Building a Coop and Run

[Milly1]

I would like to build a coop and run when I get chickens. I want the coop to be five feet by four feet and six feet high. It would be home to five chickens. There will be three nest boxes sticking out from the back with a slanted lid that could be lifted. Inside will be two roosting perches, and a feeder and waterer. Also, I will use aspen shaving bedding. The run will be eleven feet long and five feet wide (fifteen feet if you count the shady part under the run) and eight feet tall. There will be two raised beds with mesh over the soil to grow lettuce and easy crops I don't mind the chickens tearing up. The run will also have another waterer in it. Any tips? Is there anything I'm forgetting? Thanks!

 

[MachekChickens]

Sounds very similar to the coop we built, although ours is a bit bigger to accompany 8 chickens. Some things to maybe think about:

Ventilation- we live in an area where it gets fairly hot in the summer, so we made a couple of the wood panels under the roof removable to allow added air flow on hot days. We backed up those holes with wire mesh to prevent predators from entering the coop. We also added a window to the South side of the coop, which allows light in and can also be opened.





Bedding- originally we were going to use pine shavings, but after some research we decided washed sand was a much better option. Check out this blog for an overview of sand vs shavings. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/chicken-coop-bedding-sand-litter.html

Cleaning- one of the sides of the coop is hinged to allow easy cleaning. If your coop is on the ground you may not need to do anything like this, but our coop is mobile (as we are renters and would like to take it with us when we leave,) so that was our best option.



Hope this helps, good luck on the coop!

 

[Milly1]

That helped a lot, especially the washed sand advice. I will definitely consider that!