In February (spring 2018) I got back into raising pet chickens when I purchased six chicks from my local Rural King. I should mention that they were a stress fueled impulse buy brought on by college class finals. I got two Buff Orpingtons, two Silver Laced Wyandottes, and two Easter Eggers, one of which turned out to be a little roo. I had been wanting chickens and planning a coop for several years, basically since my first flock died when I was in 6th or 7th grade. Last August (fall 2018) I adopted five more hens from a friend, two Red Star (I think), and three Black Star (Maybe), putting my current flock at 10 hens and one rooster.
Blue, EE
Goldie, BO
Blondie, BO
Bobbie, SLW
Penny, BS
Lulu, BS
Silver, SLW
Daisy, RS
Frankie, RS
Ethel, BS
Delilah, EE
I made numerous sketches of coop designs and layouts and the pro's and con's of each of those sketches. I finally settled on a coop that is 8' long X 6' wide (48 square feet) with a slanted roof that is 6' on one side and 5' on the short side, so I am able to walk around inside the coop. It also sits about 2' off the ground, allowing for half of the 6' wide and 16' long enclosed run (96 square feet) to be under the coop. This coop is a total of 144 square feet (coop + run) and can hold 14.4 or about 15 LF chickens if given 10 square feet per bird.
I decided on an enclosed run because I only wanted to do supervised free range due to the number of predators in my area. I used 1/2" hardware cloth for the run as well as for covering all of the ventilation gaps/holes inside the coop. I also buried a foot and a half of the hardware cloth around the perimeter of the coop. To help preserve the plywood floor inside the coop I used old plastic cat food bags that I stapled down to keep moisture off the wood. I went with a metal roof because one, it matched the roof of the garage it was/is attached to, two, it was easier to put on, and three would not need maintenance. For the walls I was able to use some old boards that my Dad had scavenged from work, they were just going to toss them.
Things I would change about the design is making it easier to get into by making it lower to the ground. I didn't think about the the fact that that part of the garden is half a foot taller than the cement patio, plus the 8" blocks the frames sit on, plus the two feet of space under the coop, plus the extra foot from the floor of the coop to the bottom of the door... anyway, definitely would make that shorter so I wouldn't have to climb a ladder every time I need in the coop.
This spring I also plan on painting it to help keep the boards from swelling, every time it gets above freezing and/or its wet out the egg doors swell shut and so does the small chicken door into the run. I still need to finish my "quarantine/broody" space by making some removable screen panels. It is located inside the coop under the roost/poop board and is about 2' by 8'. I'm planing on creating three removable panels so that I can split it into two 2'x4' spaces. Last fall when I was introducing the new girls I just screwed some chicken wire to it to keep everyone on their side of the fence. It worked but was a hassle to mess with when I needed to give them water and food, otherwise it worked great as they were able to have their own space and still be getting to know the other chickens. I will say that I introduced the 5 new girls in two groups so there wasn't more than three hens confined to the 2'x8' space at one time. For the winter I screwed flattened cardboard boxes to the studs and then filled the space between the wall and cardboard with straw. This worked great at keeping the drafts out and still letting some ventilation in, especially during that cold snap that we had when it got down to -40 below zero.
Blue, EE
Goldie, BO
Blondie, BO
Bobbie, SLW
Penny, BS
Lulu, BS
Silver, SLW
Daisy, RS
Frankie, RS
Ethel, BS
Delilah, EE
I made numerous sketches of coop designs and layouts and the pro's and con's of each of those sketches. I finally settled on a coop that is 8' long X 6' wide (48 square feet) with a slanted roof that is 6' on one side and 5' on the short side, so I am able to walk around inside the coop. It also sits about 2' off the ground, allowing for half of the 6' wide and 16' long enclosed run (96 square feet) to be under the coop. This coop is a total of 144 square feet (coop + run) and can hold 14.4 or about 15 LF chickens if given 10 square feet per bird.
I decided on an enclosed run because I only wanted to do supervised free range due to the number of predators in my area. I used 1/2" hardware cloth for the run as well as for covering all of the ventilation gaps/holes inside the coop. I also buried a foot and a half of the hardware cloth around the perimeter of the coop. To help preserve the plywood floor inside the coop I used old plastic cat food bags that I stapled down to keep moisture off the wood. I went with a metal roof because one, it matched the roof of the garage it was/is attached to, two, it was easier to put on, and three would not need maintenance. For the walls I was able to use some old boards that my Dad had scavenged from work, they were just going to toss them.
Things I would change about the design is making it easier to get into by making it lower to the ground. I didn't think about the the fact that that part of the garden is half a foot taller than the cement patio, plus the 8" blocks the frames sit on, plus the two feet of space under the coop, plus the extra foot from the floor of the coop to the bottom of the door... anyway, definitely would make that shorter so I wouldn't have to climb a ladder every time I need in the coop.
This spring I also plan on painting it to help keep the boards from swelling, every time it gets above freezing and/or its wet out the egg doors swell shut and so does the small chicken door into the run. I still need to finish my "quarantine/broody" space by making some removable screen panels. It is located inside the coop under the roost/poop board and is about 2' by 8'. I'm planing on creating three removable panels so that I can split it into two 2'x4' spaces. Last fall when I was introducing the new girls I just screwed some chicken wire to it to keep everyone on their side of the fence. It worked but was a hassle to mess with when I needed to give them water and food, otherwise it worked great as they were able to have their own space and still be getting to know the other chickens. I will say that I introduced the 5 new girls in two groups so there wasn't more than three hens confined to the 2'x8' space at one time. For the winter I screwed flattened cardboard boxes to the studs and then filled the space between the wall and cardboard with straw. This worked great at keeping the drafts out and still letting some ventilation in, especially during that cold snap that we had when it got down to -40 below zero.
