Building chicken coop

[Leahsandora11]

I'm gonna be building a chicken coop this summer, do you guys have any hacks or things that could help me?
here are some things, I have 10 chickens and will probably stop at 15, they are medium-sized and will get fairly big. I live in Indiana so it gets cold here so I need ventilation but I need it somewhere where water or snow won't get in and can also keep it semi-warm in there. I don't need a run attached because they free run and for the winter I already have a run. Also, do I need a heat lamp in there for winter? I have one in there right now but they only go in front of it to warm their butts or legs. Thank you!

 

[SerrarGett]

You need ten to fifteen inches of roost space per chicken. This coop will be bigger than all of the little starter coops you may find at a feed store.
If you ever need to seal something off from predators, use hardware cloth, not chicken wire. Raccoons will make quick work of it
If you don't want a run, I'd suggest building a raised coop with a ramp and automatic door. You save yourself the trouble of burying hardware cloth by making sure the coop is elevated. With an automatic door, you won't have to let them out to free range at 5:30 each morning.

Best of luck to you! I am currently building a coop, and it is really fun while also a bit frustrating.

 

[Leahsandora11]

You need ten to fifteen inches of roost space per chicken. This coop will be bigger than all of the little starter coops you may find at a feed store.
If you ever need to seal something off from predators, use hardware cloth, not chicken wire. Raccoons will make quick work of it
If you don't want a run, I'd suggest building a raised coop with a ramp and automatic door. You save yourself the trouble of burying hardware cloth by making sure the coop is elevated. With an automatic door, you won't have to let them out to free range at 5:30 each morning.

Best of luck to you! I am currently building a coop, and it is really fun while also a bit frustrating.

Thank you!

 

[aart]

for the winter I already have a run

Is your run weather proof...keeping snow and wind out?
How big is the run, in feet by feet?

I need ventilation but I need it somewhere where water or snow won't get in

Big(12-18") roof overhangs with open soffits.

Also, do I need a heat lamp in there for winter?

No.
How old are your birds now?
If more than 6-8 weeks they don't need any heat, just lots of good ventilation.

 

[3KillerBs]

These are the generally-accepted guidelines for backyard chicken keepers not using commercial-style intensive management (Needs can vary with differing individual circumstances):

For every adult, standard-sized bird you need:

4 square feet in the coop,
10 square feet in the run,
1 linear foot of roost,
and 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation -- the pop door that's closed at night and any windows that are closed in the winter don't count.

This permanent ventilation is best installed so that it's above the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost and if you have enough of it the temperature and humidity of the coop will be approximately the same as it is outside. In fact, my personal empirical check is to put my head and shoulders into the coop on a hot day. If it's warmer in the coop than out I need more ventilation.

Chickens tolerate cold wonderfully well if their coop is DRY (a closed-up coop is a humid coop) and out of the wind, regularly coming through temperatures well below 0F with no supplemental heat. If your chickens are fully-feathered adults and you are not keeping delicate breeds with non-standard feathering or very small bantams a heat lamp is more of a danger than an asset.

You'll want a heated waterer of some type, but if it's an open waterer rather than a nipple waterer it would be best placed in the run rather than in the coop if possible.

The bigger danger is heat. With the primary ventilation overhead, supplemental ventilation can be placed low in the shade to allow free-flow of cooler air -- just protect it from blowing rain so the coop stays dry.

What style of manure management are you considering?

It's helpful to design your coop with that in mind to make your work easier. For example, I'm in favor of using Deep Bedding in the coop and Deep Litter in the run (I intend to finish an article today so I'll come back and link it). With this system you need to set the door sills for both the pop door and the man door high enough to contain the desired depth of litter.

 

[Sally PB]

I have 10 chickens and will probably stop at 15

If you "will probably stop at 15," you might want to plan on the bigger side, in case you don't stop at 15. But then, if you do, each chicken will have more room, and that is always a good thing.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

If you "will probably stop at 15," you might want to plan on the bigger side, in case you don't stop at 15. But then, if you do, each chicken will have more room, and that is always a good thing.

I was going to comment the same thing. "Probably" isn't definitely.

Here is my rule of thumb: Build once so that you never have to build again. I'd build my coop for 20 birds if I were you, so roughly 80 sq feet of interior space, with 20 total feet of roost space. More is always better! More ventilation, more space, more roosts, more nest boxes, more predator protection, etc.

Also if you are building your own coop, consider your lifestyle. Do you want to be able to stand up in the coop? Do you want a little storage area for feed, brooder supplies, and/or miscellaneous chicken items? Do you want to walk into the coop to collect eggs, or have an access door for eggs? What kind of litter management do you want? Do you want nest box on or off the floor? Do you want poop boards? Do you want a power outlet or lights?

I highly recommend checking out the Chicken Coop article page to see the various coops BYC members have bought or built. I did a lot of research and had chickens for two years before we built our own coop, and hands down BYC had the best examples of chicken coops. We've got some pretty creative members!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

"Hacks"??

Yes. Assuming you can, make a coop you can walk in, with a dirt floor. Walk in because its far more comfortable for you, dirt floor so you can deep litter method it - less maintenance for you later to keep things clean.

Build in multiples of 4' - keep your plywood cuts to a minimum.

You aren't building a house, you can skimp a bit on framing (24" oc) - unless you are in a high wind zone and are concerned (reasonably) for your coop being thrown around, then build it like a house (16" oc).

