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!

 

[3KillerBs]

Hello and welcome.

You're wise to be suspicious of the prefab coops. They're almost all flimsy and undersized. Rule of thumb -- if it looks like a dollhouse it's only suited for toy chickens.

In the city your main predators will be stray dogs, raccoons, potentially coyotes, rats, and potentially humans. Your plans look good for that purpose.

Since each adult hen needs,

4 square feet in the coop,
10 square feet in the run,
1 linear foot of roost,
~1/4 of a nest box
and 1 square foot of ventilation (ideally located above the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost), for 6 you will need,

24 square feet in the coop -- 6x4
60 square feet in the run -- 6x10 or 8x8 (more practical given that building materials are sold in multiples of 4 feet).
6 linear feet of roost,
2 nest boxes,
and 6 square feet of ventilation.

Since you're restricted on time and building from scratch always takes longer than you think it will, would a small shed to convert and a dog kennel for the run suit you?

I'd suggest a hoop coop for ease and speed of construction, but they're not always welcome aesthetically in an urban area.

You're in a moderate climate with hot summers and cold winters but not truly extreme either direction, right?

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[21hens-incharge]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

Check out the coops in the link above. I am sure you will find a lot of valuable information whether you decide to build or buy.

Numerous members have included step by step pictures and instructions.

 

[Krugerrand]

My first recommendation is to read all about the Yakisugi Coop :
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/

This coop write up spells out exactly why every choice was made and will help you decide what you want to do from a big picture perspective as well as for the little details. The result is a beautiful coop.

I am part way into building something like this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/attachments/small-flock-chicken-coop-jpg.2567079/

Both of these will likely be too small for you, but I personally like the Lean-To style.

From a cost/simplicity standpoint, I don't think you can beat a hoop style run. Blooie's Motel Chix is one of the best examples ... but there are lots of them around.

 

[FARMminiature]

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!

I recommend looking on Facebook groups to see if anyone has a used Coop for sale near you. A lot of the cheaper coops sold online are expensive for being cheaply made and won’t last long. If you know that you want to have chickens for the long term, I would build or pay someone to build you a coop. Pinterest would be a good start for finding building plans. If you are the creative type, garage sales might have useful items (large playhouses) that you can turn into a coop.

 

[Sally PB]

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.

My nest boxes are interior and 18" off the floor. The birds can walk under them, so it doesn't take up floor space. This has worked very well for me. I have exterior doors to access them for egg removal, and I didn't have a single frozen egg last winter. (That may not be much of a concern for you.)

 

[snyper82]

You're in a moderate climate with hot summers and cold winters but not truly extreme either direction, right?

Right, we had our first freeze in a couple of years this year (teens, and a few single digits) and our summers top out around 105, but those are peaks, avg... I'd say 20-90 degrees F

 

[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.