Advice Needed: All The Things

[3KillerBs]

OK, I have more time now to offer more detail for the specific questions I didn't directly answer last night.

Coop

- What is the best material to create a coop?

In a hot climate, the best coops are made of as much wire as possible. 1/2" hardware cloth, possibly reinforced with a layer of sturdy 2x4 wire if you've got a lot of larger predators, especially feral dogs.

An Open Air coop is, essentially, a roofed wire box with a 3-sided shelter on the windward end. Maximum ventilation, as shown in my hot climate article linked above.

- Should the floor of a coop be the ground?

That's entirely a matter of personal preference. If you go with the Open Air design, combining coop and run into one unit, a dirt floor with bedding over it and a wire anti-dig skirt to keep predators out, will be the easiest to construct and maintain.

- What roofing material should I use?

Another personal preference thing. Shingles over plywood are a lot of labor. Once upon a time, it was cheaper than metal but with the current inflation of wood prices it may or may not be.

We chose metal over purlins for ease of installation.

The various forms of plastic/fiberglass/etc. have varying reputations. The critical thing in a hot climate is to absolutely NOT use a clear or translucent roof because it would turn the coop into an oven.

I actively advise against Ondura. It's heavy and does not stand up well to southern weather. There was an Ondura-roofed structure on this property when we moved in, but the roof was utterly shot despite being only about 5 years old.

- Best door material? Should I have an automatic door to open for the chickens?

I used old screen doors -- reinforced with a layer of hardware cloth.

Automatic doors are reputed to be a great convenience. I will soon find out because I have one that I haven't installed yet.

- Are poop boards a good idea?

That depends on your management style. I use deep bedding/deep litter so there's no point to poop boards. For others, poop boards are a great convenience.

- Should I create a brooding area for new chicks?

It's very handy to be able to brood in your coop. It starts integration on day 1 and smooths out the transition.

I don't brood in my coop right now, but I do brood outdoors and I love it. I have no worries about my chicks making the transition because they acclimate all along.

- Best feeding and watering arrangements?

That's another personal preference. How big your coop is also matters.

With the Little Monitor Coop I HAD TO keep feed and water in the run: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/an-outdoor-shelter-for-the-feeder-and-waterer.76487/

With Neuchickenstein I still use that shelter, but it's convenient to have feeders inside too.

- Should I sand materials?

That's another personal preference thing. How fine a finish do you want? How much does appearance matter?

Barn paint is designed to go onto unprimed, rough wood without pre-sanding.

- Should I include cameras?

I would LOVE to have a coop camera, but haven't been able to justify it on my budget. It's a cool thing to have if you have the money and *can* be important beyond just the entertainment value if you're suffering predator breaches or, worst case, human-caused security breaches.

 

[Becks Chicks]

OK, I have more time now to offer more detail for the specific questions I didn't directly answer last night.



In a hot climate, the best coops are made of as much wire as possible. 1/2" hardware cloth, possibly reinforced with a layer of sturdy 2x4 wire if you've got a lot of larger predators, especially feral dogs.

An Open Air coop is, essentially, a roofed wire box with a 3-sided shelter on the windward end. Maximum ventilation, as shown in my hot climate article linked above.



That's entirely a matter of personal preference. If you go with the Open Air design, combining coop and run into one unit, a dirt floor with bedding over it and a wire anti-dig skirt to keep predators out, will be the easiest to construct and maintain.



Another personal preference thing. Shingles over plywood are a lot of labor. Once upon a time, it was cheaper than metal but with the current inflation of wood prices it may or may not be.

We chose metal over purlins for ease of installation.

The various forms of plastic/fiberglass/etc. have varying reputations. The critical thing in a hot climate is to absolutely NOT use a clear or translucent roof because it would turn the coop into an oven.

I actively advise against Ondura. It's heavy and does not stand up well to southern weather. There was an Ondura-roofed structure on this property when we moved in, but the roof was utterly shot despite being only about 5 years old.



I used old screen doors -- reinforced with a layer of hardware cloth.

Automatic doors are reputed to be a great convenience. I will soon find out because I have one that I haven't installed yet.



That depends on your management style. I use deep bedding/deep litter so there's no point to poop boards. For others, poop boards are a great convenience.



It's very handy to be able to brood in your coop. It starts integration on day 1 and smooths out the transition.

I don't brood in my coop right now, but I do brood outdoors and I love it. I have no worries about my chicks making the transition because they acclimate all along.



That's another personal preference. How big your coop is also matters.

With the Little Monitor Coop I HAD TO keep feed and water in the run: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/an-outdoor-shelter-for-the-feeder-and-waterer.76487/

With Neuchickenstein I still use that shelter, but it's convenient to have feeders inside too.



That's another personal preference thing. How fine a finish do you want? How much does appearance matter?

Barn paint is designed to go onto unprimed, rough wood without pre-sanding.



I would LOVE to have a coop camera, but haven't been able to justify it on my budget. It's a cool thing to have if you have the money and *can* be important beyond just the entertainment value if you're suffering predator breaches or, worst case, human-caused security breaches.