Use huge overhangs if you can, then cover the soffits (the visible section under the roof) with hardware cloth, this becomes weather protected venting. Size it based on your available roofing materials.

Orient your coop so the most sheltered side faces the prevailing wind in the wettest season, and if you have two wet seasons, with winds 180 degrees opposed (as many of us do), that's the orientation of your ridgeline.

Make sure your roof doesn't dump water onto the roof of your nesting boxes - which should be external, for your ease of access. Side opening nesting boxes are more convenient, and require less long term maintenance, than top opening ones (no way to effectively weatherize the top hinge). Exact height varies by owner, but somewhere around 42" allows you to both see in, and reach in, comfortably.

Roofing with tin, for most folks, is faster, easier, and currently cheaper (given lumber prices) than roofing with shingles (assuming your local HOA, etc allows you that option). WEAR GLOVES.

Its not a house. You don't need insulation, you don't need internal sheathing.

Its wet like a bathroom or a kitchen - all that chicken produced moisture needs to be vented out, at a height so that drafts don't hit your birds. The best places to locate venting tend to be very high up, under those big roof overhangs. Don't think windows.

Doors can often be bought more cheaply than built.

 

[3KillerBs]

Doors can often be bought more cheaply than built.

There are ALWAYS doors of various kinds at our local Habitat Re-Store.

Additionally, if you know anyone doing any remodeling try to snag the old screen doors. DH grumbled when I insisted on keeping both our old one and my SIL's old one, but they're going on the new coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We all have our own experiences, goals, and personal preferences, many of which are different. We can often give different suggestions because of that. So one challenge is for you to try to figure out if a suggestion actually applies to your situation. And which match your goals and methods. So to start with you need to know your goals and how you expect to manage them.

I'll offer you some reading materials. I think Pat's articles should be required reading for anyone designing a coop. The best way to fix many problems is in the design phase. I may not agree with everything Pat says but it's her opinion and she covers some good stuff.

Pat’s Cold Coop (winter design) page:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/winter-coop-temperatures.47763/

Pat’s Big Ol' Ventilation Page

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop.47774/

Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-fix-a-muddy-run-chicken-coop.47807/

Next I suggest you follow the link in my signature below about space. I personally don't put any faith in magic numbers like square feet per bird, if you follow that link you'll see why. We are all unique so what works for one does not necessarily work for another.

I'll include this article since you are so worried about cold. There is some good stuff in it but my main purpose is so you can see that you may not be as cold as you think.

Alaskan’s Article

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

Now, some of my opinions and personal preferences. You are as important as the chickens, if not more so. Plan for your comfort and convenience. The chickens will benefit from that because if it is a pain to take care of them you won't do it that well. The chickens will adapt so take care of yourself.

For anything over 8 chickens I would want a walk-in coop. You need to be able to access every part of the inside for many different reasons. Once you get over a certain size that is not easy.

I also like a dirt floor. If you have a solid floor you may be giving Mama Mouse a convenient and safe place to raise a family near a good food supply, your chicken feed. In a cold snap the dirt floor acts as a thermal mass, can warm the coop up a bit. In the heat of summer it will probably be cooler than your heat waves. A dirt floor doesn't rot or decay.

A wet coop or run is an unhealthy coop or run. When I built my coop I added a couple of inches of clay dirt to raise it above the outside level to keep the rainwater run-off from coming in. I built a gentle berm and swale on the uphill side to divert water away. My coop stays very dry.

When I look for a location to put a coop and run I first look at drainage. If water drains to an area or that area stays wet you will probably have issues. If water drains away from it you will probably be OK. Pay close attention to Pat's muddy coop and run article. A dry location is my top priority.

If you built a little bitty coop with no access you have no choice but to build a nest that you can access from the outside. If you build a walk-in coop you have an option. There are plenty of legitimate reasons you may want to have outside access but my preference is to go inside to collect eggs. I go inside to feed and water anyway. I've found a dead chicken, a couple of snakes in nests, and even a young possum in the coop by going inside that I might have missed if I collected eggs from the outside. Well, I'd have noticed the snakes but maybe by feel instead of eyesight. Going inside lets me check up on the flock and the coop.

You want the roosts higher than any place you don't want them sleeping. Chickens tend to want to sleep at the highest spot available. The ones highest in the pecking order get to sleep wherever they wish so be generous with roosting space.

The way I determine vertical spacing in the coop is to first determine the height of the coop floor. Include thickness of any bedding. Then position the nests. Some people like the nests on the coop floor, others put them high enough they don't have to bend over to gather eggs. Think of your comfort and convenience. The chickens can adapt.

The roosts need to be higher than the nests to try to keep them form sleeping in your nests. I want the roosts clearly higher than anything else but I also want them as low as reasonable. The higher the roosts the more clear space they need to fly down from the roosts without banging into walls, nests, feeders, or waterers. Also collecting them off of the roost at night is about the easiest ways to catch them for inspection, treatment, or anything else. So have the roost at a convenient height for you.

I personally like "droppings boards" under the roosts. They poop a lot at night while on the roosts. Since they are not walking around in the dark that poop can build up. Some way to gather that poop makes keeping it clean easier. There are all kinds of ways to do that. Some people hang hammocks under the roosts. I've used plastic bins setting on the floor. Some people build trays and keep different stuff in those trays. I also use a flat piece of plywood and scrape it clean.

I'll stop here, that is a lot of reading. Good luck and stay flexible. Nothing ever works out exactly as planned but as long as you take care of the basics it's really not that hard.