Adult beginner with 12 chicks and I need help getting that best coop

[turtlerouge]

Hi! My name is Chris. I'm no stranger caring for animals all my life and helping my friend out who has chickens made me develop the Chicken Fever.
I love gathering eggs and seeing how pretty her chickens look.
My Friend, Deb has a really nice chicken coop that sits a foot off the ground and has 4 nesting boxes while she has 6 adult chickens. This year, Deb bought 6 little peeps. I fell in love with them too
I kept getting my husband to let me have chickens. He kept saying No More Animals!
I tried very hard to not want them. 3-4 weeks then a month went by and I still really wanted them. Again I asked my husband and again he said, No. I hated to, but last Sat I lost my fight against listening to him and my intentions were to buy 6 chicks.
I checked on Facebook "pet's", a woman said she had some chicks. We got the talking and here she lives less than 10 miles from me. She said she would help me to pick out the best chicks from each group at Tractor Supply.
There are 5 breeds I really liked and wanted. Tractor Supply had 3 of those breeds.
My favorite breed's are:
1) Buff Orpingtons
2) EE's
3) Barbs
4) silkies
5) Whdonattes

So, at TSC I bought 2 of those breeds that were straight runs and 2 same sexlinks.
I went to Rural King and their policy was to buy Miinimum of 6 too.
I bought the other 3 breeds and 2 golden Wydonates for my cousin.
Here, my cousin wanted the silver-laced Wydonates so I ended up keeping hers.
Now, I've 12 chicks in a storage tote in my sewing room.
My husband was furious but I told him he did not have to lift a finger to help me with them. So far, he's keeping that promise.
Now, I've been looking at all sort of coops and with 12 birds I need a bigger coop than what I was looking.
We live on some land that I can use a tractor coop house.
I'm looking for a used XXL dog kennel run. Since there are a lot of cats and our dog who killed neighbors chickens, I want to make sure my birds will be safe from them and the wild predators in this remote area.
My plan is to make a stationary coop and be able to move the run with tires on the bottom.
But the trouble is, I don't have a lot of money to spend but I do need to keep my babies safe and sound esp with the coyotes, weasels, bears, birds of prey, and so forth.
I want the coop off the ground, chicken fencing on inside of run and heavy guard chain link fencing outside of fence. The run floor with a fenced bottom in run, metal pull out tray to gather droppings, and very easily to clean.
If anyone has suggestions of coops that would work, I appreciate any comments and if possible, please include pictures of the coops if possible.
Thanks!
Chris R.

 

[eggbert420]

Google search, hoop coops.

 

[drumstick diva]

off the record I think you should put a lot of "starch" in your husband's briefs next time you do laundry. I don't know if they even sell starch anymore but, the mere idea pleases me.

Sometimes on Craig's list, they offer free chicken coops (if you could find a way to bring home) or very reasonably priced ones. Some folks decide they don't want their chickens anymore. You can usually find good buys on wire dog runs (to use as a run), maybe BIG dog houses would could be a temporary coop etc.

Best wishes to you and hope your desires will prevail.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. The Coops section is a good place for inspiration - https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops and if you see a coop design that you are considering getting, then feel free to post any pics / design plans on this forum - https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.

Best wishes
CT

 

[turtlerouge]

Thanks! I don't either is starch is still around. lol

 

[LovesAGoodYolk]

start collecting used materials. check where new buildings are being built. they throw away a lot of materials. build it twice as big as you think you need. looany demolishing being done in your area? check on craigslist

 

[turtlerouge]

Thank you for your advice! What materials should I be looking for and for what purpose?

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Chris, and

! Great to have you in our community! Sounds like you have your hands full! BYC is here to help you with friendly advice and suggestions. Good luck on your poultry adventure!!

 

[SueT]

Hi and welcome to BYC....I think you may need your hubby's help to build this coop, and build it soon! ( At least in our family, the stuff I build isn't very sturdy. My kids joke about that. Luckily my husband is a carpenter and he has ended up not only doing most of the construction but also enjoying the chickens a lot.) Anyway good luck, and let us know how it goes! And pics! post pics!
Sue

 

[Cntry1958]

If hubby has the saws you could build a coop yourself . Look on Craigs List for a old used wooden shed. 8x10. I would go over to DEBs and ask her if she has plans for her coop they built. If not look at it take measurements and pictures of all the parts you will need. Gather up any building supplies you can get and start off by measuring out your space. This will be where you want your coop. Making sure it will fit there. Once you get that done and it fits next is leveling out the ground. Rake and level are what you need to do that, remove any large rocks, wood or anything laying around. Now its time to figure out how your going to build it.

12 chickens and you need 4 square foot per chicken = 12x4=48 square feet for the coop If you build a 8 foot x10 foot that would give you 80 square feet of space. It would also give you extra room just incase you want to add a few more chickens in a few years. Once hubby calms down. 10 square feet is needed per chicken for a run. So 12 x 10 = 120 square feet. So make sure you add extra run space if you want more chickens in a few years also.

Your coop needs a door, window, ventilation, if off the ground ramp, pop door, nesting boxes, latches and locks so nothing gets in, hardware cloth.

Once you get the shed your going to have to transform it into a coop. This is where your friends coop comes in handy. Look at the pictures. Does your shed have a window in it? You may need to put one in it. Measure out where you would want it to go. Mark it off. Old wooden window is what you could use for that. You don't need new one. Even a piece of plexi glass will work just frame it out. Mark off where the ventilation would be (vents go high up) . Measure it and mark it also, write it directly on the board. You will need nesting box mark it off and label it also. Once you have everything you need where you want it. Then and only then is it time to begin to cut it out. Do you want your nesting boxes outside on the coop or inside? Know where you will be putting up roosts for the chickens. Ventilation is above where the chickens heads would be when they are roosting. You do not want the vents to blow cold air on them in winter so make sure you have a few inches above the chickens heads.

If you do rectangle ventilation just cut out hardware cloth 2 to 3 inches larger then your cut measurement. Staple or use u shape nails and fasten the cloth on. Take some wood and you can place it over the ends of the hardware cloth. Inside and out. This will help keep it in place and reinforce the wire so nothing gets in or out. Once its complete and you have everything the way you want it I would paint any new wood you placed on the coop.

This is just one way to get a coop started if you don't have funds to buy all the materials to build a new coop.