Building a New Coop, want some advice

[redsoxrule]

We are building a new coop and were looking for some tips on making sure it is a healthy environment, as we've had sick chickens in the past. We have 7 chickens. Any tips to make sure this coop is better than ever would be great!

 

[JackE]

Make sure you have PLENTY of ventilation, year round. A lot of chicken respiration problems come from being kept in a poorly ventilated coop. Chickens have high respiration rates, and the CO2 they breath out combined with ammonia gases from the waste(Poop), can make them sick if not properly removed from the coop through proper ventilation. This can especially be a problem in the winter when people close up their coops tight in some misguided attempt to "Keep them warm". Keep your coop well ventilated YEAR round is one of the most important things. And oh yeah, GO SOX.
Jack

 

[chicmom]

Hello!

A few things that are very important are ventilation, and also to make sure they're not over crowded. For the ventilation, a cross ventilation, way up at the top of the coop, far above where your chickens roost is a good idea. (That way, they won't be roosting in a draft.)

Also, if you attach a run, make sure you use hardware cloth, because chicken wire can be ripped open by a predator. A roof over your run is great too, for shade, and it prevents attacks from above, like birds of prey.

In the run, I use sand, because then you can just rake out the poop, or scoop it, and the sand drains well too, if it gets wet.

I keep food inside the coop, and water outside. That's because if you have food in the run, and it gets wet, IT STINKS! BADLY! So you don't want that.

Windows are a nice accessory to a coop, to let some sunshine and fresh air in on nice days. You really need fresh air to be able to circulate, because stinky coops are not healthy for a chicken's lungs.

That's about all I can think of.

 

[Ridgerunner]

To me, the two things for a healthy coop are ventialtion and keep it dry. A wet coop breeds disease.