So, hello! I am planning my coop, as so many others are. After much indicision I have just decided to go forth with some decisions and hope the rest "works itself out"! So I'm looking for everyone to play devil's advocate for me here, since I have NO idea what I'm doing! I have never had chickens or frankly ever even been around any!
At this point I'm unsure of dimensions, but I will keep posting my progress here & photos when we start. I WOULD like to stay within the sf of a sheet of Ondura (opaque corrugated plastic roofing) (EDITED: this plan has been scratched due to feedback)
Here's what I was thinking.. btw this Hen House is going to accommodate 8 hens... for now. specifically 8 Black Australorps.
First the overall plan is a Hen House with a fenced in "front yard" which leads to a long run. This entire setup is inside of our very large fenced yard (3' tall) currently occupied part time by our dogs. I expect 90% of their lives they will have access to the whole property inside & outside of the dog run...up to 3 acres easily accessible because I think the chickens can make short work of that short fence!!!
The idea is to create a habitat suitable for full time living with no "ranging" for those times we head off skiing in the winter, and any other time we may not be home for a couple of days.
So, I am clearly going to use as much scrap as possible, I have several building projects in various states of completion, which is where a lot of my materials are coming from to avoid any costs.
The Hen House will be raised on pier blocks & pressure treated 4X4s or cinder blocks with pressure treated base plate & frame. I plan to wrap the underneath with chicken wire to keep them within the confines of their "mini yard" when necessary. On that 3/4in plywood sheet cut to fit with a hardwood floor (we have scraps from our house) this floor is applied with a good adhesive providing a water tight seal. Pine chip bedding with a smattering of straw and straw filled nest boxes (2). I also have this large 3" deep rectangular black tub I found in the concrete isle at lowes.. I plan to slide this filled with wood chips under roosting perches to catch alot of the poop. Chicken wire will prevent them from playing int he bin and I can open a door in the back to slide it out, dump it and put it back again. i still need one more access point for sweeping out the coop but I think during the build that will become obvious!
The walls.. I really like the idea of palettes.. so.. Palettes for the walls. I will use extra slats to close up the inside of the walls and screw those down to the floor. Then fill the inside with insulation, cover with foam or thin plywood, house wrap & some type of exterior treatment. I will frame/cut in some narrow horizontal windows under the roofline on all 4 sides, with a strip of metal & wood... on the inside of the coop I plan to staple window screen to it, and then in winter cover the outside with shrink wrap/window plastic.
The Roof... also a palette or rather palette like framing, I would like to sort of leave the eves of the roof open.. raise it up on a 2X4 and leave it fully open on the non windy sides (covered in wire or screen. Will this be enough ventilation in the winter months?
Anyway... I want to use an opaque or clear sheet of plastic roofing with the low side in the front of the hen house because in both summer and winter the front of the hen house will see sunlight first thing, and the back is usually shaded year round.
Also a mild solar light to extend the short days in the winter or perhaps it'll only create a nightlight environment.
Small door in the front with a ramp into the play yard in the grass which is big enough for us to walk into with perches & some wood chips & hay, and they can also get under their house.
Then from the play yard I plan to make a long run, only 3' tall or so by installing some fencing paralel to our current dog yard and then bending it over to meet the 3' dog fence creating a long narrow tube of sorts with grass bottom. We should hopefully be able to detatch it from the dog fence essentially opening it up on top for any cleaning.
Well.. I think that's about it for the initial planning..
What do you think? What's wrong with it? What's good about it? What did I forget? Not sure if heat will be needed but i will have the leftover light from when they were chicks... maybe this will work.
Food? I'm thinking a tiny trough like the pvc feeder we've seen here, or just some type of metal corner supports (metal bent into an L shape bent a little further creating a V) for food... not sure about water yet.. I'm thinking a hanging waterer will take up too much space.
We live in the smokies at slight elevation, so it can get pretty nippy.. I'm guessing it's better to keep the food & water inside.
