16 x 12 Coop

[Dmaggot]

I have a 16' x 12' building next to the chicken yard that was supposed to be a garden shed... it's turned into a junk shed. It has 5 windows and a 36" man door, no insulation and full of junk at the moment. I'm open for ideas for layout. I want to turn this into my coop and use the one I made from photos on the internet for something else.

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JT

Good morning to you. You have LOTS of options with a building that large. When I do my next coop I will likely install droppings boards under my perches and put “catwalks” around the inside of the coop for the girls to wander around on. If your chicken math hasn’t gotten out of hand yet (lol) it would be nice for you to have a storage area for feed, bedding and other supplies (I have some great thick plastic storage containers from TSC that hold 2 bags of feed at a time and they are impenetrable to rats etc.)Personally I would keep any feeders and drinkers near the door for ease of refilling and also consider an area for a dust bath inside for when the weather outside is wet or snowy. Oh, and remember to cover all of the windows, ridge vents etc. with hardware cloth to keep predators out. If you have any interest in brooding your own chicks you could section off a small area for that inside as well (just remember to isolate any new birds from your old birds for approximately 30 days). You could also consider a small “hospital” area for any sick or injured birds that are safe to expose your other birds to). There are a lot of great coop ideas here on BYC and on Pinterest that should peak your interest. Have fun!

 

[aart]

It was supposed to be a She Shed but She never used it lol.

JT

Apropos to give it over to some Grateful Girls.

 

[jthornton]

You have LOTS of options with a building that large.

put “catwalks” around the inside of the coop for the girls to wander around on.

Thanks for chiming in, if you read the whole thread you will see I'm lacking 4 bits of trim to be completly finished.

The bird walk is an interesting idea, just need to make sure it's below the roost or they will roost on the bird walk and miss the droppings table.

Stick around the brooder design/construction is next, the eggs for my chicks should be in the brooder today at T-21 days until shipping. I was happy to find the ideal material to screen the brooder with I think.

JT

 

[jthornton]

I got the trim on the east window screen today.


And after some changes to my electrical wiring I got the covers on the louver vent roost fans. The fans pull/push air from/to the outside for winter draft free ventilation and summer cooling.


Tomorrow starts the brooder design/build! The chicks ship in 21 days so they should be in the incubator.

JT

 

[aart]

The fans pull/push air from/to the outside for winter draft free ventilation and summer cooling.

Meaning they are now reversible?
Would love to see the other side of the fans, air intake/exhaust.
Any filters?

 

[Ted Brown]

I am looking forward to your brooder build.

I copied @aart 's frame design to close off the area under my drop boards but did a quick and dirty. Then I moved the drop boards up so it is too small. I will do another, use the space under the drop boards but this time do a careful build so it is strong enough to be put in/out without breaking down.

 

[jthornton]

Meaning they are now reversible?
Would love to see the other side of the fans, air intake/exhaust.
Any filters?

Yea I just flip them over to reverse the direction.

No filters but I do use 20" x 20" filters on fans in my shop to reduce the airborne dust.

The outside of the vent.


The inside

as well as the soffit vents in the gable and that section of roof and I also have ridge vent running the length of the roof.

JT

 

[jthornton]

I am looking forward to your brooder build.

The plan at the moment is to build it on top of the poop table so there is no transition from brooder to roost other than removing the enclosure. Since they will be the only thing in there taking up some of the roost and poop table won't matter.

JT

 

[aart]

Yea I just flip them over to reverse the direction.

Oh, I thought you wired them to be reversible.

 

[jthornton]

Oh, I thought you wired them to be reversible.

That type of AC motor is not reversible, some larger AC single phase motors can be reversed and all 3 phase motors can be reversed.

JT