Things you've learned while building your coop...

[Hillsvale]

ohhh going to the hardware store without me is out of the question.. he couldn't possibly leave me home! lol

 

[StupidBird]

Design by committee doesn't work. DH doing the construction "however you want, dear" but never cruising BYC or looking at all the stuff I downloaded and just doing it HIS way...

I said, use screws. He used finishing trim nails.
I said, the wheels aren't located right. He has to use two grown men to move the tractor.
I said, needs more ventilation. I added it later.
and so on.

I feel so lucky that all five birds are still alive, that nothing has eaten them yet. Come to think of it, I'll just let him keep putting me off about the real coop construction and do it myself.

And as an added bonus, that will cut the ER visits WAY down.

Ah, but if I can get DS! DS will argue every point but will do it my way if I prove my point OR just give him the stink eye and say just do it.

 

[dovecanyon]

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[Zahboo]

Okay I have something else.


Make sure you build your coop so you have room to expand. Guarantee there is room for a larger run, coops for other species, seperating breeds and other stuff. You'll be addicted fast!

If you are in a warm climate there is an impulse to have open sides, but be careful with wind, have tarps or something similar to protect from those drafts.

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

Quote:
When you figure it out . . . please share!!!!!!!!!

You need to put linolium (how ever you spell it) all the way up the wall that way you can hose it off the rest will just slide down it (gross I know but true)

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

Quote:
Always buy more lumber then you think you will ever need belive me you will always need it for something I always like to save one to hit the first person that says I told you so........

 

[Kaela23]

My father (who is recently deceased) built Taj Mahal of a chicken coop in the summer by himself in the driveway. He made it 8' by 8' and it is about 6' high with raffers and a roof. That may be a little bigger then most people need. Dad was an engineer and as I take care of our chickens I appreciate all the many details he put into the coop. Most of the details make cleaning and operating the care of the chickens very easy.
The roosting board has a 2" gap between it and the back wall. This allows me an easy way to scape of the roosting board and all the droppings just go down through the gap onto the floor.

He made a small area like a foyer when you first enter into the coop. I store the food in the foyer and it prevents the chicken from pooping in this area. This area has a thermometer and a place for a small ceramic heater. Since Dad built a shelf just to fit the heater and put in a electric box and grounded outlet in the foyer; I do not worry about fires.

The rafters make a nice place for the chickens to roost. It really was not planned this way but that is where they like to roost. This also gives us much more room in the coop. I have 25 hens and 2 roosters and everyone fits well. It gets a little croweded on the 8'x8' sq ft. floor with this many chickens, but they have free access to the outdoors every day. The chickens choose to stay inside during the deep snow or during any storm. On these days, after feeding in the morning the chickens kind of lounge around the coop and sit in various places.

Our water plan is really not that great. I use two small flat sided buckets and change out the water each day or sometimes twice a day. They always have access to clean water but it is a lot of changing out the buckets.

Dad built 5 nesting boxes. We originally had 15 hens. Now that I have so many hens, the girls like to run next door to the pony barn and lay their eggs up in the small hay loft. This really is not a problem because the eggs actaully stay cleaner and it is a great chore for my 5 1/2 year old to fetch the eggs. However, I say build as many nesting boxes as you have room. You will need them.

The nesting boxes Dad built are open square boxes with a small gap in the front board. Again this allows me to toss out the straw or hay that is in the box and scrape out the bottom of the nesting box right through that gap. Everything falls on the floor for easy removal. Since the chickens roost in the rafters at night they tend to poop right into the nesting boxes. I am going to add a board right over the nesting box area. The hens may sit on top of this board but I also think the hens will like the darker more secluded area in a covered box. Maybe they will move back to laying their eggs in the chicken coop. Did I mention that Dad gave me my own paint scraper which is a wonderful tool for scrapping out your chicken house.

Dad added two windows that open - we had some extra windows from when my sister used to sell replacement windows. We also had an old storm door so Dad placed the glass right into the back wall of the chicken coop. This brings in a nice amount of natural light into the coop and the windows allow for air flow.

Finally Dad added ramps so the hens could move from one floor to another by the ramps. It is really funny to see the hens slide down the ramps. I considered adding grippy little pieces of wood onto the ramp but then I would not laugh as much. The hens seem to walk up the ramps just fine. They enjoy walking up the ramp rather then "flying" from one level to the next. It is really cute.

There is a small door at floor level that lifts up and down from the outside of the coop. Dad installed a pulley and a rope so I can lift up on the rope and loop it over a small nail to keep the door open. Then at dusk I just lower the door and the chickens are secure inside the coop. The free range chickens all get themselves back to the coop at dusk. I do not have to do a thing other than shut the door so they are protected.

Even though the chickens run all over our 3 acres. I do have a 6' high fenced in run around the coop. I feel better knowing that preditors need to get through multiple layers of protection. Or that they can not get to my hens because of the multple layers of protection.

Dad also installed a light inside the coop. During the winter I replace the light bulb with a heat lamp. So the hens have extra day light and a warmer environment during the winter months. I get plenty of eggs all winter. However, these are probably pretty expensive eggs if you factor in the electric bill. It goes up a bit.

I am a bit of a nut with cleaning the hen house! I believe a clean environment means happy healthy hens and healthy eggs. I clean the whole thing out once a week, and I clean out the nesting boxes every day. Because of the design it is really fast and easy to do this. Putting the gaps in the egg boxes and in all the roosting areas makes it much easier to scrape off the poo and keep the coop clean.

The hens are really cute when I clean the whole coop and put down new saw dust once a week. They really coo and cluck and tell eachother all about the situation. Then they all come in and out and check out the new improved home! I love my chickens and they are great entertainment.

I have only had chickens for 2 years so I am really new at this. So far no disease or illnesses. I suppose as the girls age I will have more chance of problems.

One more thing; our coop is not insulated. My pony barn is. This next year I am going to insulate the coop and put the pressboard on the inside over the insulation. I think this will really help in the winer. I live in Ohio and we have some long cold winters. I would suggest planning for this up front.

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

After reading and answering a few of these post I have come to realize the thing's I learned the most from building my coop is
1) Always buy more screws,nails,lumber,and beer before starting.
2) forget the budget cause it is blown before you even start to build.
3) Your first coop will always be to small no matter how big it is so build one that is always able to be added on to, same goes for the run.
4) always remember the wife always is right no matter what it makes building the coop faster (less time spent trying to explain your vision

)
5) never ever let anyone tell you that it will only take a few hours to do if you listen to them.
6) NO!!! that word is atill a cuss word and should not be said around young children or the wifes mom Yes!! your thumb will return to it's normal color in a few weeks.
7) always have extra beer in cooler
8) comfortable chair to sit down and throw your hands up and say I quit they don't need a coop (after hiting your head and thumb for the 100th time.
9) always figure in to the budget enough money to buy flowers for the wife or more beer for husband to say I'm sorry for throwing all the fits of rage
10) always take awhile to rest and enjoy your work before you let them lose in their new home and start building the new one cause the wife/husband is gonna want more chickens come spring

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

Quote:
This sounds like a great coop I'm sure I speak for most on here when I say I would love to see pics of your coop it sounds awsome for sure...

 

[Eggstra New]

Oh how I wish I'd seen this before we built our coop! LOL! We missed four out of the six things on initial list. Go figure. I really wish I could walk in my coop. It's pain to clean. Would really love an opening into the run part it's impossible to clean. Thanks for the post! Will revisit in the spring when we get the coop out of the horse barn. Definitely have some changes we're gonna make!