow melting so I'm wondering if covering half would help with that.


I do also want to look into the hoop design. This is what I love about looking into this now is I have nothing but time

I plan to build a coop big enough for a lot of birds but I'll probably start out with like 4-6.