Any Mobile Stagecoach coop owners?

[writermom]

I ordered the kit for the 4x8 mobile stagecoach and am about to start construction on it today. I have concerns about the hen house part of the coop though. Unless I'm missing something, it appears that every time I open the hen house to let the hens out, all of the substrate I use will get dumped on the ground. So, am I missing something? How does it work for you stagecoach owners out there?

In case you're not a stagecoach owner and would like to offer advice:
Here's an image of the hen house when open - http://webhosting.web.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=560&linkpath=http://www.chickenmobilestagecoach.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/100_2169.jpg.w560h420.jpg&target=_self

And here's an image of the coop from the outside, with the hen house open - http://webhosting.web.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=560&linkpath=http://www.chickenmobilestagecoach.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/100_1381.jpg&target=_self

I definitely want to use substrate since I don't want the hens just pooping on plywood all night. It would stink to high heaven in there.

It would make more sense if the hens could exit out the front of the hen house and have a tray at the bottom of the house, but there is no way for a tray to exit out the back of the house since that's where the nest boxes are. I'm thinking about altering the plans and trying to put a door at the front of the hen house, and have a tray that slides out the side, but I'm not sure how I can make that work given all the wire and galvanized sheet metal on the sides of the coop.

 

[bad_coffee]

I'd cut a door in the front, facing the run. Just add the door, and leave the 'original' one for clean out. I would turn it around so you can dump it out the back though.

If you're looking at making a poop tray, you could make the nest boxes swing out, then you could pull the tray out the nest box hole.

B

 

[Cream City Chick]

How is your Stagecoach coming along? I am finishing up mine this weekend (hopefully)!!

Now that you are using your stagecoach - do you have any suggestions for improvement on the design - we might still be able to incorporate any handy ideas.

What did you do about the bedding below the roost situation??

Thanks for any input!!

 

[writermom]

I completely changed the hen house portion of the coop, more than doubling the size of the house, which added a couple hundred pounds to the coop. Since I drilled the holes for the wheels prior to planning the hen house changes, the wheels are not very functional. If I had known how much weight was going to be added to that end of the coop, I would have moved the wheels further back. The wheels gave me enough mobility to move the coop out of my garage and into my backyard, but it was really pushing the limits to do that. Now that it's in the backyard, it's a stationary coop.

Now that I've been using it for awhile, I wish I had gone bigger - bigger run, bigger hen house. I'd also like to add more ventilation. I have four chickens, but only one lives in it so far. I imagine once I add the others, my stagecoach coop will seem way too small for my standards. I wanted a coop I could get inside of and clean comfortably. While I can get in the run of this one, I'm crouched over the entire time (and I'm really short) and have a hard time maneuvering my little cleaning rake and pan.

I'll make do with this one for awhile, but I'm certain I'll be upgrading to a larger, permanent structure. I do love the look of my coop, though.

This is a photo I took before the side of the house was added. Adjustments I made once the coop was in use - I removed the lower ladder, and made a better upper ladder.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but there's a large window at the top, right in front of the highest perch. I love having that window. As for the overall size of this chicken coop, I'm 5'2", so that should give you a good idea.

That vent at the top of the coop and the venting allowed around the edges of the access doors isn't nearly enough. This house needs more air flow.

You can see an eyelet screw where I was going to hang the feeder, but when I hung anything in the middle of the run, it made the area much too small. I ended up putting a waterer in the corner of the run, and I have food and water inside the hen house, under the shelf that holds the nest boxes.

I also love the access door to the nest boxes.

 

[write2caroline]

What a nice coop! Great job!
Caroline

 

[Cream City Chick]

Thank you so much for the very thorough reply!! I love the pictures!! You have been quite busy with your modifications. Yes, now that I am in the process of actually making the coop it does seem quite small.
I will post some pics when ours is done.

Thanks again,

Jodi

 

[Duke of Orpington]

writermom,

To revive an older thread, I have the plans for the 4' x 10' Mobile Stagecoach but have never begun construction. I have delayed because I also think the enclosed portion is just not large enough as it is drawn and have been mulling over in my mind an 'enlarged' cabin similar to the one you have built. The fact that the roosts and the nest box are at the same level in the original concerned me because it seemed like the chicks might just roost in the nest boxes. And the door for cleanout is inside the run which seems unhandy. Now that I've seen yours I'm also considering a taller chick house with straight sides to better manage things. Do you have any other suggestions after using yours for a while now? Thanks.

Ron

 

[writermom]

Quote:
I'm definitely glad that I modified the original plans. I just don't think I would have liked the coop at all if I had stuck to the plans.

My woulda coulda shoulda list for my altered coop:

- I wish I had put higher "stops" at the bottom of the door to the hen house so that I could pile the pine shavings deeper. I think the stops I have in there now are only about four inches above floor level. I'd like them to be at least a few inches taller.

- I'd like to have the nest boxes attached to the outside of the house instead of taking up valuable indoor space. It seems the space inside is just too tight. There is plenty of room, but the chickens prefer to roost on the perch that happens to be right above the ladder, so I end up with a lot of poop on the ladder. That particular perch can't be moved since it is the one that's actually a support structure. Getting perching where I wanted it was pretty challenging given the amount of space and the fact that I didn't want any perching above the nest boxes (for obvious reasons). If the nest boxes were hung on the outside of the house, many of my perching issues could be easily resolved.

- I bought some vinyl floor covering that I'm going to put on the plywood floor to make cleanup a bit easier.

- Definitely move the wheels back a bit to accommodate the extra weight if you want your coop to be mobile.


It's hard to get a photo of the inside of the house now that the walls are in place, but here are some photos I took after I changed the ladder set-up in there:

 

[Duke of Orpington]

Thanks for such a quick reply and all your suggestions for alterations. I also want to put the nest box on the outside of one side. The I want my roosts to be on the opposite side. Then put my door in between the two to keep the hens from tracking through their nightly droppings so much. I think I already have enough vinyl to do the floor when I build mine. And thanks for the suggestion to move the wheels. I won't install them til I'm done; at that point I'll put a piece of PVC pipe under the thing and roll the whole unit over it until I find the 'center' and that is where I will put my wheels. I like having that huge door that gives you access for cleaning/maintenance. I've even considered using like a 24" x 24" plastic pan under the roosts to catch more of the droppings.

 

[Cargo]

I built my own from scratch and use the top half as the coop with just a couple nesting boxes at one end.

More pics and details on my BYC page.