4x4 coop plans

[JBFrazier]

I am a newbie to urban chickening and I am looking to see if someone could help with plans for a 4x4 coop with 2-3 nesting boxes. I will also have enclosed a run for them totaling 4x9 including coop. I plan on grabbing a lot of pallets for the material since I hear that works well. I appreciate the help from everyone.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I am a newbie to urban chickening and I am looking to see if someone could help with plans for a 4x4 coop with 2-3 nesting boxes. I will also have enclosed a run for them totaling 4x9 including coop. I plan on grabbing a lot of pallets for the material since I hear that works well. I appreciate the help from everyone.

Welcome to BYC!!

How many birds are you planning to keep? Are you wanting large fowl (standard) or bantam birds? Are there any particular breeds you want? Since you are starting out from scratch, knowing these things can help you tailor your plans and final setup to fit the needs of the birds you will be keeping.
Are you planning to build a raised coop so that the area under it is accessible to the birds and would essentially be part of the run space available to the birds?
The best advice I can offer is build bigger than you think you need - there is no such thing as too much room when it comes to the space you provide your birds and having more room that you "need" leaves room for expanding your flock without requiring more building.

 

[JBFrazier]

Thank you for the quick response. I am unsure if the breed. These will be really just for egg laying not breeding. We are limited to 5 hens by city ordinance so that would be out max. I considered having it raised up but thought it would be best during the winter months (New England) that less cold air underneath the better. As for overall size of the coop, we are limited for space because we are in a suburb of a city. I could possibly go to a second story not exceeding 4-5' height.

 

[Chickenshoe]

http://www.barngeek.com/free-chicken-coop-plans.html

I used this for basic template for my 4x8 coop, which turned into a 4x8 with a 4x5 connected to it... 4x8 is 4 ft hight, 4x5 is 5ft tall. two roof lines, looks pretty sweet...

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Thank you for the quick response. I am unsure if the breed. These will be really just for egg laying not breeding. We are limited to 5 hens by city ordinance so that would be out max. I considered having it raised up but thought it would be best during the winter months (New England) that less cold air underneath the better. As for overall size of the coop, we are limited for space because we are in a suburb of a city. I could possibly go to a second story not exceeding 4-5' height.

If you have a solid floor in the coop section, being raised will not be an issue concerning your location and winter. *I* would raise it to maximize the amount of outdoor run space available to the birds or increase the planned size of your run.

 

[JBFrazier]

Looks like like I may need to raise it up then. It was my original plan but the winters did concern me.
@chickenshoe - thank you for those plans. I will take a look at them. My budget is as Lowe as possible so I will be using what scalp I can find utilizing pallets as much as possible.

 

[jetdog]

Looks like like I may need to raise it up then. It was my original plan but the winters did concern me.
@chickenshoe - thank you for those plans. I will take a look at them. My budget is as Lowe as possible so I will be using what scalp I can find utilizing pallets as much as possible.

Massachusetts here and my coop is elevated about 2 feet and have no problem with the winters,cut the pop door at least 6 inches of the floor so you can leave a thick layer of shavings.

 

[JBFrazier]

During the winter, do I need to have a light in the coop? I am in New Hampshire. I will be placing the coop in an area that will have good sun all year round. This is silly sounding but do I need to have heat and how do I keep the water from freezing?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

During the winter, do I need to have a light in the coop? I am in New Hampshire. I will be placing the coop in an area that will have good sun all year round. This is silly sounding but do I need to have heat and how do I keep the water from freezing?

By "light" are you referring to a light for heat or a light for supplementing the daylight during the shorter daylight hours of winter? The former - no, the latter - that is a personal preference that can have an impact on egg production through winter by helping keep the birds in production mode. There are many ways to water your flock in the winter - if the coop will have electric available to it you can either buy or DIY a plug-in waterer of different configurations that keeps the water from freezing. A coop that does not have electric is easily serviced by simply hand carrying water to the birds 2-3 times a day.

 

[JBFrazier]

I should clarify by light I do mean heat. If the temperature is warmer does that increase production? I do not have electricity there and did not have plans for it. How drastically will it decrease?