Building a coop

[lyklos]

I am new to raising chickens, I have 3 eggs incubating and am planning on transforming the kids play house into a coop. My questions are....Is it OK for my coop to be 4ft above ground? Can the chickens get up and down a ramp that high? Will they get injured if they fell from that height? Play house is 8x6. How many hens can I comfortably raise? I am going to fence off a 8x8 area under and around house for them to play.
Thank you

 

[SunnyAlberta]

What breed of birds will you hatch? My understanding is that a ladder/ramp should be twice as long as it is high. Do you have room for an eight foot long ramp? From what I've observed, the birds won't fall. If they teeter, they'll simply flap their wings for stability. Six full-sized chickens should be happy with the size of run you are planning if you allow 10 square feet per bird in the run.

 

[lyklos]

I have 3 minorca eggs (just got them today). Id like to get a few plymouth rocks later... I can run a ladder down the side at 8 ft long. How wide should walkway be?

 

[SunnyAlberta]

My ramp is about 6" wide and even my big Buff Orpington is doing well on it. I'm not familiar with Minorcas, but I am very happy with my Barred Rock; she's a real sweetheart.

 

[mpare]

In the interest of saving space in our run we decided to place a small roosting perch outside the pop door instead of a ramp. The chickens easily jump up and down a few feet and they also like to use the perch to keep on eye on the back yard.

 

[lyklos]

Very cute Coop! Mine needs alot of work... gonna start on it tmrw. Its beach day today!