Building a Coop

[Kraftcrazychick]

I'm looking to get a little clarity on building my first coop. I currently have 6 peeps that are about 2 weeks old. Hopefully the coop is up and operational by the time they feather out. I have read many, many posts but have my doubts on digesting it all and processing it into a finished product.

Here is the quick run-down:

Location: Next to the shed but not attached. Would face south and get sun in the morning.

Size: I am going back and forth on the size of it. I would like to make it 60 sq ft in case I need to keep them inside while I am at work (not sure of the predator situation yet) but have considered 4x8 or a 5 x 6 sq ft space (with a partial second story for extra space?- How do people feel about the ease of cleaning for a second story?).

Features: 4 feet tall so I can use the underneath for shade and run. Bump-out for egg collection on the East side. Coop door and ramp on the South Side. Hinged entry on the West side for cleaning. North side-blank because it will be against the shed or a good spot for ventilation? Roosts higher than the nest boxes.

My biggest questions/decisions are on the type of litter method as well as ventilation. I am considering sand for litter as I like that they can dust bathe and 'trim' their nails in it as well as get grit. I have read the article and the thread about ventilation but still feel like I am stumped.

I will be building this out of scrap (as much as possible). Since I'm building it I want to do a good job the first time. I have built things before so I'm not worried about that part. I just want to make sure I've covered all bases. I live in Ohio and our weather can change very often. It's been -10 before in the winter (with wind chill) and can hit over 90 in the summer.

 

[Percheron chick]

Design your coop with normal lumber dimensions in mind. Plywood sheets are 4x8, lumber 8 or 10' long. 5x6 will require cutting every board but an 8x8 would almost be a kit build. Ditch the 2 story idea. Ditch the only 4' tall idea. You can't reach across the inside of a 5x6 or 4x8 coop. Ditto to the area under the coop. You need to be able to retrieve eggs and stuff that end up under the coop. I don't care to crawl around on my hands and knees in chicken poop trying to fish stuff out. You want to be able to go inside and walk around (unless you are talking a tiny 3 hen coop). What's your budget? You can always start with good bones for now and over the summer finish up the sides and nesting boxes because you do not need a finished coop until September. Also, are you going to satisfied with ONLY 6 hens or do you see more like 10-15 in the near future? Build for the future now and save $$ and time. Everyday check out the free section on CL. You can come up with free windows, lumber, sheds, playhouses, shipping crates, pallets (check out the pallet coop post), chicken coops, swing sets, trampoline frames.... I came across 4 13x6 soffits with a great 4' overhang (sun room in the winter months) for free at a construction site that will one day become my new coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What you are saying sounds reasonable. I’m not looking at it so it’s hard to get specific.

You may have a perfectly logic reason to not attach that to the shed but a couple of comments to think about. How does the water drain off of that shed? Is it going toward your coop/run? You might want to consider gutters and a downspout to get that water away from that area. Are you creating a jungle? Will the grass and weeds grow out of control in that area and can you mow or weed eat them? Access may become an issue.

Ventilation can be confusing. You need air exchange in winter as well as summer. Where you are heat is a much bigger danger than cold. Chickens can handle cold really well as long as they don’t have a direct breeze blowing on them but heat can kill. There are different ways to get that air exchange without having a breeze blowing on them. To me the easiest is to have openings above their heads when they are on the roosts. Any breezes developed blow above them, not on them. In the summer it is really good to have extra openings at roost level or below.

If you elevate our coop it needs to be high enough so you can retrieve eggs or chickens that don’t want to be retrieved form under there. How high that needs to be depends on how big it is. Also, it’s really nice to be able to put a wheelbarrow under your opening and rake the bedding into that when you clean the coop.

I really like to be able to walk into a coop but a lot of people can’t do that. You need to be able to access all parts of the coop for maintenance, cleaning, retrieving chickens or eggs, all that. You also need a fair amount of vertical room for bedding, nests, roosts, and ventilation up higher than the roosts. If you don’t plan for your vertical layout you can become height challenged but cupolas or roof vents can help with that.

If you are using scrap tailor your dimensions to what you have but most new building materials come in 4’ or 8’ dimensions. Often you can save money, waste, and reduce cutting if you take that into consideration in your design.

You might read my post, #2 in this thread. There are a lot of different ways to handle litter and poop. It’s really difficult for me to recommend any one because we are all so unique. Part of why this is so confusing is that so many different things can work.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/968834/dlm-for-run

I don’t mean this to sound negative at all. I think your thought process is pretty solid.

 

[Kraftcrazychick]

Thank you both for your replies. You have given me some more to think about which is what I was after.

@Percheron chick I had not considered trying to reach under the whole building to get to chickens or eggs.Really, I was hoping to minimize the footprint in the yard by using the underneath. I also liked the idea of putting it up on legs so I wouldn't have to file for a building permit. In the township anything semi-permanently attached to the ground has to be submitted in writing along with a drawing and fee. Since, I haven't done that before I was trying to avoid it. That and when we tear down the shed we may be able to move it.

I don't really have a set budget but am taking it more as a challenge of resourcefulness? Cheaply would be nice but it still needs to be solid-otherwise there is no point. I have nice big pieces of 1/2 inch plywood, pallet wood and several odds and ends I was given from family including lengths of 2 x6 planks..


@Ridgerunner The shed has a slanted roof with most of the slant going to the west with the highest point towards the east with a little angle towards the east as well (not sure if that made sense). It's a triangle but not an equilateral triangle! LOL

The reason I don't want it attached is the shed is in bad condition.The owners of the house before us did not set it on block so it is sinking into the ground and rotting the wood slowly. It also gets mold inside because they didn't put any venting OR consider that it's in one of the lowest spots on the property. Have I also mentioned that some small animal dug into the corner under the roof and was probably living in it? Or how about the fact that the darned thing doesn't even have a floor so the inside is one giant clay/mud pit?! We have to fight to open the sliding door after every rain. Really I could go on and on about how suck-tastic this shed is.

The area where I am thinking of putting the coop is where we cut down a pine tree last year. Nothing is really growing there except a small patch of weeds. Most of the area is still bare or covered with pine needles.

All in all I want this to be easy to clean, easy to get eggs with minimal space that it occupies on the lawn. We have over half an acre but not much more with neighbors not that far away. I might already end up being 'that neighbor' eventually.

 

[Percheron chick]

Can you "improve" the shed and turn it into the coop to avoid the application process? Pictures?

 

[Kraftcrazychick]

Thought about it, asked the husband about it. A huge resounding NO came out of his mouth. He apparently wanted the shed to be a shed, not a chicken coop. Imagine the inner eye-rolling from me after he said just this weekend that the shed was too big for what he needed.

 

[Percheron chick]

Look into building a chicken tractor.

 

[Kraftcrazychick]

I had not really considered a chicken tractor but it's a possibility. Many of the tractors I've seen have minimal covered space for the chickens. If I do a tractor design will I still need to account for the same amount of inside/outside space per chicken? Are these used in addition to a separate run or for more free range chickens?

 

[Kraftcrazychick]

So, After talking to my husband more he vetoed the shed because he is concerned about gas/oil being in the same area as the chickens. We have decided to go a permanent chicken structure. He does not like the idea of the tractors.

As far as permanent structures, I am still debating whether to do a stand up coop or one up on posts so I can reach in easily. I think I have almost decided on the DLM as it sounds pretty easy to maintain. We always end up with a giant pile of leaves after every fall.