For Valentines Day 3 years ago my husband converted an old storage shed into a coop for me. His buddies and co-workers thought he was insane since it's not a traditional lovey dovey gift - they thought I would be mad or upset about it I guess. Instead I was 100% excited and ready to get started! He did quite a bit of research and surprised me with it while I went to visit a friend.
3 years later I am wanting to expand the flock and eventually do more - working towards a small working farm I hope (as of December we will have 4 children 5 and under though, so it's not quite feasible at this point). My current coop is probably around 8x8 I would guess, with a slab floor. I need to do some updating to the inside b/c we made do with a few things, like a 4x4 on top of a propped up pallet for a roost thinking we would replace it eventually and the "vintage" (probably 50 years old??) nesting boxes have seen better days. Now that my older 4 are getting older and heavier it's time to do something different I think. We were going to build a totally new one out of pallets, but then I started thinking that maybe just adding on to the sides would be easier. I can see something like the Santa Cruz from this site (http://www.westernfarmcenter.com/chicken-coops-and-pens.htm) as a final product (only not on stilts). Both sides would have hinged lids/roof tops for access - one being a nesting area, the other??? Not sure yet. Maybe food storage, or a brooding area? I want to do a ladder type roosting area on the inside to maximize floor space. They currently free range all day (my 4 older ones) but with an increasing amount of birds I am not going to tolerate the mass amt of poop everywhere so we're going to fence in our future orchard (just planted a variety of dwarf fruit trees this past fall - 3-4ft tall now I would guess) and part of the cow pasture. I'll cover an area just outside of the coop so there's some shelter from the elements. They don't mind rain, but don't tolerate the summer sun/heat or snow as much. That should help alleviate any potential issues for over crowding inside - hopefully. I know we'll have PLENTY of space outdoors, no problem, and I'm keeping in mind the 4 sq ft/bird inside. My goal is a rotational laying flock of around 25 chickens of varying ages.... maybe even getting into breeding sometime in the future once I experiment with a few breeds.
So... give that information, any tips or suggestions? The pallets we are planning on using are 36"x44" so I should be able to gain quite a few sq. ft on each side depending on the configuration. DH is an engineer and I grew up around constant home construction. We've done some small remodeling projects in the past so I feel fairly confident we can handle the task... if nothing else both of our dad's are pretty handy, one with masonry, one with carpentry (well, really everything actually).
3 years later I am wanting to expand the flock and eventually do more - working towards a small working farm I hope (as of December we will have 4 children 5 and under though, so it's not quite feasible at this point). My current coop is probably around 8x8 I would guess, with a slab floor. I need to do some updating to the inside b/c we made do with a few things, like a 4x4 on top of a propped up pallet for a roost thinking we would replace it eventually and the "vintage" (probably 50 years old??) nesting boxes have seen better days. Now that my older 4 are getting older and heavier it's time to do something different I think. We were going to build a totally new one out of pallets, but then I started thinking that maybe just adding on to the sides would be easier. I can see something like the Santa Cruz from this site (http://www.westernfarmcenter.com/chicken-coops-and-pens.htm) as a final product (only not on stilts). Both sides would have hinged lids/roof tops for access - one being a nesting area, the other??? Not sure yet. Maybe food storage, or a brooding area? I want to do a ladder type roosting area on the inside to maximize floor space. They currently free range all day (my 4 older ones) but with an increasing amount of birds I am not going to tolerate the mass amt of poop everywhere so we're going to fence in our future orchard (just planted a variety of dwarf fruit trees this past fall - 3-4ft tall now I would guess) and part of the cow pasture. I'll cover an area just outside of the coop so there's some shelter from the elements. They don't mind rain, but don't tolerate the summer sun/heat or snow as much. That should help alleviate any potential issues for over crowding inside - hopefully. I know we'll have PLENTY of space outdoors, no problem, and I'm keeping in mind the 4 sq ft/bird inside. My goal is a rotational laying flock of around 25 chickens of varying ages.... maybe even getting into breeding sometime in the future once I experiment with a few breeds.
So... give that information, any tips or suggestions? The pallets we are planning on using are 36"x44" so I should be able to gain quite a few sq. ft on each side depending on the configuration. DH is an engineer and I grew up around constant home construction. We've done some small remodeling projects in the past so I feel fairly confident we can handle the task... if nothing else both of our dad's are pretty handy, one with masonry, one with carpentry (well, really everything actually).
playee soccer there quite a bit...
