6xL3Wx6H narrow coop set-up ideas

[artvandolay]

I am trying to add another coop in a narrow area. The area is set up as 6Lx3Wx6H.

I can go up higher for more vertical space so I was thinking of making two sections up higher. A 2ft high roost up top, and another 2ft underneath for the eggs for nesting boxes. The bottom 2 feet for a run area that goes out to a larger run when I open it. It would all go around the coop house with a door on the 6ft length side so I can go in and out and have the roost and boxes all around me in a U shape.

Any other suggestions or ideas? Maybe pictures if you have a similar narrow but higher-up setup.

 

[neo71665]

The height really doesn't factor in when you are looking at square footage for animals. Chickens spend most of their time on their feet. A 2x2 foot coop is only good one one bird even if it's 30 feet tall.

IMHO I would never put my nest boxes under the roosts if that is what you are suggesting.

 

[aart]

I have read that when you use more upright real estate, you do get more sq. footage....

No, not really.
Plus with a small footprint it's harder for them to fly down from the roost.

 

[aart]

That is why I am looking for an interior design within the dimensions I listed of 6x3x6 to see what I can fit within there.

3 birds will fit.
Chickens just don't stack well.
Vertical space is good for ventilation, but it doesn't increase population numbers.

 

[3KillerBs]

3 birds will fit.
Chickens just don't stack well.
Vertical space is good for ventilation, but it doesn't increase population numbers.

This.

Height makes things easier for us -- we don't have to bend down and hunch over -- and it makes it easier to ventilate -- we can get the vents well above the roosts more easily -- and it even helps with heat since it rises away from the birds (why old houses in hot climates have high ceilings).

But chickens don't stack for storage and they fly at about a 45-degree angle so they need room to get up and down.

The only report I've seen here of a vertical, multi-story type space working for chickens involves very active game bantams who fly more like wild birds than the wing-assisted leaps and falling with style that most dual-purpose breeds are limited to.

Do you have photographs of the area so we could visualize the space better?

My inclination would be to set it up as an open-air coop and plan to access it from the wide side as a reach-in rather than walk-in since it's so shallow.

 

[mowin]

Height has nothing to do with sqf of floor space. As aart mentioned, chickens need room to pitch off of higher roosts. Foot injury is going to occur if they have to jump down or land hard.

 

[3KillerBs]

That's so well-sheltered there that I doubt there's any reason to need a separate, enclosed coop rather than just a roofed run with roosts, nests, and just enough in the way of walls around the roost to keep any errant winds off the roost.

Here are some open air coop plans to help you figure it out.

Open Air Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-positive-local-action-coop.72804/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/california-living.68130/

 

[SageHill]

I am trying to add another coop in a narrow area. The area is set up as 6Lx3Wx6H.

I can go up higher for more vertical space so I was thinking of making two sections up higher. A 2ft high roost up top, and another 2ft underneath for the eggs for nesting boxes. The bottom 2 feet for a run area that goes out to a larger run when I open it. It would all go around the coop house with a door on the 6ft length side so I can go in and out and have the roost and boxes all around me in a U shape.

Any other suggestions or ideas? Maybe pictures if you have a similar narrow but higher-up setup.

Sounds very much like what I have at the moment. Though the dimensions here are larger (except maybe for the height). While others have said vertical does not figure in square footage I can't say one way or the other.
Our roost area has a "floor" and a 2x4 perch and is located above the nest boxes with the "floor" of the roost area being the "roof" above the nest boxes which are placed on the "floor" of the next box area. Below that is a dirt area where the chickens can scratch around.
We've had this set up for three years with 5 chickens and it has worked well. I want to redo the nest boxes so I can access them from outside of the run - it was on the original plan - but never go to it with too many other ranch things crying for attention. This spring I hope to get the chicken area "remodeled" to what we'd originally designed.

 

[SageHill]

Take a picture if you can so I can better see it.
I feel that birds will always fight to be up top or higher in the pecking order for the highest roost spots, so I planned on putting the roosts up there and the boxes below with a dropping board or something that I could wash off easily and not have to hunch over as well.

And yes the floor would be were they can dust bathe or hang around.

I was thinking of putting the boxes outside to cook too and will probably do that. I hope you get to do it for yours.

Here you go - everything is a huge mess right now thanks to all the rain over the last month - rain and hail even today
The “stacked” part is at the back.

 

[SageHill]

Let me see that stacked part. It's hard to see through the hardware cloth/chicken wire. That looks really long? How long is it, again?

Chicken coops are inherently messy a lot of times.

Stacked part …. between rain and hail showers …..

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