Almost finished coop

[ejducharme]

Here are pics of my almost finished chicken coop. The chicks are still too young for it, but I'm one of those mothers that has everything done months before the baby gets here. lol

This is the front. The entire front lifts for easy clean up. I wanted to have a pull out tray to clean up messes, but it wasn't in the plan. The front of the door will have a lip around it of 6 inches so the bedding doesn't fall out when I open the door.

This is the front door propped open. The peice of wood holding it is temporary until we figure out how we want it to be.

This is the inside of the coop head on. There are two nesting boxes in the back, two perches on the side and tons of walking around room. lol

This is the unpainted front. The door will be covered by a guillotine type door that is pulled by a rope to open it. Hope to have that done tomorrow.

This is the backside. One vent cut high up on the wall and covered with hardware cloth. The vent peices still have to be painted, but the vents, the egg door and the front are held in place by wooden twist blocks. Not sure if I explained them well. If you have questions, please feel free to ask.

We are going to caulk the inside of the coop so that the bedding doesn't sift out through the sides (I want to try sand as a bedding material. I heard it scoops up like cat litter). We have to put front supports on the nesting boxes, and finish painting, then covering the whole thing with hardware cloth. This is a tractor too, even though it's huge, it's very light. The wheels will come off when it's placed in position, and we have to install a rail on the other end for me to be able to lift it up since my armspan isn't enough to comfortably grab the handles. It will have plastic corrugated roofing on the top as well. Dimensions inside are 4x5x4. Four fee high and wide by 5 feet long. I hope it's enough, but we have a fenced in yard as well that my babies will have access to when the dogs aren't out, and the inside run of the tractor that is 4x9 for them when the dogs are out.

Any suggestions or improvements? I'm always looking for something new and improved in my designs.

Oh, btw.. that's my uncle in the pics.

He's such a dear, I designed and he built!

 

[CityChook]

cute - I like the red paint.
A window would be nice. It's gonna be mighty dark inside with only that vent for light.
And you might want to consider larger pieces for the roost. Chickens like to sit with their feet more flat. It's cold where I live so we use a 2x4 with the 4 inch side up so that they can nestle their toes into their feathers.
I'd remove the lower roost. Besides, with them so close together, if you end up with anybody on the lower one their gonna get poo'd on.

ETA: Also noticed that you should put a ledge along that front door on the inside, to keep your bedding (sand? it's gonna be heavy) inside when you open the door.

 

[gsim]

Neat work. I would do a gabled roof to get the heat from the roof deck away from the chooks. Then, I would do two large gable -end vents for year-round ventilation high up. Too late, but I would have done a bumpout for the nest boxes to max out the interior space. The roost will have to be higher than the nests are or the chooks will sleep and poop in the nests. That will put the chooks right up hard against a flat roof, so a gabled affair using "A" trusses would push the roof deck up away from them. Coop will be cooler in warm weather. Soffit type vents would be good too. You cannot get too much ventilation and you cannot build one too secure. Air quality and enough space is vital for poultry health, behavior, and egg production. Sand is not best for floor litter. Grass clippings work well and are free. Wood shavings and hay are good too, but usually have to be bought. Glue linoleum down on floor and caulk seams all around to prevent mites and such from having a breeding haven. Wrap with 2x4 welded wire and then add hardware cloth to the bottom 3 or 3 ft all around to prevent preds from reaching in to rip body parts off of your chooks. (read predators sections reports on this forum) Good thing to have a properlly built poop board for removing droppings daily. A biggie for being able to go for long periods before changing litter out. I can go a year with 23 chooks due to my poop board design.

 

[SuziQ991]

Aww your uncle deserves a big hug! What kind of chick do you have?

 

[1newchickontheblock]

Quote:
gsim.\\,
could you give some info on a "properly built poop board?" I am going to be building a coop for my soon-to-be flock, and am always on the lookout for good ideas/plans (and poop board was one of them!
Thanks!

 

[ejducharme]

I had planned on 7 chickens, but they will only be in the coop at night. We got 11 "packing peanuts" that I will be trying to rehome, so hopefully our number will stay with the 7, but who knows.

I didn't think about the linoluem, but will be traveling back out the homedepot to get that. Thanks for that suggestion.

As for using grass clippings, I didn't know I could use that. I live in Jacksonville, FL, and we're getting ready to be in our grass cutting season, so that would work well.

There are 2 3in by 36 inch vents on two of the walls, the hen's door and the top will be ventilated as well. The top of the coop will be covered with hardware cloth and the corrugated plastic will go over that, so I'm not worried about ventilation. At least not at the moment.

I did plan for the nesting boxes to go on the outside, but the builder (a.k.a. my uncle lol) said that with the supports needed to keep it stable enough for the chickens, it wouldn't be easy for him to do. Maybe with my next coop I'll get my outside nesting boxes

Thanks for the suggestions

Keep 'em coming lol

 

[gsim]

Quote:
Sounds like you are on top of it all. Is the roofing transparent or not? Transparent will make it hot in the coop. Dk green would be best for keeping interior heat lower in summertime.

 

[The Sheriff]

I like the coop and that uncle? He's a keeper for sure!