I learn so much reading these responses

 

[Flappy Bird]

Thank you, everyone! I’m very excited to begin writing out the plan for my new coop. These answers have been very beneficial.

- Flappy

 

[Flappy Bird]

@3KillerBs

This link is incredible!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

The coop seems fantastic all together! I hope to make a great coop like this one!

@BrooksHatlen

Thank you for answering my questions! This is very helpful!

@Becks Chicks and @BrandonsQuails

The waterer ideas definitely helped! I will consider both the nipple waterer and the hanging method!

@saysfaa

My goodness! You provided so much information and I thank you very much! You are obviously educated in this area!

Thank you all. You are incredible!

- Flappy

 

[3KillerBs]

@3KillerBs

This link is incredible!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

The coop seems fantastic all together! I hope to make a great coop like this one!

That's the coop that inspired my own Neuchickenstein.

 

[Flappy Bird]

That's the coop that inspired my own Neuchickenstein.

Ahh, well, it is an incredible coop!

 

[3KillerBs]

Ahh, well, it is an incredible coop!

Yes, absolutely!

 

[Matejka]

I'm in central texas. We don't get/stay cold enough to worry. Chicke s have natural down coats my worry is keeping them cool. I built an open air coop for mine. Wrapped in 1/2 inch hardware cloth overplayed with 1x2 inch welded wire. Then I had a snake issue so wrapped entire coop in cheap no good chicken wire.i love it. Here are pics during build. 1 solid wall on bottom of north side back wall is half solid.

 

[Matejka]

I used a prefab coop and reinforced it with 2x4s. It's 8x8 and 9 ft high 2 8 ft roosts. Thr run is separate. I used a 5 ft piece of culvert ($10 findl) to attach coop to run run is 20 x20 chain link overplayed with cattle panels

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll add my opinions to these. What you are reading are others' opinions, there are very few of these answers that are absolute, many different things work.

- What is the size of a coop and run that accommodates up to twenty chickens?

If you follow the link in my signature below you'll get some of my ideas about space and why there is no one specific answer to this question. Reading that might help you in your decision.

Are you really talking about 20 birds maximum? Your question about brooding area for new chicks implies it might not be. That also implies you will be integrating. You need additional room to integrate. I'd need to know a lot more about your goals and your management plans before I could come up with a recommendation for coop size or run size. People don't complain about having too much room in either the coop or run. They do about not having enough room or look for solutions for problems caused by not having enough.

Without having any real information and assuming a maximum of 20 adult birds, I'd suggest a minimum of an 8' x 12'. It's probably a bit more room than the absolute minimum you could get away with, but I find the tighter I squeeze them the more behavioral problems I have, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have to solve issues that come up. I really like that extra flexibility, it often lowers my stress level a lot. If you are buying new material the standard sizes are 4' and 8' dimensions. If you design around those dimensions you can usually save cutting and waste. If you are reusing materials that are not 4' or 8', plan around what size you have.

Where you are you could probably get by with an 8' x 8' if 20 adults is your maximum. In East Texas your chickens should be able to be outside practically all day every day. Instead of looking at square feet per chicken I try to look at how it is likely to be used. And I don't look at coop space only and run space only but look at the two together as your space system. If your 20 chickens don't spend a lot of their awake life locked in that coop only it doesn't have to be quite as big.

The run is harder to talk about. The bigger it is the more the poop is spread out so you don't have to work as hard to manage the poop. How are you going to build it? If you are going to cover the run, you don't want it too wide, the wider the span the larger and more expensive the material needed to span it. If you are going to use lumber then think in terms of those standard 8' dimensions. If you are installing posts and stretching wire you have a lot more leeway in how you can build it. You might look at what lengths the rolls of wire you will use come in. If you are building it with 8' dimensions in mind and are covering it, I'd go with an 8' x 24' as a bare minimum. 8" x 32' Would be better. If you are not covering it the run could be wider.

- What is the best material to create a coop?

Wood and wire are pretty common. A hoop coop that used cattle panels are fairly popular, could work in your climate and are often less expensive tham other options. Some people use metal roofing material for the coop sides or plastic siding. Someone is building one out of brick, should be really predator proof and well insulated. If you have some materials to recycle I'd consider it, whatever it is.

- Should the floor of a coop be the ground?

You want your coop and run to be dry. If the location is where water drains to, you probably have a problem. If water drains away from it you are probably in good shape. I like a dirt floor, but that is a personal preference. Others are quite happy with concrete or wooden floors. When I built my coop I hauled in enough dirt that the floor level is high enough that it will not get wet from rainwater running on the ground. I use wood shavings as bedding and it works great. Others do things differently and that works for them. For 20 chickens you will have a walk-in coop. I think dirt works well for those as long as you can keep it dry.

- What are the best areas for ventilation?

You have two issues with ventilation. One is to get rid of heat, the other is to get rid of moisture. In colder climates too much moisture can cause frostbite. That's not much of a concern for you but too much dampness can cause mold.