Edit: 06/05/08
So... after many comments, more reading & a book on backyard poultry.. I have a NEW revised plan... to include a "brooding" house & a location to keep a rooster so we can let the natural process happen from time to time. Will post appropriately at the end of this thread to keep things in order... but for newcomers.. here's the link to my chicken album on Picassa: Chicken Album
At this point I'm unsure of dimensions, but I will keep posting my progress here & photos when we start. I WOULD like to stay within the sf of a sheet of Ondura (opaque corrugated plastic roofing) (EDITED: this plan has been scratched due to feedback)
Here's what I was thinking.. btw this Hen House is going to accommodate 8 hens... for now. specifically 8 Black Australorps.
First the overall plan is a Hen House with a fenced in "front yard" which leads to a long run. This entire setup is inside of our very large fenced yard (3' tall) currently occupied part time by our dogs. I expect 90% of their lives they will have access to the whole property inside & outside of the dog run...up to 3 acres easily accessible because I think the chickens can make short work of that short fence!!!
The idea is to create a habitat suitable for full time living with no "ranging" for those times we head off skiing in the winter, and any other time we may not be home for a couple of days.
So, I am clearly going to use as much scrap as possible, I have several building projects in various states of completion, which is where a lot of my materials are coming from to avoid any costs.
The Hen House will be raised on pier blocks & pressure treated 4X4s or cinder blocks with pressure treated base plate & frame. I plan to wrap the underneath with chicken wire to keep them within the confines of their "mini yard" when necessary. On that 3/4in plywood sheet cut to fit with a hardwood floor (we have scraps from our house) this floor is applied with a good adhesive providing a water tight seal. Pine chip bedding with a smattering of straw and straw filled nest boxes (2). I also have this large 3" deep rectangular black tub I found in the concrete isle at lowes.. I plan to slide this filled with wood chips under roosting perches to catch alot of the poop. Chicken wire will prevent them from playing int he bin and I can open a door in the back to slide it out, dump it and put it back again. i still need one more access point for sweeping out the coop but I think during the build that will become obvious!
The walls.. I really like the idea of palettes.. so.. Palettes for the walls. I will use extra slats to close up the inside of the walls and screw those down to the floor. Then fill the inside with insulation, cover with foam or thin plywood, house wrap & some type of exterior treatment. I will frame/cut in some narrow horizontal windows under the roofline on all 4 sides, with a strip of metal & wood... on the inside of the coop I plan to staple window screen to it, and then in winter cover the outside with shrink wrap/window plastic.
The Roof... also a palette or rather palette like framing, I would like to sort of leave the eves of the roof open.. raise it up on a 2X4 and leave it fully open on the non windy sides (covered in wire or screen. Will this be enough ventilation in the winter months?
Anyway... I want to use an opaque or clear sheet of plastic roofing with the low side in the front of the hen house because in both summer and winter the front of the hen house will see sunlight first thing, and the back is usually shaded year round.
Also a mild solar light to extend the short days in the winter or perhaps it'll only create a nightlight environment.
Small door in the front with a ramp into the play yard in the grass which is big enough for us to walk into with perches & some wood chips & hay, and they can also get under their house.
Then from the play yard I plan to make a long run, only 3' tall or so by installing some fencing paralel to our current dog yard and then bending it over to meet the 3' dog fence creating a long narrow tube of sorts with grass bottom. We should hopefully be able to detatch it from the dog fence essentially opening it up on top for any cleaning.
Well.. I think that's about it for the initial planning..
What do you think? What's wrong with it? What's good about it? What did I forget? Not sure if heat will be needed but i will have the leftover light from when they were chicks... maybe this will work.
Food? I'm thinking a tiny trough like the pvc feeder we've seen here, or just some type of metal corner supports (metal bent into an L shape bent a little further creating a V) for food... not sure about water yet.. I'm thinking a hanging waterer will take up too much space.
We live in the smokies at slight elevation, so it can get pretty nippy.. I'm guessing it's better to keep the food & water inside.
Edit: 06/05/08
So... after many comments, more reading & a book on backyard poultry.. I have a NEW revised plan... to include a "brooding" house & a location to keep a rooster so we can let the natural process happen from time to time. Will post appropriately at the end of this thread to keep things in order... but for newcomers.. here's the link to my chicken album on Picassa: Chicken Album
Last edited by a moderator:
or perhaps there is simply nothing anyone can critique about my plan!
