Adding to coop base

[jodimattiaccy]

Hey y'all! I'm a novice so feel free to correct any errors/misconceptions in what I'm about to say.

I'm coming to BYC for advice on getting my new coop chicken-ready. I recently snagged this coop base/run on facebook marketplace. Dimensions are 6 ft 11 in long, 3 ft 5 in wide, and 2 ft 4 in tall. Can anyone tell what brand is behind this coop? After maniacally cleaning it I'm getting ready for (what I think is) the next step--building a top level for roosting. My plan is to have 3-4 chickens so I think I need the roosting area to be at least 3 ft tall. There is a roosting bar in it on the right side currently but I'm assuming that's just for the chickens to hang out on since they like to get elevated when they sleep. My current dilemmas are

1. How much of the roof real estate should the roosting level take up? All the way to one side? Just in the middle? Should I make it as long as the coop base itself?
2. Assuming that the roosting level should be around 3-3.5 ft tall, and since I live in a relatively snow-free climate the roof pitch should be 14 degrees, how do I calculate how tall the shorter side of the top level should be?
3. Should I build nesting box(es) into the top level or would it be better to have them on the bottom level? Is one nesting box enough for 3-4 chickens?
4. It doesn't snow a lot where I'm at in North Carolina but the winters can get fairly cold, sometimes below freezing. How do I balance keeping the chickens warm with keeping the top level well-ventilated?
5. Does anyone recognize what brand this coop base is? I'm assuming it's part of a prefab coop and knowing what the top looked like might help me in my planning.
6. Finally--how/what would you use to plan out how much and what kind of lumber you'd need for this project? Ideally I'd like to walk into a Home Depot or something with a "recipe" of sorts. I have access to a jigsaw and a circular saw through relatives so I don't necessarily need them to cut all the wood for me, I'm just struggling with coming up with a plan for this ex nihilo. Is there a coop plan y'all think I could easily adapt as a template for the top level?

Thank y'all so much for reading this far if you did. I look forward to reading your responses. Happy Chickening!

 

[Ted Brown]

You have about 20 sq ft. Standard guidelines are 4 sq ft of coop and 10 sq ft of run space PER BIRD. Behavioural problems arise with crowding.

So comfortable space for 1 bird but chickens are social and need company. Regardless of how you add space above you do not have nearly enough for 3-4 birds.

 

[jodimattiaccy]

You have about 20 sq ft. Standard guidelines are 4 sq ft of coop and 10 sq ft of run space PER BIRD. Behavioural problems arise with crowding.

So comfortable space for 1 bird but chickens are social and need company. Regardless of how you add space above you do not have nearly enough for 3-4 birds.

Ted--thank you very much for pointing this out. I'll plan on gating out some space in front of the door on the bottom level to expand the run space as well!

 

[3KillerBs]

It doesn't snow a lot where I'm at in North Carolina but the winters can get fairly cold, sometimes below freezing. How do I balance keeping the chickens warm with keeping the top level well-ventilated?

Welcome to BYC. from the Sandhillls.

I'm tired after a long shift on my feet today and about to go to bed, so I can't answer any of your questions tonight, but here is a little general information and my article on keeping chickens in a hot climate.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

4 hens

• 16 square feet in the coop. 4'x4' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber.
• 4 feet of roost
• 40 square feet in the run. 4'x10' or 5'x8'. 6'x6' is a bit too small, 6'x8' is more generous and easier to build than 5'x8'.
• 4 square feet of ventilation. A 2'x2' window is theoretically enough, but in practice doesn't create any air FLOW so better to spread the venting around (and even better to exceed the minimums, especially in warm climates).
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

And my first coop, specifically designed to meet the minimums for 4 hens, just to give you some idea of what those numbers look like transformed into a building: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

 

[knobhillfarm]

The general size guidelines have been provided in earlier posts.

Think about it in 2 parts, the coop where they sleep and take shelter from weather and the run where they can be protected during day. The coop is going to need to be a minimum of 16 sq ft for 4 chickens. You’re going to need roosts as high up as you can get them and nesting boxes for hens as well. The 16 sq ft minimum is open floor space so you don’t count any floor space dedicated to nesting boxes or other things. Ventilation is key in the coop. For 4 chickens, you’ll need 4 sq ft of ventilation at a minimum, maybe more if you get hot summer temps. However, you don’t want this ventilation to create a draft for them when on roost so it will need to be over their heads when they are on roost. That usually requires a good deal of height. 3killerbs has some graphics illustrating proper ventilation in the coop build forum.

The run portion should be at least 40 sq ft for 4 chickens and should be secured to your comfort level based on predators in your area. The gold standard is a roofed run with 1/2” hardware cloth all around and a hardware cloth apron that goes out 18-24” around the run. You’ll want a sheltered place to keep their food and water in the run and plenty of shade too.

There are lots of coop build photos in the forums here as examples. As a rule of thumb, always build larger than you need to allow space for more chickens.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just to address nest boxes really quickly, they should be lower than the roost, to encourage the birds to want to use the roost, as their instincts tell them it's safer to sleep higher up.

