Building first coop- Progress Pic- Suggestions?

[CraftyGemini]

Hi all! This is my first post in the forums after having read at least a few hundred posts and looked through all the coops. I plan to start building our first large coop this weekend and am wanting to get some suggestions.

We currently have a small A frame chicken tractor we had built last year that has housed our 4 chickens- 1 Buff Orpington Roo, 2 Barred Rock hens and 1 Ameracauna. It has worked fine but we are ready for more chickens and I want to try my hand at building it myself. I'm a beginner in woodworking but have built a few small projects like a platform bed and a 2x4 workbench, etc.

So, here is what I hope to build:

A rectangular shaped coop with a slanted corrugated metal roof (recycled from an old pole barn on property). We plan to have about 25 chickens total but want to build bigger just in case we go with more. Our chickens free range all around the property during the day so the coop will just need to house them at night.

I'm thinking a 10' x 12' x 8' tall coop that slants down to 7' on one end. I'm not sure what would be the easiest way to slant the roof- do I frame it out slanted or should I add more wood at the top on a slant and then nail the metal roof to those cross beams?

I'm going to frame it out in 2 x 4s and have an open floor placed directly on the ground. I'm not too concerned with it being perfectly level. I'll probably put one 2x4 going across the middle bottom to help brace the frame. I'm thinking of dumping some pine shavings as the floor to absorb all the poop, etc.

Gonna go with one door on one 12' long side at 6 ft tall x 2 ft.

We live in Florida so the winters are non existent so my plan was to enclose 2/3 of the sides with plywood-- so, 8 ft covered and remaining 4 ft of 2ft sides just covered in hardware cloth. Later I'll add something like rolled up fabric I can unroll to cover the open sides in the winter to help keep some more warmth in there...

My questions:
1. Easiest way to make slanted roof? I'd like to set it up as a rain catchment system so I plan to have the slant going away from the door and nesting boxes.

2. Best way to frame it out? Is there a specific way I need to frame it out? I've been looking at different coop and shed pictures and looks like everyone does it a different way-- vertical beams drilled into the floor base; vertical beams placed in corner of floor base flush with the ground and screwed in from both sides of length & width floor base beams, etc.

3. Is 10' x 12' too big for potentially 30-40 chickens only to roost at night? It'd be 120 square feet and at 3 sq. ft per chicken I think 40 would be okay in there just to roost at night. Any input appreciated.


THANK YOU!!

 

[7L Farm]

I would suggest that you might want to add a run to your coop. Their will be days that the chickens will need to be locked up due to weather or predators such as hawks are on the prowl. I free range mine but there are days when I'm glad I have a run added to all my coops. I usually only range when I'm at the farm. I live at the farm so their out ranging a lot.
As far as making the pitch just make the back taller than the front. I guess how much pitch you need will depend on where you live. It doesn't snow here in Texas so I have very


little pitch on my roofs just enough to drain the rain off. Here's a coop that has no pitch its round.

 

[Judy]

We have built similar structures and always framed the roof out slanted. The size will perhaps be a little generous but honestly, you can't build too big. They love the room, it allows for a couple of garbage cans to hold feed plus a small chicken wire pen inside for broodies, sick chickens, chicks, etc. That' s similar to what I have, and I have used the pen several times. I also keep a lawn chair in there....

Usually when we include a floor in a structure, we frame each wall separately on the ground then stand it up on the floor and nail. You need a temporary brace, a long 2x4 stuck in the ground, to hold a single wall up til there are more walls to hold it. We don't put floors in chicken coops, though. We put a barrier around the outside, or sink a barrier, to keep predators out. We keep fairly deep litter in there and only completely change it out once a year. In between, usually all you need to do is add some handfuls of pine shavings or sprinkle some pelletized lime around. There is no smell, but the coop is very airy. The problem with a small space between the floor and ground is, it attracts rats and other critters. Your plan would be a bit big to raise a couple of feet, of course -- and if you raise it a foot, so the chickens can get under there, you will sooner or later have to figure out how to get something out of that space -- a hiding chicken, a nest, a dead animal, etc. No floor is my favorite solution. Also, a floor will need linoleum or a good paint job so you can clean it. With dirt, the poop just dries and goes into the dirt.

