meglynnie
Songster
Good morning flock,
I need to get a coop plan and start construction ASAP. My chicks are about 2 weeks old and I know they grow fast.
I have been going back and forth between buying a pre fab coop, buying custom coop, or building our own coop.
With buying a pre fab coop I like the idea of the convenience, just buy it and set it up. However I notice most of them are small even with the recommended bird capacity. And most of the reviews indicate they are cheaply made.
I love the custom chicken coops, they are typically made by chicken owners that know what they are doing, and look to be great quality, but they are a bit expensive and out of my budget right now.
Building our own coop will be a learning experience and we have to do research on want to do, but it should be rather cost effective.
I think all in all we are going to go with building our own. We have lots of wood pallets and old sturdy lumbar we can use at home. At this point I'm going to list basic points that are needed in the coop and let the hubby go to town, he likes feeling 'needed' and enjoys a challenge.
The key points I have are
- Walk in
- Atleast 40sq ft (10 chicks RIRs) so I'm thinking 05x08 rectangle
- 3 nesting boxes as I read it suggests 3-4 hens per nesting box
- Nesting boxes should be 18'' off ground and 12"x12"
- Roosting bars should be a little higher from nesting boxes
- A good amount of ventilation - of course covered with 1/2" hardware cloth
We will also be building a 10'x10' run out of t-posts and 1/2" hardware cloth, chickens will also occasionally have free range depending on how comfortable I feel.
Is this a good basic list to give to hubby to get going? Is there anything else I should add?
Thank you!
I need to get a coop plan and start construction ASAP. My chicks are about 2 weeks old and I know they grow fast.
I have been going back and forth between buying a pre fab coop, buying custom coop, or building our own coop.
With buying a pre fab coop I like the idea of the convenience, just buy it and set it up. However I notice most of them are small even with the recommended bird capacity. And most of the reviews indicate they are cheaply made.
I love the custom chicken coops, they are typically made by chicken owners that know what they are doing, and look to be great quality, but they are a bit expensive and out of my budget right now.
Building our own coop will be a learning experience and we have to do research on want to do, but it should be rather cost effective.
I think all in all we are going to go with building our own. We have lots of wood pallets and old sturdy lumbar we can use at home. At this point I'm going to list basic points that are needed in the coop and let the hubby go to town, he likes feeling 'needed' and enjoys a challenge.
The key points I have are
- Walk in
- Atleast 40sq ft (10 chicks RIRs) so I'm thinking 05x08 rectangle
- 3 nesting boxes as I read it suggests 3-4 hens per nesting box
- Nesting boxes should be 18'' off ground and 12"x12"
- Roosting bars should be a little higher from nesting boxes
- A good amount of ventilation - of course covered with 1/2" hardware cloth
We will also be building a 10'x10' run out of t-posts and 1/2" hardware cloth, chickens will also occasionally have free range depending on how comfortable I feel.
Is this a good basic list to give to hubby to get going? Is there anything else I should add?
Thank you!
