Building a chicken coop/run

[STxChickenman]

I am in the process of building a coop/run. I am learning that you can make it more like a condo than a coop or vice versa. It all depends on how much that you want to put into building the coop with materials and effort. Buying the basic necessities can get expensive if you're building is going to be well built and grandiose.

I'm trying to build a very strong coop that will be strong enough to protect my flock and keep them comfortable. My build is intended for twenty to thirty chickens total and the size is probably about right for that number. The coop itself will be enclosed in the run and will be around 15 ft by 7 1/2 ft in size. The outer measurements of entire coop/run will be 31 ft. by 15 ft.

Here is a pic of the outer shell of the building up to now. Weather and a couple of setbacks have kept me from progressing as fast as I would like.

 

[pennyJo1960]

great start might want to add a l if you want to house 30 birds possibly 10 x 10 more

 

[STxChickenman]

I probably should have said 30 chickens max. It will probably end up being closer to twenty chickens. I think it will be just about right for twenty. They will have an acre to forage around during the day.

 

[aart]

Might want to go bigger on the coop part, and add separate sections for brooding chicks, storage, etc.
Will it be a layer flock...or....?
Got any plans drawn out?
Please add your location to your profile?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Making it with seperate sections for broody, injured, or integrating chicks is a very good idea.

 

[STxChickenman]

@aart I made the changes to my profile....thanks. I am going to raise dual purpose chickens, Bresse chickens will be my main focus. I have a big garage that I have converted to a woodworking shop and it will have cages/containers with the amenities for brooding chicks. I have plenty of storage room in the garage which is located just a few feet from the main chicken coop/run that I am building. As far as plans, I had some plans scratched out on my computer but there have been changes made to srenghten the integrity of the roof. So I am basically "winging it" (pun intended) at this point. I plan on building the nest boxes on one of the walls with outside access so that I can collect eggs from the outside.

I have thought a lot about the size of the coop with respect to the run area. I could easily extend the size of the coop to make it 15 ft x 15 ft but I fear that will make me want a much larger flock and then an extension of the run would be in order. I know how chicken raising goes....my plans started with wanting just enough chickens, (five or six), to have a good supply of eggs. After reading about Bresse chickens I now want eggs and meat and five or six chickens has grown to twenty to thirty. Go figure...lol. I guess I should change my mindset to...I want less than twenty chickens, but I know that's not how things happen in the chicken raising world.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I’ve heard about the Bresse chickens. Where are you getting your stock from Greenfire Farms?

 

[STxChickenman]

I guess I could build the main coop at the original planned size of 15 ft x 7.5 ft and add a nesting area as an attached ell shape next to the coop area and make the nesting area 15 ft x 4 ft. Hmm....thanks for your input @aart and everyone else.

 

[STxChickenman]

I’ve heard about the Bresse chickens. Where are you getting your stock from Greenfire Farms?

I bought four pullets and 2 cockerels from a BYC member, Chicken7777 and am keeping them in a mobile chicken cage that I recently built. I will also be receiving twenty week old chicks from Bresse Farms on Wednesday. Both suppliers acquired their chickens from Greenfire Farms stock. I have heard that Greenfire Farms will have some new Bresse bloodlines from France and I intend to add some new bloodlines to my flock a little later to decrease the risk of inbreeding.

So I have my work cut out for me and need to move fast on this chicken coop. Bad weather conditions coupled with a delay due to hitting an electrical conduit line 3 1/2 ft deep while digging post holes with an auger and having to wait on electricians to repair that line have pushed back the coop project by weeks. I can honestly say that I have the answer to that age old question, "Which came first, the chicken or the coop".

 

[aart]

I've found brooding in coop to be a fantastic way to integrate new chicks.
But sounds like you've got storage nailed down.

I though breese were primarily meat birds...do they lay well too?

Bad weather conditions coupled with a delay due to hitting an electrical conduit line 3 1/2 ft deep while digging post holes with an auger and having to wait on electricians to repair that line have pushed back the coop project by weeks. I can honestly say that I have the answer to that age old question, "Which came first, the chicken or the coop".

Arrgghh!!

Well, it should be the coop, but......<shrugs>