Beginner Coop / Run Ideas Please!

[ciananh33]

Hello all! I'm a beginner chicken 'raiser'(?), 'Dad' (?), IDK... I have 5 new ladies added to the family. I'm reaching out to the community to get some thoughts on coop ideas, is my set up good, and if I'm doing everything right. I've provided a few pictures to get some feedback on if what I've got is suitable or not.

The dimensions are about 11' by 10'~ish'. The upper coop area is about 4' by 10'~ish.

Here it is with my girls running about.

Inside area with roost.

First day at home!




Okay on to business. If you don't mind reading a few beginner questions of mine I'll annotate them below.

1. I've seen a lot online on YouTube and other forums that people use a "deep liter" method for either their run and coop, or both. I'm interested in your thoughts. Should I put bedding in the run? Over the first 2-3 days the girls have been at their new home the grass / run portion of their home is getting rather mucked up and filthy with their droppings. I'm nervous they're eventually going to start eating contaminated grass, bugs, etc. Should I rake out their run every once in a while or should I start putting pine shavings all over to kind of coat the ground and their droppings? We have a hanging feeder and water source so these are clean resources for food and water for them.

2. Roosting. I've noticed my girls don't roost on their perch that I've created. They migrate to a corner of their resting area and ball up on each other sleeping in a pile. Is this normal behavior? The second night I set a girl up there to kind of 'lead the way', if you will, to show the others this is their roosting spot. I think she alone roosted during the night--I saw droppings on the shelf rack, that holds the roost bar, the following morning--but I don't think the others caught on. Will they eventually roost by themselves? Is my 'roost area' to constrained or too close to the roof?

3. The Roof. I think I had good intentions to do a clear roof for the girls thinking it would help them 'awake' in the mornings but I'm starting to think otherwise. I image they want complete darkness during the night in order to sleep and I believe the additional sunlight in the day makes that area a little too warm. I think I'm going to cover the top with a tarp to give them some more shade. What are your thoughts?

If I have any more questions I'll update this thread. Thanks for any help and this is a very exciting new addition to my family's life. We've already had 3-4 eggs and it's only been a few days since we've introduced these girls into our lives!

Cya!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I know you will get a lot of feedback.

I don't do deep bedding in the coops. I can't handle poop building up.
Deep litter in the run is nice as it does compost in the run as the birds stir it all the time.

For the coop I see a couple things that could use adjustment.
The clear roof is not only going to allow it to get hot in there it's flat.
I suggest adding onto the side walls so the roof can slope for rain to run off and to create more head room in there.

I would suggest switching to a stronger material as well. That pal roof is not as strong as one would hope.


Your hatches/big doors need framing before they warp.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC!

Where, in general, are you located? Climate matters a lot, especially when designing your housing. For example, I'm in central NC and if I had a clear roof I'd have roast chicken in no time flat.

You've done a good job in giving your ladies plenty of space rather than buying one of those tiny pre-fabs, but two things stand out to me.

First, ventilation. Your chicken coop needs at least 1 square foot of ventilation per adult, standard-sized hen. You've done well in putting your vent holes up high because the best ventilation is at the top -- heat and ammonia both rise. However, those little circles won't allow enough airflow when the doors are closed for the night.

In re: @21hens-incharge's suggestion about adding a slope to the roof, you could make the upper side a clerestory and leave soffit vents on the low end to allow air to flow across under the roof.

Second, you have chicken wire on the run instead of hardware cloth or other sturdy wire. Chicken wire is good for keeping chickens in, but it is useless against strong predators like raccoons, dogs, coyotes, etc.

That's another place where your location matters since predator load and type varies.

BTW, if those posts for your run are locust I am JEALOUS! Where I grew up we had a lot of locust and my dad built everything with locust posts. The carport he built when I was a toddler was still visible on GoogleMaps up until less than 10 years ago. I don't have them here where I live now and I miss rot-proof posts.

 

[ciananh33]

Welcome to BYC!

Where, in general, are you located? Climate matters a lot, especially when designing your housing. For example, I'm in central NC and if I had a clear roof I'd have roast chicken in no time flat.

You've done a good job in giving your ladies plenty of space rather than buying one of those tiny pre-fabs, but two things stand out to me.

First, ventilation. Your chicken coop needs at least 1 square foot of ventilation per adult, standard-sized hen. You've done well in putting your vent holes up high because the best ventilation is at the top -- heat and ammonia both rise. However, those little circles won't allow enough airflow when the doors are closed for the night.

In re: @21hens-incharge's suggestion about adding a slope to the roof, you could make the upper side a clerestory and leave soffit vents on the low end to allow air to flow across under the roof.

Second, you have chicken wire on the run instead of hardware cloth or other sturdy wire. Chicken wire is good for keeping chickens in, but it is useless against strong predators like raccoons, dogs, coyotes, etc.

That's another place where your location matters since predator load and type varies.

