Small compact coop vs. tall coop?

[MissMonty]

Everything is directly on the ground. There is no floor in the coop aside from the dirt, and no floor in the run either. We use deep litter in both. Because we had an apricot tree Ken didn't want to take out, the run is offset slightly from the coop and there is a "tunnel" that they go through to get from coop to run and back again. Their pop door is open 24/7, 365 days of the year. In the 5th and 6th pictures from the top you can see the tunnel. It's actually a 3 sided box. It's enclosed on the top, on the side nearest the people door, and on the front. The fourth side is open and up against the coop where the pop door is, the bottom is open and the end into the run is open. It's right there by Ken in the 5th photo and if you click on the last photo to make it bigger you can see a few chickens in it.

We found the hoop run to be far less expensive than our other options. We used 4 steel fence posts pounded in the ground on each side, and 3 cattle panels arched between them. When we expanded the run this summer we just added two more fence posts and one more cattle panel. The cattle panels are covered in chicken wire with a hardware cloth skirt and apron.

The shade you see on top of the hoop is landscape fabric. Love that stuff. Tough, air permeable, most water runs off when it rains, and it's cheap and easy to install. If it rips, toss a new piece over. This summer Ken wanted to try a tarp over part of the run for shade, so he got one that was supposed to reflect heat. It didn't. It held it in and the run was much hotter this summer than last. Went back to landscape fabric and won't change again!

Hope this helps you along.....

Oh it does and I love all the photos of your coop! Learned so much and that looks so much more functional than what I was considering. In the winter did you put an actual tarp on top or was it just like painters tarps around the whole thing except the vents?

Also roughly how big is your coop itself where they can go inside and how many birds do you have?

 

[Blooie]

I'm glad you found it helpful. In the winter we don't do anything at all to the coop. We don't seal or cover it. Windows stay open on the downwind side, vents stay open, pop door stays open..... the more ventilation in a coop the better the chickens do both in winter and in summer.

The run is covered with clear greenhouse plastic we picked up at Lowes. Even out there we've left ventilation open at the top on the south and north sides, as well as about 6 inches up on the west side at the bottom. Our coop is 6'x8'. It's 8 feet tall in the front and 6 feet tall at the back. The run is approximately 16x8. Both are too small for the number of chickens we currently have - 28 - but of those 28 eight are still "chicks". A few of the adults have tickets to freezer camp, I have a friend here who wants to take a couple and I'm bringing 4 others home to my brother when we go back to South Dakota for Thanksgiving. We overwintered 11 chickens last year and they did great. They all get plenty of forage time out in the yard, summer and winter, which helps, and we have tons of "boredom busters" for them in the run so we haven't had any bullying or feather picking or other bad habits chickens get into when they are crowded.

 

[MissMonty]

Great to know! I am very excited to start this advanture! The only concern I have with how yours is set up is the sturdiness. I'm imagining its pretty sturdy but I have Siberian huskies and I just want to make sure I have a very secure structure. I do plan on having the dogs in a completely separate area but I want to make sure I take every precaution possible. The dogs should have large indoor outdoor escape proof kennels but things happen so I want to make sure the chickens are safe <3

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: if you're concerned maybe you can take that and modify it if you really like that plan/layout/style. I built my own coop and attached a "custom" run to it. I have a hunting dog, she doesnt want to protect them, she wants to eat them *eye roll*. I decided on a coop with a door for them at night (with windows I open for ventilation).

 

[MissMonty]

if you're concerned maybe you can take that and modify it if you really like that plan/layout/style. I built my own coop and attached a "custom" run to it. I have a hunting dog, she doesnt want to protect them, she wants to eat them *eye roll*. I decided on a coop with a door for them at night (with windows I open for ventilation).

Yeah I'm thinking about possibly trying to build this up a bit. Maybe build up the sides a bit. I know a horse barn I use to work at had a "shed" type structure like the hoop run idea. It was for sawdust for the horses but on the sides it was like a fence made out of plywood or something (I don't remember what it was) and then the top was just like Blooie's coop except it was an actual tarp because the sawdust didn't need light haha

So I'm wondering about possibly modifying her design just to make it a little more sturdy. I just would hate myself if I didn't take every step possible when I know for a fact I have a breed of dogs that has a high prey drive

 

[Blooie]

With the fenceposts on the outside and the cattle panels arched between them on the inside, it withstands an awful lot of pressure. In fact, my husband walked up there to tie down the top run of the chicken wire. Our very birdy English Setter thought she'd have a go at the chickens the first day they were in their new run. She ran up and down the entire length of the run and finally decided to dig under to get them. She broke a toenail and came away from the experience with a bloodied foot. She's a smart girl - decided they weren't worth it. Look at her now! But every dog is different and you have to always be prepared to keep your birds safe.


She was more than a little surprised when Mathilda ran right under her belly and out the other side!



Molly and one of our Light Brahma chicks. She and the chickens will drink out of the same pan of water in the yard.



See all the chicks behind her in the run? She's waiting for me to finish my chores.

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: If you're going to have to worry about digging too you can look into hardware cloth. Some people talk about laying that on the ground, or digging down a little I think and laying it down then putting stuff over top of it so nothing can dig in.

 

[Blooie]

Hey, Pdirt! Haven't bumped into you a lot lately!

 

[pdirt]

Hey, Pdirt! Haven't bumped into you a lot lately!

We've been busy, I haven't been on BYC as much lately. We moved...built new coop...summer excitement. Good to "see" you again here

 

[Blooie]

Glad you had a successful and productive summer. Got a question for you about the new coop - how do you handle water running off the sloped roof of the coop onto the roof of the run? Does any leak by and get the run wet? I tried to bring up the images larger, but my old eyes still couldn't see.