Best features for a coop

[Orange_coop]

Yes, and it's all crap.

I guess if you could make it expandable......
...but even a 4' width is hard to set up for 'easy keeping', for both birds and keeper.

Well my hope is that if people are determined to buy something too small, they could at least buy it from me and then turn it into something better when they wisen up. I've seen a lot of people double down on a bad idea rather than going with a better plan!

My problem with my 4'x4' coop is that I can't quite reach the back wall (I'm 5'3" and have relatively short limbs). This means that I can't catch chickens that are determined to escape from me. Future brooders will be no more than 3 feet deep from a side opening or they will be walk-in.

Cleaning isn't an issue -- my manure fork reaches just fine -- though if we do a raised coop again there will be a removable board instead of a permanent sill at the bottom of the door so I can just rake bedding out into the cart instead of lifting it up and over the sill.

I have a feeling that aart is on to something when saying that all coops should be walk-in. I think what happens is that people get this idea that they could just add a couple chickens to their life and yard, no big change, and then it turns out that chickens change a lot of things. So both the footprint but also the silhouette of the coop gets bigger. I still hope for a way to turn the initial small coop into nesting boxes for a bigger one.

That part about being able to pull the bedding right out the door without having to lift? That is a really, really good tip right there. Thank you very much for that!

Focus on the nesting boxes and quality construction. This is where you get the value and need to ensure you they feel secure and comfortable when laying you some quality eggs.

Duly noted. What makes for good nesting boxes?

Carolina Coops are modular, but the panels are about 6x6. Those should give you some ideas, though. carolinacoops.com

Very good ideas! The one I like best is "OUR WALK-IN CHICKEN COOPS START AT $1,750"

I will definitely study what they are doing for more ideas.

 

[aart]

Well my hope is that if people are determined to buy something too small, they could at least buy it from me and then turn it into something better when they wisen up

That would be fantastic!

I will definitely study what they are doing for more ideas.

Their construction is beautiful, their management ideas are a bit off.

What makes for good nesting boxes?

minimum of 12x12x12.....14x14x16 is better.
Did you know that a chicken stands up as the egg is actually emerging from the vent?
Easy, waterproof access for gathering eggs(hinged top lids notorious for leaking).
Front lip of 4-6" for holding in bedding and eggs.
BestNests
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/albums/nests.7427682/

 

[3KillerBs]

Easy, waterproof access for gathering eggs(hinged top lids notorious for leaking).

We remodeled our nestbox to front opening.

 

[Orange_coop]

Cool, so front-opening nest boxes. Would make it easier to transition from the small type coop to nesting box for a larger coop.

So the Carolina Coops all seem relatively small as far as the actual coop goes. The runs get quite large, but the fully enclosed coop proper never looks larger than about 6x6. The pre-made ones look mostly like they are not walk-in either.

I'm wondering if a coop that can transition from a 3x3x3ish little cube on top of some posts into a choice of 4x6, or 6x6, or 6x8 walk-in structure is about the most anyone would want. Maybe also offer panels with hardware cloth that can go under roof panels for runs, which is what seems like the main variant in the "size" of the Carolina Coops.