A two week, first coop!

[Bazoo1016]

The girls (I hope) are getting ready to head out to their permanent home. But of course it has taken way longer than expected. My dad has been building it and has a little over 20 houses under his belt, so why would I think this has been any different. The run will be going up soon, it will be 8x12 and 6 feet high. With 4 ft hardware cloth buried, then heavy wire above that. We are also thinking of putting an electric fence, any thoughts on this? We are trying to spend as little money as possible and have access to the charger for the fence. We will also be putting the heavy coated wire cage (what the heck is this called) on top for aerial predators.

We started on the coop before I really delved into the information on this site. We of course drew our plans the purina plan. They have two sun roofs, but no windows . I wouldn't know where to find one around here, we have no repurposing stores. I don't think goodwill would have any. But we will go purchase more vents if need be. We switched the egg box, and did not put a slant roof.

Please excuse the mess, my father has no idea you have to clean up after you've destroyed everything.











A ridge vent along the top.


More vents.



We have successfully spent $180 including cement on new things. Everything else is leftover from previous houses/current house.

We are also going to have 6 in here. I did not know that we needed so much room when we started and now it is a little too late. It's still 4x4. We are in New England also.

 

[ailurophile23]

Really cute little coop! While the coop may be a little on the small size for 6, the large run should help with that. You can always make use of the vertical space in the run as well to give they "extra" space. I like that the run will have wire over the top. Do you plan to have a roof or a tarp over part or all of the run? That way, even in bad weather, they can get out and not suffer from cabin fever. If you can arch the wire that covers the run, this will help snow and rain to run off a tarp or other covering.

As for ventillation, the ridge cap and the vents under the eaves are a good start but I would definitely add some more vents - perhaps at the two ends where the wall hits the peak of the roof. Keep the vents up high to avoid drafts on the birds and perhaps get some that can be opened and closed so that they can be adjusted depending on the weather. Another option for ventillation might be to convert one of the end nest boxes into a window - with only 6 chickens, you really don't need three nest boxes. You could cut out a portion of the wall for an end nest box and install a framed "window" (get creative - plexiglass, heavy clear plastic, old window from a rennovation......) that could be hinged so it could be propped open during warmer weather or opened and closed somehow - just be sure to include a hardware cloth screen over the opening so nothing can get in and make sure you can latch it closed. This would let in more light as well as add ventillation.

Keep us updated on the progress!

 

[mickey328]

Yep, ventilation is key! I would also worry a bit about the size...during the nicer weather they'll spend most of the day outside, but when it gets cold, they'll spend more time inside. Making use of the various heights is a great idea! You can put roosts and 2 or 3 different levels and they can spread out that way.

It sure looks solid...great job!

 

[Bazoo1016]

Awesome! Thank you guys for the thoughts. We are going to purchase some vents tonight put one in the front and back. What size vents do you think we should get? Are 1'x'1 vents good? We will put hardware cloth, and use painters plastic in the winter if there is a draft. Although it is right behind the house (silly I know but this is going to be my parents when my husband and I leave and they don't want to do much work) so it shouldn't be THAT windy.

We are planning on having the ladder perch that was included in the purina plans. So that should be 12ft. of perch space.

The egg box's are excessive. My father just followed the plan, and he's stubborn.

 

[Bazoo1016]

Bump?

 

[ailurophile23]

Sounds like plenty of perch space. As for the vents, whatever will reasonably fit in those peaks will help. And no worries on the egg boxes - my first coop had entirely too many boxes as did my second coop. It quickly becomes obvious which one(s) the hens prefer and the other nest boxes can be repurposed - in my first coop, I ended up putting a waterer in one of the nest boxes and food in another - this opened up some floor space.