Whatever you build, I'd be sure to raise the grade first, for drainage. That is, haul in dirt so the ground under the coop is higher than the surrounding ground. Saves a lot of problems later.

In our new coop, which was built much as you describe and happens to be about 11x17 (which was simply determined by the size of the materials we had around) there is air flow above the walls on all 4 sides. (We have 10 chickens, but have had up to 50.) There is also about a foot of roof overhang, which keeps it a lot drier in there. In addition, the people door and half of the opposite wall are hardware cloth, not solid. In this climate, a lot of breeze in a coop is essential. We only have a few nights a year when there would be any concern about cold draft, and that is easily resolved by placing the roost in a nonwindy corner. A metal roof only need 1x4 sticking out the amount of the overhang to support it. You nail the 1x4's across the 2x4's that support the roof, then screw the metal to the 1x4's. We even left the bottoms of the screws sticking into the coop, as the roof is high enough the chickens won't hurt themselves on them.

Really, in our climate, the chickens only need a 3 sided shelter, at most, in terms of air movement. To them, there is no cold weather here, but there is lots of hot weather. Shade is a necessity. Mine will go in the coop at the height of the day for the shade, because it's cooler in there. You can predator proof it with hardware cloth or welded wire, either for a 4th side or extending out to make a run. There are a lot of hot weather coop designs here; here is just one thread to give you an idea:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/281477/hot-weather-chicken-coops

Where I live, the "old timers" put up a 4 sided fence and lay a piece of plywood across the top; no sides, even. I'm not recommending such a structure, and would not do it -- but chickens have lived around here like that for a long time.

Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I certainly agree it is hard to build too big. That extra room gives you a lot more flexibility.

Raising the floor with dirt is a great idea. If you have sand, that is even better but you probably will need to contain that some way to keep it from disappearing. You might also consider berms or swales to help direct rainwater runoff away from that area. It depends on the lay of your land. Keeping it dry is important, but if you have good ventilation, a little rainfall blowing in is not that big a deal. Still, try to keep it as dry as you can but worry more about ventilation.

Watch that recycled metal for the roof. It's probably got nail holes in it so it might leak. You might need to think about sealing nail holes.

Look at your building materials and cost them out. You might find it less expensive to only build it 8' wide. 12 feet is a lot further to span than 8 feet. The longer boards are more expensive and you may need heavier lumber to span that. Your risk is from wind, both thunderstorms and hurricanes. You'd be surprised at how much wind force you can get on a relatively flat roof. Look at the difference in the price of 12' lumber versus 16' lumber to span that roof. And look at the length of the recycled metal you are using.

Make sure your connectors are up to the job. I had a roof blow off a shed in 70 mph straight-line winds. The people that built it used short smooth nails to hold the roof together. Use either screws or longer ribbed nails. I'm talking about the 1 x 4's Flockwatcher mentioned. Those and the metal roof are what flew off. Darn near hit the house and cars about 300 feet away.

I'd make the door wider. You'll want to carry things in or out. 2 feet is not very wide when you are carrying things.

I really don't think you need to worry about keeping them warm in the winter. I don't know where you are in Florida, but they will need ventilation much more than protection from the cold down there. Just sort of box in one end so they are out of the wind when roosting, especially during those thunderstorms you'll get. I'd open up some ventilation above where they are roosting too. Those hot summers are going to be your enemy, not the winters. Your rafters ad ceiling joists will wind up being the same thing. Those will be 2' x something, at least 2x4, maybe 2x6. As a minimum, I'd leave the area open where they cross the tops of your walls and close that in with hardware cloth or some meshed wire to keep critters out. You could even make part of the top of the wall wire to really increase ventilation. The only protection your chickens need on the roost is to keep rain from hitting them and wind from hitting them directly in the storms. In your climate open it up as much as you can.

 

[CraftyGemini]

Thank you all so much for your feedback. A lot of stuff to think about!

