Any input on this coop?

[Appalachickens]

if you wanted a coop for 10 chickens you need 40 square feet

so for example, a 20x20 coop would be bare minimum for 10 chickens

Wouldn't a 20x20 coop be 400 square feet?

 

[3KillerBs]

Hi there,

You all were so helpful when I posted a possible coop picture, that I thought I'd do it again. Due to your advice, I'm now aiming for between 30-40 sq ft for 6-10 hens (probably starting with 8 this spring).

A local builder has some pre-made coops for sale that look pretty good to me. This is a link to the larger version, but I'd be getting a 5x7 for $850 that is the same design - picture of the 5x7 attached. He said there is ventilation under the roof eaves. It looks well built. I would add a run around it.

Do you have any suggestion for questions I should ask him?

Thank you!
Sonia

5x7 = 32
32/4 = 8.75

So good for 8 chickens, but not for 10 -- IF those dimensions are for the coop itself and don't include the nest boxes.

But I strongly doubt that the eves and roof vent add up to 8 square feet of 24/7/365 ventilation.

How tall do you think it needs to be to ensure enough height for the roosting bar to be in the right place? I believe it's 7'4" from ground to roof, which seems pretty tall to me.

Thank you!

The photo does not look like a walk-in coop. Are there interior shots available?

IIRC, I linked you my Little Monitor Coop in your previous thread (it's in my profile as my coop page if I didn't). I included measurements showing the depth of base necessary for a Deep Litter manure management system and how the 4-foot tall structure had the minimum clearances to have the nests above the bedding, the roost above the nests, and the ventilation above the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

I wouldn't buy a coop I couldn't see physically and put a tape measure on personally.

Whenever I see a coop built with more nests than the chickens it would hold need, I know the builder knows nothing about chickens

It's the 5x7 size that makes me suspicious of the builder.

Any experienced builder knows that lumber, siding, etc. come in sizes divisible by 4 and designs his projects to minimize cuts by using those standard sizes.

4x8 is an efficient means of achieving 32 square feet but 5x7 is not. 6x8 is reasonable because one cut would divide a 12-foot board in half. 5x7 means that every single board and piece of siding has to be cut -- leaving lots of pieces of useless scrap so that the materials bill would be as high as it would be for a larger structure while greatly increasing the man-hours involved.

Those factors would make the coop more expensive than it ought to be for it's size.

 

[chickentrains]

Wouldn't a 20x20 coop be 400 square feet?

oops, yes.

 

[FeatheredRaptor]

Thanks for all your input. He told me the roof was vented but I don't know how much. I'll ask him how much sq footage of ventilation there is

I'm unclear why you all think it's too small - the 5x7 one is 35 square feet and if we had 6 or 8 hens, at 4 sq foot per bird, that's 32 sq ft max, right?

How tall do you think it needs to be to ensure enough height for the roosting bar to be in the right place? I believe it's 7'4" from ground to roof, which seems pretty tall to me.

Thank you!

I think you’re correct on the square footage, nesting boxes are overkill but not harmful. My main concern would be the ventilation set up. You would need 8sqft of ventilation for the 5x7 coop. The windows would be closed during the winter so that sqft doesn’t count. Good news is that if that coop is 7ft tall like you said, then you have room to fix the ventilation. You could cut openings for ventilation and cover with hardware cloth. The run should have 8-10sqft for each bird.

you may be able to get the guy to address that concern for you before he builds it. It would probably cost him less in materials

 

[chickentrains]

20 times 20 is 400. 10 birds don't need 400 square feet in there coop. 20 plus 20 is 40, but to get area its different. for 40 square feet you need a 10x4 or 5x8 foot coop.

If you read above, I realized my mistake already.

 

[Weeg]

If you read above, I realized my mistake already.

Yes, I read that and deleted the post. Sorry for correcting you twice!

 

[chickentrains]

Yes, I read that and deleted the post. Sorry for correcting you twice!

all good, I fixed my post. I forgot how to math

 

[Percheron chick]

But think if all the options you can have if you go that big.

 

[chickentrains]

But think if all the options you can have if you go that big.

so.many.chickens.

 

[Weeg]

But think if all the options you can have if you go that big.

You could fit 100 chickens in there! That would be so cool!