BTW, if those posts for your run are locust I am JEALOUS! Where I grew up we had a lot of locust and my dad built everything with locust posts. The carport he built when I was a toddler was still visible on GoogleMaps up until less than 10 years ago. I don't have them here where I live now and I miss rot-proof posts.

Hey! I’m actually in central NC as well, outside Bragg in Fayetteville. I’m not sure what the posts are made of. Some kind of local tree I took a chain saw too.

I think the pictures don’t show but I do have hardware cloth reinforcing atleast the bottom portion of the chicken wire close to the ground on 3 sides. That’s still a project in the making—reinforcing all sides.

The roof is also built with a slope. I think the angle of the picture doesn’t show it quite right. I think I’ll follow what you guys are saying and atleast for now throw a tarp up there to give some shade in the actual coop. I’ll also cut out some vent ducts all around the roof and walls. I didn’t know ventilation was that critical.

Thank you for the tips!

 

[neo71665]

Security and ventilation are the 2 most important and often over looked items in coop building.

 

[3KillerBs]

Hey! I’m actually in central NC as well, outside Bragg in Fayetteville. I’m not sure what the posts are made of. Some kind of local tree I took a chain saw too.

I think the pictures don’t show but I do have hardware cloth reinforcing atleast the bottom portion of the chicken wire close to the ground on 3 sides. That’s still a project in the making—reinforcing all sides.

The roof is also built with a slope. I think the angle of the picture doesn’t show it quite right. I think I’ll follow what you guys are saying and atleast for now throw a tarp up there to give some shade in the actual coop. I’ll also cut out some vent ducts all around the roof and walls. I didn’t know ventilation was that critical.

Thank you for the tips!

Then you will need the same sort of extra ventilation that I need to keep things cool. The more shade you can give your coop the better in our vicious summers.

This is what I just did for the brooder. The roof is white metal and it's as ventilated as I could make it for what it was, but it was still pushing 100 in there with no heat lamp today.

I did the same thing for my Little Monitor Coop last summer too:

A cheap picnic fly can make a lot of difference.

 

[Mtnboomer]

As my wife reminds me "keep it simple stupid." She means it in the most loving way, but it is great advice.

Chickens need good ventilation in their shelter and security from predators. The rest is highly variable in when talking about square footage, roosting heights, materials, etc. There are good rules of thumb but different things work for different people/chickens.

It looks like you have an adequate set up to be successful. As time goes by keep an eye on your setup (how are materials holding up, is the inside staying dry, is condensation building up inside, are predators getting in or attempting to get in etc and your birds. is it easy to clean? If they appear to be in good health and all is well, then your doing your job. If not, there is always something that can be improved as needed.
I love the fact that you elevated your coop. Elevated coops (24" or higher, 32" is optimal for me) that can be locked at night are nearly predator proof. I designed and built mine in that manner and have had no night time predators get into my birds.

Off to a good start. Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

As far as the question about roosting, how close/far is the roost to the back wall, and the roost to the ceiling? Standard birds need at least 12" clearance to the wall and about the same above, though more would be preferable if possible.

If these birds have never roosted before (i.e. they come from a large farm or commercial setting where roosts aren't always offered) they'll need you to show them how to roost by you manually placing them on the bars at night.

As far as the litter in the run, right now you can leave it as grass (the birds will enjoy it) but they'll eventually kill it off, and at that point it'd be best to add some form of litter to help manage poop, odor and mud. Deep litter wirth a base of wood chips is what I use but what's optimal for you depends on climate, drainage, and materials available.

 

[cmom]

I saw in one of your pictures I saw a bag of Starter-Grower feed. If they are laying I would switch them over to layer. When I have switched my birds I have mixed the feeds so I don't waste it. Before long they are on their layer feed only. I agree with the other posts. Everyone is different with different situations and ways of doing things. I have currently around 400 birds including chicks, so of course my situation would be different. I have several pens and coops. I do have electric wires around them to protect the birds from ground predators, good heavy duty netting covering my pens to protect the birds from aerial predators and concrete under the gates to protect them from ground predators that dig. Here is a site that may help and there is a lot of good articles and threads too on BYC. Good luck and have fun...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators

 

[ciananh33]

I saw in one of your pictures I saw a bag of Starter-Grower feed. If they are laying I would switch them over to layer. When I have switched my birds I have mixed the feeds so I don't waste it. Before long they are on their layer feed only. I agree with the other posts. Everyone is different with different situations and ways of doing things. I have currently around 400 birds including chicks, so of course my situation would be different. I have several pens and coops. I do have electric wires around them to protect the birds from ground predators, good heavy duty netting covering my pens to protect the birds from aerial predators and concrete under the gates to protect them from ground predators that dig. Here is a site that may help and there is a lot of good articles and threads too on BYC. Good luck and have fun...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators

Thank you for the reply! That starter-grower bag was only a bag full of hay from the farm.