Any advice for building a new coop???

[princetonpeeps]

Hey guys! We're about half way done building our new 8X8 coop. Were wondering if anyone has some cool ideas for things to add inside, or out???

Rather do it now, before the ladies take residency!

-Josh and Danielle

 

[Bullitt]

What do you have planned? Do you have a picture?

I would suggest nesting boxes and roosting pole, but that might not be what you mean by cool stuff.

Where you live you might want some sort of heat for when the temperature gets down in the single digits. You might want to make sure their water doesn't freeze also.

 

[afveteran88]

I put a thermometer in my coop and look at it everyday.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I put in solar powered LED lights. You don't need a ton of light, just enough that your chicks have a light inside to move to when it gets dark outside. Check my BYC page for pics.

 

[princetonpeeps]

What do you have planned? Do you have a picture?

I would suggest nesting boxes and roosting pole, but that might not be what you mean by cool stuff.

Where you live you might want some sort of heat for when the temperature gets down in the single digits. You might want to make sure their water doesn't freeze also.

Not sure what a roosting pole is??? We'll have to post some pics tomorrow... We're in mn, an have a heat lamp for our other coop that we probably would move to the new one.

Anyone have an insulation preference? Styrofoam or fiberglass.. etc???

We've also got a remote sensor for our indoor thermometer... Yea, super chicken nerds!

 

[dkatz99]

i have 15 hens and a rooster and they live in a 6x6 coop divided into a 6x4 roosting area and 2x4 nesting area. there is a door to the roosting area and a double door/swing doors to the nesting area.
i bought wire cubes ( i think they are 14"x14" ), connected 4 of them, covered them with an old blanket cut to fit (also, covered internal walls to separate the nests) and put some straw inside. they love it. i put burlap pieces in front sides, so they can see thru it, but it gives them some privacy and protection.

i also built a removable floor. it is like a drawer, only the side panels and rear panel are attached to the coop legs. (my coop sits on four legs (4"x4") about 3 feet above ground. so, the floor slides on side 2x4 attaced to the legs. it is made of cedar planks with a space between them. i cover it with straw, so if some of them dont get to the nest early in the morning and decide to just pop the egg, it will not break. it happened twice so far. every two or three weeks i just pull out the floor and push straw and their poop on the ground underneath. then i put new straw and close the drawer/floor. it works like a charm. it takes me five minutes to clean the coop.
i also throw all my composting material under the coop on the straw/poop pile. they scratch thru it and it is composting very well. i am almost ready to take it out to my garden.
i also cook hot breakfast for them every evening. just put all kitchen scraps they eat, add some cracked corn, cook it for an hour in the evening while making dinners for us and in the morning, i just heat it up and they are LOVE it.
they also have their layer food as much as they want and as a special treat, a cup or two of whole corn in the morning. then, they spend the rest of day grazing, picking some bugs, worms, insects,...

they are in the coop only to sleep and lay eggs. they have a HUGE yard - back and front. now they are all over it, but in a couple of months when i start my garden again, they will be in the back yard only - at leas untill the vegis grow big enough to survive some picking.

they are very happy bunch - they went thru molting and never stopped laying. i had 6-8 eggs a day thru that period and now it is up to 13 a day. peop[e say they want to be chickens in my yard.
the better you treat them, the better they will treat you and thank you with plenty of fresh eggs. plus, they keep yard clean, they are organic pest control and they make the best compost/manure in the world.
what is not to love?

 

[princetonpeeps]

i have 15 hens and a rooster and they live in a 6x6 coop divided into a 6x4 roosting area and 2x4 nesting area. there is a door to the roosting area and a double door/swing doors to the nesting area.
i bought wire cubes ( i think they are 14"x14" ), connected 4 of them, covered them with an old blanket cut to fit (also, covered internal walls to separate the nests) and put some straw inside. they love it. i put burlap pieces in front sides, so they can see thru it, but it gives them some privacy and protection.

i also built a removable floor. it is like a drawer, only the side panels and rear panel are attached to the coop legs. (my coop sits on four legs (4"x4") about 3 feet above ground. so, the floor slides on side 2x4 attaced to the legs. it is made of cedar planks with a space between them. i cover it with straw, so if some of them dont get to the nest early in the morning and decide to just pop the egg, it will not break. it happened twice so far. every two or three weeks i just pull out the floor and push straw and their poop on the ground underneath. then i put new straw and close the drawer/floor. it works like a charm. it takes me five minutes to clean the coop.
i also throw all my composting material under the coop on the straw/poop pile. they scratch thru it and it is composting very well. i am almost ready to take it out to my garden.
i also cook hot breakfast for them every evening. just put all kitchen scraps they eat, add some cracked corn, cook it for an hour in the evening while making dinners for us and in the morning, i just heat it up and they are LOVE it.
they also have their layer food as much as they want and as a special treat, a cup or two of whole corn in the morning. then, they spend the rest of day grazing, picking some bugs, worms, insects,...

they are in the coop only to sleep and lay eggs. they have a HUGE yard - back and front. now they are all over it, but in a couple of months when i start my garden again, they will be in the back yard only - at leas untill the vegis grow big enough to survive some picking.

they are very happy bunch - they went thru molting and never stopped laying. i had 6-8 eggs a day thru that period and now it is up to 13 a day. peop[e say they want to be chickens in my yard.
the better you treat them, the better they will treat you and thank you with plenty of fresh eggs. plus, they keep yard clean, they are organic pest control and they make the best compost/manure in the world.
what is not to love?

Well said!

 

[Bullitt]

Not sure what a roosting pole is???

A roosting pole is just something for the chickens to roost on. You might need more than one depending on how many chickens you have.

It is just a roosting area for the chickens to get on at night when they roost. Chickens like to be off the ground at night, since when they were wild they would roost in trees to avoid predators.

I am guessing you just call it a chicken roost.

Go with whatever insulation is cheapest. As long as the chickens can't get to it and try to eat it, it should be fine.