As poop breaks down it creates ammonia. Ammonia can kill your birds if it builds up. But ammonia is lighter than air. If you have an opening up high where the ammonia can escape it becomes a non-issue. Hot air rises and warm air holds more moisture than cold air. It is a really good idea to have openings up high. In colder climates you don't want a cold breeze blow directly on your chickens on the roost. In hot weather a breeze when they are on the roost feels good. I like the majority of the ventilation up higher than their heads when they are on the roost but having something, like a window, at their level that you can open in the warmer weather is a good thing, even in colder climates.

For warm air to rise you need cooler air to replace it. Even if all of your openings are up high it will still work but the process is much more efficient if you have an opening so cooler air can enter. Some of us may have trees, buildings, or something that creates cool spots around the coop at strange places but in Texas your coolest spot is probably on the north side of the coop in the shade and down low.

If you build an open air coop as many people are suggesting (with good reasons) these issues pretty much go away. Rain will blow in but with good ventilation and if it drains instead of collects water you should stay dry enough. Don't let the feed or nests get wet.

- What roofing material should I use?

As others mentioned you can use a lot of different things. The critical thing here is that there is enough slope on it so water runs off instead of stands. Standing water can cause problems.

- Best door material?

You will want a human sized door that you can use comfortably, even if you are carrying things. That can be covered with wood, screen, metal, or plastic. For your chickens you probably want a smaller door. We call those pop doors, the usual size is around 12" x 12" or a little bigger. The smaller doors let less weather inside. That weather could be a cold wind, rain, or snow. Again the material could be about anything.

Should I have an automatic door to open for the chickens?

There is a lot of personal preference in this. Many people love their automatic doors for their own reasons. I like to lock my chickens up at night and let them out myself in the morning. That way I can check on them. I've found dead hens, a possum, and a few snakes in my coop that I would not have seen if I hadn't walked in. Mine is a walk-in, 8' x 12'. On one of those tiny elevated coops you are not going to walk in anyway so you aren't going to see much.

- Are poop boards a good idea?

Depends on how you manage the poop. Chickens poop constantly. During the day they are moving around so it doesn't build up very much. At night they are on the roost and not moving so the poop can build up. Some people turn their coops into compost piles, they can handle that poop as long as it gets mixed in. For a lot of people being able to remove that poop really extends how long they can wait to clean out the coop floor.

- Should I create a brooding area for new chicks?

Depends on what you would use it for and how you would use it. Do you have electricity in the coop? I have a brooder built into the coop, the top is my droppings board. My chicks go in there straight from the incubator or post office regardless of weather or the time of the year. For me, a brooding area is a must. I built this brooder so it could also be used as a broody buster or to house a chicken I want to isolate. I think having a dedicated area available to house a chicken in short notice is a good thing, whether it is used as a brooder or for something else.

- Best feeding and watering arrangements?

For their own reasons some people feed and/or water in the coop only, some in the run only, and some feed and/or water in both. As far as I'm concerned any of these can be right and none are wrong, it just depends on your circumstances. I have food and water in the coop and several feed and water stations outside. I practically always have immature birds in the flock, I find multiple feed and water stations helps with integration and keeps a more peaceful flock. Others do it differently.

- Should I sand materials?

I don't paint much and most of what I paint does not need sanding. However, paint will not stick to a razor edge. I often sand the sharp edges of wood so it is more rounded so the paint sticks there.

I don't generally sand any wood I'm building with except to remove splinters. If I am making a roost out of sawn lumber I typically round the sharp edges to remove splinters so they don't get in the chickens' feet. Things that I will be rubbing against a lot may get sanded, like the opening to a nest or a door frame.

- Height for roosts? How many roosts?

The way I determine vertical design in a coop is to first determine the height of the floor, including bedding. Then I position the nests. Some people put the nests at floor level, others up higher so they don't have to bend over to collect the eggs. People worry about this a lot more than the chickens do. Then I position the roosts noticeably higher than the nests. In a coop your size 12" higher should be enough. Chickens often like to sleep at the highest point available. If that is your nests then they probably won't use the roost. So figure out where your nests are before you position the roosts. I like the roosts as low as reasonable. The higher the roosts the more clear landing space they need when they fly down. At the same time, I don't want them too low. When I integrate the roosts give the juveniles a safe place to go to avoid the adults as long as they are high enough that the adults can't peck their feet. Also, taking the chickens from the roosts at night is a good way to catch them. Trying to catch them during the day when they can run away can be a pain and very tiring. I made mine 5' high, my full-sized chickens have no problems flying up or down.

How long of roost space? I've seen everything from 7" per chicken to 15" mentioned on his forum, usually taking no regard to whether they are those tiny Seramas or huge Jersey Giants. If they are all about the same age and integrated two 8' long roosts should handle them. If you are integrating it's not about roost length per bird but more can the more mature get to the juveniles and bully them. In that scenario I'd want them spaced out, horizontally separated by several feet.

- How many best boxes should I have?

The simple answer for 20 hens is at least five. And make those at least 12" x 12", a little bigger doesn't hurt but no smaller than 12" x 12". I made mine 16" x 16" and they work fine.

- Should I include cameras?

Again personal preference. I don't but it is a good way to see what is going on down there. I don't consider a camera a necessity but it is good entertainment and can be educational.