We went ahead and started today and I'm shamlessly posting a picture. I'm ready for the feedback... the good, the bad and the ugly. We are complete newbies at this and I'd rather know now if I did something completely wrong.

The left side of the coop is 8ft and the slant will go towards the right which measures at 7ft... I'll set up a gutter and rain collection system on that side. We framed it out with 2 x 4s but are using 2 x 3s to reinforce as well as some off cuts we have around here.

I'm thinking the next step is to put up the front wall which I'm not exactly quite sure how to do since it's on a slant. I put the 12 ft long pieces that go across the top and plan to hold up a 2x3 up to it and scribe the angle on the slant and then cut it out like that. Is there a better/easier way to do this? Any help here would be great.

I used my Kreg Jig to attach the reinforcement slats with pocket hole screws so they fit snug between the studs. I have a lot more of these to put up but I found it sturdy enough like this to move on to putting the 12' long ones across the top.

What else can be done at this point to help reinforce the base? Anything? I'm think of cutting smaller 2x3s at 45-degrees on each end and putting them in the bottom base corners to help. Will that help?

I've left the ground as is since it doesn't puddle around this area and will dig a trench around the finished coop to bury some hardware cloth about 12" down.

Anything else I should know before we move forward with this experiment?!

 

[Happy Chooks]

If you get snow, that small of a slant isn't going to work out so well. Just a thought. ETA: nevermind on this, I missed that you are in FL. BUT you will want to make it sturdy enough for the wind.


Here's my thread on a coop my DH made me build. It has worked out really well so far. I would probably only change the roosts as EVERYONE wants to be on the top roost. And I'd make the door wider. Mine is above ground so the chickens have some shade - it's on the side of a hill and has no shade, so I had to give them something to be out of the heat.

The broody area has worked out fantastic for babies/broodies/anyone that needs to be separated.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/374698/the-neverending-coop-project-update-its-done/0_50

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'd make the door wider. You'll want to carry things in or out. 2 feet is not very wide when you are carrying things.

I agree. I made mine just a bit over 2 feet (just wide enough for the wheelbarrow) and it's a pain to get feed/shavings bags in.

 

[CraftyGemini]

Awesome coop! Go you!
I'm in Florida... so, definitely no snow. ) Just need the rain water to run off into a gutter and rain collection barrel I'll set up later.

The left side of the coop and half the front and back will be fully enclosed with plywood and the rest will just be covered with hardware cloth to keep it airy and ventilated. The side I'm covering is from where the winter winds come so they'll be protect from any (somewhat chilly) drafts.

Thanks for your reply and for sharing your coop. )

 

[CraftyGemini]

Thank you both. I think I'll go with 36" for the door to be safe. )

 

[CraftyGemini]

Here is the progress on our 10' x 12' x 8' coop. We added some reinforcements vertically, horizontally and diagonally. It's feels nice and sturdy so I'm happy that it's turning out fine. For the roof top slats that I'll be laying the metal roof on I bought some 2x4x12s to lay across the 12' long side of the coop... but since everything is not exactly level (duh! lol) We are having a tough time making it fit. So, I've decided to lay them in the opposite direction so they run along the 10' side and give me 1' of overhang on each end. I'm thinking this will be fine since I want some overhand for the metal roof to keep a little more rain out--- we live in Florida so only about 1/3 of the coop with actually be enclosed with plywood the rest will just have hardware cloth around making it real easy for gusts of rainy winds to get inside. Does anyone have feedback for me on this idea. Is there anything really wrong with what I plan to do? Any input is appreciated!

My next step will be to frame out and create the door. I think I'm going to aim for 32-36" door.

p.s.- I guess this is the perfect time to be finishing this coop because yesterday was the first day one of our hens, Spicy, decided to hatch her eggs. We couldn't find where the hens were laying their eggs until a week ago I found the whole stash! Yesterday she had 12 eggs and I'm excited to get the coop ready so the rooster and other two hens can live in the new coop while mama and her babies can stay in the smaller chicken tractor we have now.

Thanks for all your feedback!