 

[3KillerBs]

Good morning. What part of NC are you in? Up in the Mountains you need to think a little more about winter shelter but down in the Piedmont, Sandhills, or Coastal Plain the concern is HEAT and what little winter we get doesn't bother chickens in the least (see this thread).

Hey y'all! I'm a novice so feel free to correct any errors/misconceptions in what I'm about to say.

I'm coming to BYC for advice on getting my new coop chicken-ready. I recently snagged this coop base/run on facebook marketplace. Dimensions are 6 ft 11 in long, 3 ft 5 in wide, and 2 ft 4 in tall. Can anyone tell what brand is behind this coop? After maniacally cleaning it I'm getting ready for (what I think is) the next step--building a top level for roosting. My plan is to have 3-4 chickens so I think I need the roosting area to be at least 3 ft tall. There is a roosting bar in it on the right side currently but I'm assuming that's just for the chickens to hang out on since they like to get elevated when they sleep. My current dilemmas are

1. How much of the roof real estate should the roosting level take up? All the way to one side? Just in the middle? Should I make it as long as the coop base itself?
2. Assuming that the roosting level should be around 3-3.5 ft tall, and since I live in a relatively snow-free climate the roof pitch should be 14 degrees, how do I calculate how tall the shorter side of the top level should be?
3. Should I build nesting box(es) into the top level or would it be better to have them on the bottom level? Is one nesting box enough for 3-4 chickens?
4. It doesn't snow a lot where I'm at in North Carolina but the winters can get fairly cold, sometimes below freezing. How do I balance keeping the chickens warm with keeping the top level well-ventilated?
5. Does anyone recognize what brand this coop base is? I'm assuming it's part of a prefab coop and knowing what the top looked like might help me in my planning.
6. Finally--how/what would you use to plan out how much and what kind of lumber you'd need for this project? Ideally I'd like to walk into a Home Depot or something with a "recipe" of sorts. I have access to a jigsaw and a circular saw through relatives so I don't necessarily need them to cut all the wood for me, I'm just struggling with coming up with a plan for this ex nihilo. Is there a coop plan y'all think I could easily adapt as a template for the top level?

Thank y'all so much for reading this far if you did. I look forward to reading your responses. Happy Chickening!

6'11" x 3'5" x 2' is a very strange dimension that will be hard to build to match because lumber comes standard in multiples of 4' -- there would be a LOT of waste cutting. You might do best to think of this as a useful brooder, isolation pen, integration pen, etc. rather than putting all the time, effort, and money into matching it up with a coop build. It's approximately 20 square feet, which is a nice brooder, or temporary pen enough for up to 5 chickens but is only enough run for 2 chickens long-term.

1. For 4 chickens you need a minimum of 16 square feet of unobstructed floor space. As a general rule, you need a minimum of 4 feet in height to get the nests up off the floor enough to keep the bedding out of them, the roost above the nests, and the ventilation above the chickens' heads when they're sitting on the roost. So a 4x4x4 coop is the bare minimum for housing. If you can make it bigger you will find many benefits to having oversized facilities.

2. What sort of roofing are you going to use? And will you be doing a single-slope or a gable? Roof-pitch math isn't my strong point and I think of it in terms of rise-run rather than angle degrees. Here's a calculator for you: https://www.inchcalculator.com/roof-pitch-calculator/

One important thing to consider with a chicken coop is roof overhang. Be generous because it's going to shelter your vents to keep the weather out of them, shade your walls to reduce heat build-up, and, potentially, protect you from the weather when gathering eggs and otherwise tending to the birds.

3. You can put your nests anywhere that is convenient for you as long as they aren't so low that the bedding is going to be pouring in or so high that they are above the roosts. Technically 1 nest should serve 4 chickens, but it's nice to give them 2 so that they have a choice.

4. You don't have to keep chickens warm. Keep them dry and out of the wind and they will keep themselves warm with their built-in down parkas. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

Here in the Steamy Southeast our challenge is to keep them cool enough in the summer. I personally find that, unless I can put my coop in DEEP shade, I need at least 2-3 times the suggested minimum ventilation of 1 square foot per adult, standard-size hen just to keep the coop under 100F on a 90F day.

For anywhere in NC other than the coldest portion of the mountains I recommend an Open Air coop. This can be thought of as a wire box with a 3-sided shelter on the windward end. My own big, open air coop is show in the hot climate article. Here are some other examples:

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/

5. Sorry, I have no idea what it is.

In addition to the weird dimensions creating a lot of waste, I'm concerned about whether or not it has sufficient structural strength to support a DIY coop on top of it. Prefabs are often very lightly and flimsily built from cheap, thin panels and minimal structural wood. Could you provide more closeup photos of exactly how it's put together and maybe set a ruler or tape measure alongside to show what sort of materials were used more clearly?

6. If you draw a plan for the construction you can count the boards on the plan, accounting for the appropriate waste, and figure out an approximate number of each sort of board. However, I have to say that in our DIY projects I've never seen a materials list that survived contact with reality.