Any suggested Coop Design/Size for 40 Chickens?

[DENALI]

Not going to start with 40 but I want to be able to expand to 40 if needed/the bug bites me extra hard. Most of the coops i seen in the coop section i think would be to small so looking for ideas. Thanks

 

[thechickman04]

i know that the rule of thumb is four square feet per chicken

 

[DENALI]

Quote:
Yep i knew that part of it. Just hoping someone will save me a bottle of Tylenol by trying to come up with a coop plan on my own

I am torn between the "banging something together quick" to get the wife and kids past the "We want it now daddy" stage or throwing water on them and taking a little more time to plan it out.

 

[Brian]

Hi Denali.

I'd encourage you to plan it right and build it right. Why? Because you are going to love having chickens, and you'll really love going out there and admiring your good handiwork if you take my approach.

The first question I'd have for you is Winter: how bad are yours. If they are bitter cold, then you can push that 1hen = 4 sq ft rule, up to 1 hen=10sq ft. That way they have room to mull about during periods of rain and snow.

Next, why not build a rectangular building that is a dividable by 4ft. That way, you have less waste and cutting. Let's just say you build a 200 sq ft bldg, for example: consider this: how about a 12x16' bldg. That's 192 sq ft, and close enough to 200. This way, you'll have little waste. If you use plywood construction, your one dimension will be 3 sheet wide, and the other will be 4 wide.

Keep in mind it's handy to have an indoor storage area where you'll keep the feed. You'll also have a roost area. With good size coops/flocks, there will be a fair amount of poop generated. If you plan it right, you can have an exterior door that opens to underneath the roosting area. One strategy is to put some chicken wire right under the roost boards, and around the base (to keep hens out), and then just have a board below (like some scrap plywood). Or, vinyl. Once you have enough poop, just sort of shovel it off and store it elsewhere. This can be used months later for excellent fertilizer, and you'll never have to buy any again.

Good luck.

Brian

 

[Chirpy]

I totally agree that you need to throw the water on your wife and kids and take your time to do it right. You won't regret that later and you might regret it if you just throw something together to get it done.

Having said that: I'm the wife and I wanted chicks now! So, my sweet hubby told me to go get the chicks and he then started to build the hen house/run. You can easily get by having new chicks growing in the house for over a month so that means that they get the chicks sooner and it still gives you time to build something well.

Having said that: "Life" happened to us and my hubby couldn't finish our hen house in even two months so we ended up having 12 week old chickens still living in our living room!!!!!!

That was not a good thing and we had to mvoe them to the basement for their last two weeks in the house. We ended having to move them out to the not totally finished hen house because they were just too large and active to be in a big furniture box anymore.

So - continue to plan and research and be prepared to build quickly!

Have fun.