Beginner Coop Designs?

[snyper82]

Hello all!

I'm sure this has been asked a TON of times, but searching hasn't helped me

We will, hopefully, have some chicks at the end of April and I'm trying to figure the whole coop thing, buying vs building. It seems like buying one it hit or miss or just really expensive ($1200+). I have 7 eggs in the incubator, started on Sunday (4/11/21) of this week. I don't know how many chickens I'll get, I don't know the exact breeds cause they are Heinz 57 from my uncle (Plymouth Rock, Leghorn, and Ameraucana). Anyways, I have time, right? like 7-9 weeks from now...
I have a limit here of 6 chickens so if they all hatch (doubtful) then one will have to... well, you know, become a dinner guest.

I don't have a ton of money to put into this right now, so I plan to upgrade whatever I have in the future.

So I want a coop for 7, that gives my 6 room in my mind.

• I would like to have external egg boxes but if we have to go inside to get eggs, it's no big deal.
• I eventually want to do deep bedding inside and deep litter in the run if not right away.
• I have a spot planned for the chickens and being in the city I don't have a huge amount of predators to contend with, I will still have buried fencing around the whole mess and plan to partially cover the run for protection from rain/snow with 1/2" mesh covering the rest (all around) as I'd like to leave the door of the coop open 24/7.
• At first I wanted a raised coop, but for 6 (7) I think that would be a pain to clean based on what I've been reading on here, so a "walk-in" style is fine (walk-in meaning it's on the ground and tall enough to bend over to get into if needed)
• feeding and watering would just hang from the ceiling to keep them from fouling it (until I can build some sort of "cool" system for feed/water

I don't know what I've missed or messed up, but I also don't know where to begin. I've tried designing my own plans at they seem overkill or now enough depending on what I make.

SOoooo....
What would you suggest a beginner to do, someone just starting out with a few weeks before anything is needed?

Help me CYB you're my only hope!

 

[21hens-incharge]

How much construction experience do you have?

Tools?

I am pro build.
The prefabs are overpriced and 99% are poorly designed using cheap thin materials.

 

[junior67]

if you are building check local facebook pages for wood, shingles or anything you may need. I found a guy that had 17 bundles of shingles that he was selling for $50. WAY more shingles than I need but they sell for $33 a bundle so I couldn't pass them up and will just pass on what we don't use (we will have an 8x16 roof to shingle). So we were getting those and I mentioned that we were building a chicken coop. Well he had some plywood that had been sitting for a bit and some rot at the bottoms but hey we can cut that off and still use the rest, he also had a ton of other wood that was in great shape and will work great that was all free!!!!!! of course I had already ordered the majority of my wood before all that came up but we still needed some more so will be able to use a lot of what we got for free. All in all I am guessing I saved around $1000 on the shingles and free wood that I got!

 

[snyper82]

I drew up a preliminary design based off of the monitor roof (really just a copy of it but sized to suit my needs). I think it's overkill, or it looks overkill...
And you are right, lumber prices are dumb, I'll send out a ask for scrap lumber when I have the money in hand.

I crave your thoughts and ideas

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'll try to help. Keep in mind that the chicks (if the hatch is successful) will be here Sunday, May 2. They grow fast and depending on your brooder setup and size, they may be ready to go out by the end of May.
In KY, it will be plenty warm by then.
I recommend building rather than buying. You'll get more bang for the buck. If you buy, you'll have to be repairing or building anew before long. Manufactured coops never hold the number of birds advertised.
Often one can find building materials cheap or free on Craigslist.
If you have a big box store like Lowe's or Home Depot, they usually have cull lumber half price. Cull lumber is good enough for a chicken coop.
Often manufactured coops that claim to hold 6 birds (but in reality only hold 2 or 3) will have 4-6 next boxes. That is a waste of material/labor better known as money.
6 birds will only use one or two boxes but to make yourself feel better, you could install 3.
The advantage of external boxes is that they don't eat up floor space in the coop.
You still don't have to go inside the coop with internal boxes. You can just install an access door. I use both internal and external boxes. The only problem with external boxes is they are a little more complicated to build and still make them waterproof.

