advice on chicken coop and run design

[Claire6]

I have seven young chickens that are currently in a 6 X 8 foot pen- wooden frame with chicken wire around and a roof. So I don't really have a wooden closed in coop with perches and next boxes, I just have a closed in run. I would like to build something that allows them to perch and has nest boxes for when they start to lay eggs. I have a lot of options and so I'm looking for some tips and advice. How big should the coop be? I have seen coop designs that have a run area like I have now and a boxed in area with nest boxes built in, so should a try to build that inside the coop I have? I also have a 7 X 7 foot chain link dog kennel with a roof that i was going to attach to my current coop so they have a nice area that is also fairly racoon-proof. Another idea is to put wood all around the 6 X 8 foot pen and make that the indoor coop, with perches, and that would be attatched to the dog kennel so they can have some room, but would the coop be warm enough in winter? The winters where I live are fairly mild usually the coldest it gets at night is around 30 degrees farhrenheit maybe 20 or 15 on a really cold night. Another idea is to attatch a wooden coop to the 6 X 8 pen. I hope this wasn't too confusing if it was I can possibly post pictures of my set-up. Thanks for reading and advice is much appreciated!

 

[Bullitt]

It is a good idea to have a coop that is both secure and allows the hens to be out of the wind. Can animals dig under your run or the dog kennel you are thinking about using? If so, you really need a secure coop that allows you to lock up the hens at night when no one is around and night predators are searching for food.

I would suggest building a secure coop attached to your run. You may want to use the dog kennel also, because you need more space.

The general rule of thumb is 4 square feet per chicken in the coop and 10 square feet per chicken in the run. That means you need at least 28 square feet in the coop for your 7 chickens. A coop 5 feet by 6 feet would be 30 square feet. You need a run that is 70 square feet. That would be 7 feet by 10 feet. Or 8 by 9 would be 72 square feet.

Something you should also think about is building the coop and run bigger than you need in case you add more chickens to your flock.

 

[Claire6]

Okay, I was thinking maybeI could put wire on the bottom of the 6 X 8 run and then put wood on the sides to turn it into the coop. Then i have already started building a bigger fenced in run for during the day, in addition to the dog kennel so they will have plenty of room. According to my calculations, if i do that the coop would be big enough for 12 chickens as well as the run, but I don't think we will have that many. Now I'm wondering about cleaning out the coop though, because wire on the bottom with hay or straw on top would be really difficult to clean out.... Also, the run has a shelf towards the top of the coop that the young chickens have been roosting on but as they get bigger will they still be able to fly up there? I think its about 5 or 6 feet up or so. We built a nest box and put it at the back of the coop. It's a community nest box so its 5 feet wide and eighteen inches deep with a slanted roof, seems like it should be enough room for 7 hens.

 

[perchie.girl]

from San Diego.

Pictures would be helpful. My coop is little more than dog kennel panels with no floor. It has a roof made of tarp and two solid walls for wind breaks. Plywood wired to the kennel panels. My climate is very temperate in the winter if you discount the wind. We get only about 72 hours of snow total in the winter with an annual rainfall of about 7 to 10 inches (this includes the snow). I like a coop you can walk in and do maintenance in but I have lots of room.

There are a couple of ways to put wire on the bottom none use the wire flat on the ground inside the coop, chickens like to scratch and dig. One way is to dig down and put wire down in the ground for digging critters straight down around the parimeter. I believe eighteen to twenty inches would be good. But that would be around the coop area where they would be sleeping at night. The other way is to do an apron around the outside flat on the ground attached to the base of the coop. Then you can cover it with gravel or stepping stones or mulch.... The apron will protect from dogs digging under. If you could build a deck floor then do the coop on top that would protect your chickens in side the coop.

What you can do and what I do for perches is put in a couple of saw horses and lay a two by four on top. This allows you to move it out of the way for cleaning.

I am in the process of building out my kennel panels to make breed pens so my structures and perches and nest boxes are all temporary for the time being. Its letting me revise my plans as I go.

deb

 

[Claire6]

Thanks for the ideas on keeping digging predators out, I think putting a wire apron around will be easiest. I think I will leave one side of the coop without wood for ventilation. The perch idea is also good. It is already a walk in coop so I definitely want to keep it accessable and easy to clean. I will see if i can post pictures.