Building my 1st Coop and have a few questions

[M.S. Matthew]

New to raising chickens and am ready to start building my 1st coop, although have a few questions:

1. Install windows on the back wall where the roost bars are located?
2. Any opinions on Skylites?
3. Florescent lighting OK inside the chicken area for evening cleaning etc?
4. Roost bars on the front windows, their 30" off the ground?
5. Better off pouring a concreate pad or raising the coop 3' feet off the ground?

Thanks...

 

[Rickba]

1- I install 2 windows, windward and leeward, to keep the coop ventilated.
2- No skylights.
3- No internal lights or electricity. Too easy to start a fire from dander and gasses that build up. best to put a hook and bring out a battery powered lantern.
4- You can put the roost bars anywhere. Just be sure to re-enforce the windows with hardware cloth so pred's can't get in.
5- IMHO, no concrete pad. On the ground is OK or off the ground is OK, just pred'r proof with hardware cloth and buried treated wood.

Hope this helps. I've build a lot of coops so ask me anything you need to.

 

[CapricornFarm]

My coop has a skylight and i love it. We also have electric lights in the coop. No fires in 20 plus coops. You can use a concrete pad or not. You can use a wood floor or dirt. If you use dirt, your coop will need a skirt. Your chickens will all want to perch as high as possible. Check out my thread Helpful hints for building coops.

 

[Taylorbrood]

New to raising chickens and am ready to start building my 1st coop, although have a few questions:

1. Install windows on the back wall where the roost bars are located?
2. Any opinions on Skylites?
3. Florescent lighting OK inside the chicken area for evening cleaning etc?
4. Roost bars on the front windows, their 30" off the ground?
5. Better off pouring a concreate pad or raising the coop 3' feet off the ground?

Thanks...

is it a walk in? we have a walk in with a skylight and I love it, we use LED light for lighting and it works well, I can turn on from outside with a remote.

 

[jthornton]

My coop has clear fiberglass roof over the roost area and the chickens love it. If your windows provide enough light in the evening that will be fine. Mine were shaded by the house so it was pretty dark inside the coop.

Yes, I was levitating over the coop to take that photo... takes quite a bit of practice.

JT

 

[Taylorbrood]

New to raising chickens and am ready to start building my 1st coop, although have a few questions:

1. Install windows on the back wall where the roost bars are located?
2. Any opinions on Skylites?
3. Florescent lighting OK inside the chicken area for evening cleaning etc?
4. Roost bars on the front windows, their 30" off the ground?
5. Better off pouring a concreate pad or raising the coop 3' feet off the ground?

Thanks...

I would raise it off the ground that way if you need to move it you can, not to mention the back breaking work of bending over to clean, it can get to you. we have a walk in, cleaning takes 10 minutes max, before it was taking me an hour, and my back was killing me, that included yard clean up, feeding rounding them up, cleaning while they were eating and getting it ready for the night. s/o was about to divorce me over the amount of time it was taking.

 

[CapricornFarm]

is it a walk in? we have a walk in with a skylight and I love it, we use LED light for lighting and it works well, I can turn on from outside with a remote.

Yes, i have it divided into two halves for 2 breeds of chickens.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Poop Board a definite MUST under the roost, add PDZ = easy cleaning/maintenance.

 

[FlyWheel]

Ditto that! SO much easier than cleaning out the bedding every week! I guarantee once you've scooped out the very first night's poop you will be so glad there was a tray to collect it! Trust me, I have ten hens and it takes less than five minutes a day to scoop the half a coffee can's worth of poop out of the PDZ in their trays (almost a full can before I started fermenting their feed). That's half a pound of $#!t that's NOT ending up on the floor and in their bedding!

 

[aart]

Nice sketches.
1 square = 1'?

Top hinged windows so they can be left open all summer and shed rain.

No skylights unless coop has deep shade in summer...
....and you are darn sure you can get it water tight.

Old style florescent not good, flicker rate too slow, will drive birds nuts.
Newer one or CFL are OK.

Raised or on ground might depend on site configuration,
there's pros and cons for both.

Think about elevation too.
Here's my theory on the 'stack up' aspect to coop design:
Bottom of pop door is best about 8" above floor so bedding doesn't get dragged out of coop.
Nice to have bottom of nests about 18" above bedding to allow use of that floor space under them(doesn't count if your nests are mounted on outside of coop).
Roosts are best about 12" higher than nests so birds won't roost(sleep) in nests and poop in them, if you use poop boards under roosts it will also 'stretch' your floor space.

Upper venting works best as high as possible above roosts so no strong drafts hit roosts in winter...and hot/moist air and ammonia can rise and exit coop.