I have a walk-in building that is elevated. I just have steps going up to the man door.

Arrange it so the chickens can come in their pop door and have a straight shot to the nests so they don't have to walk under the roost to lay eggs. Then they won't track feces into the nests.
Building nests a few to 18 inches off the floor will keep the floor bedding out of the nests. Building the roosts significantly higher than the nests will prevent the chickens from sleeping in the nests.
Put a board across both the man door and pop door sill to keep bedding from falling out when you open the door.

 

[snyper82]

How much construction experience do you have?

Tools?

I am pro build.
The prefabs are overpriced and 99% are poorly designed using cheap thin materials.

I'm not a pro but I do some woodworking for fun. The biggest thing I've built from scratch was a picnic table, from box was a playset.
I have many types of saws, drills, drivers, sanders, levels, squares, etc.

 

[snyper82]

Started the coop this weekend...

4x8, raised, extra run space underneath, it'll have 4ft high walls and a lean-to style roof. I like the idea of being able to push my wheelbarrow up to it for clean-out.
We had some wood given and sold to us from other people that helped with the cost. I haven't got the roof figured out but the rest it's pretty straight-forward.
I couldn't get black jack 57, but I got a rubberized foundation sealant from menards, I plan to use that for the floor and a little ways up the walls. You can see the rubber stuff on the 4x4s in the pic.

You guys are awesome for all the help and suggestions!
Best site ever for chicken gurus!

 

[snyper82]

a Little update on my coop, I'm not a pro, so it's a little wonky and the run wasn't well thought out :/ but I like it so far!
Oh, and we dumped the pine shavings from the brooder in there before we realized they are a bad idea (wanting to do deep litter out and deep bedding in)
I'll have some interior pics soon
(chicken math hit us early, our 7 eggs, went down to 6, 3 hatched and one of those hat to be euthanized, then we went to rural king... well.. we have 9 chickens now! LOL)

 

[MissE]

Lowes and Home Depot have shed kits that have all the materials cut to size. There is a huge selection. I am seriously considering this one:

Heartland 12-ft x 8-ft Rockport Gable Engineered Storage Shed in the Wood Storage Sheds department at Lowes.com
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Heartland-12-ft-x-8-ft-Rockport-Gable-Engineered-Storage-Shed/5001785359

It would be overkill for what you need, but there are smaller sizes and adding windows and ventilation would not be difficult. Heck, just replacing the soffit and fascia boards with hardware cloth might be enough for just a few birds, though to help with summertime heat, I would add large vents to the gable ends.

In your climate you may even get away with more of an open air coop so long as you can block drafts in the winter. Cold doesn't bother chicks so long as they are dry and not exposed to drafts. Lack of ventilation is more dangerous.

 

[Krugerrand]

It's tiny.....
....and the models are near worthless without dimensions. IMO.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned that the @Yakisugi Coop was too small for the OP needs.

However, it references a great discussion on ventilation. It points to other coops for ventilation inspiration and discusses the importance of roost height relative to ventilation.

It references the roost size/shape they chose and why they chose it.

They discuss securing the run and what went into their decision to leave the pop door open at all times.

The page references other sites about non-toxic staining options.

They reference sites about roof pitch along with construction tips. In fact, as the entire construction process is detailed - so regardless of the size somebody is building, they can reference the steps involved.

The thought process is outlined for protecting the coop floor.

The PVC feeder pictures are better than some BYC articles of seen on them.

The nesting box discussion is as thorough as some of the others, but it highlights some important considerations.

SO ... yes, the coop is too small for the OP needs ... at the same time, for somebody investigating "Beginner Coop Needs" the Yakisugi Coop page goes over in great detail almost any consideration somebody should think about as they decide what they want to build for a coop.

Considering the OP's original interest in an elevated coop ... a stretched lean-to version of about 3.5x8 could accommodate 6-7 chickens and still be fairly manageable to clean with some good access doors.

And the Yakisugi Coop is probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing coops I've ever seen. So, of course, I wouldn't blame somebody for building something bigger copying some of the same materials/techniques.

That's is why I suggesting the article as a good starting point.