Building My First Coop | Journey and Questions

[DogAndCat36]

My family and I are building a coop. We have 8 chickens, free ranged. The coop will be small and big enough to fit 8 chickens. My dad builds houses so wood cutting and ect. are easy. I am the one doing the planning and setting the size and all that.
I have a question. How do I blueprint it?

 

[DogAndCat36]

Also if someone has examples of already built coops, please link em! I'd love to see them and get some inspiration. Thank you.

 

[DogAndCat36]

I found an article that seems pretty much perfect.
I'll make adjustments like a gravity feeder and a smaller area of ventilation, it gets super windy here during winter, also no run. But do you think that this would fit 8 chickens' needs?
https://www.downeastthunderfarm.com/free-chicken-coop-plans/

 

[3KillerBs]

The usual guidelines are:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

4 square feet in the coop,
10 square feet in the run,
1 linear foot of roost,
1/4 of a nest box,
And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

So for 8 chickens you should need:

• 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
• 8 feet of roost
• 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
• 8 square feet of ventilation.
• 2-3 nest boxes.

@Ridgerunner has an excellent explanation of why these guidelines are GUIDELINES, not hard and fast rules: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

And you can find a discussion of when you are likely to want more room than these numbers say: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ave-more-than-the-minimums-for-space.1462570/

Since you're in northern Maine you will want to consider that severe weather that cuts off chickens' use of their run is one of those situations when the flock is likely to benefit from extra room. There is an excellent article on cold weather chicken housing here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

My Little Monitor Coop is designed to meet all the minimums for 4 hens and the design could easily be expanded. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

Good luck with your project!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Also if someone has examples of already built coops, please link em! I'd love to see them and get some inspiration.

This under the "Articles" tab at the top of this page.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

 

[DogAndCat36]

This under the "Articles" tab at the top of this page.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

Yeah but not all of them have the blueprints and not all of them are the right sizes. I have been searching on those, thank you.

 

[aart]

How do I blueprint it?

Start with graph paper.....and pencil and eraser.
Your dad should be able to help you make good drawings.

 

[jctree2540]

My family and I are building a coop. We have 8 chickens, free ranged. The coop will be small and big enough to fit 8 chickens. My dad builds houses so wood cutting and ect. are easy. I am the one doing the planning and setting the size and all that.
I have a question. How do I blueprint it?

This is an old coop I picked up for 150( you can't buy ten 2x4s around here for that) I put a new roof on it with leftover shingles from our house,( most home improvement stores will cut you a deal on damaged packs of shingles)sanded a little, caulked and renailed any loose boards.im in Michigan so I didn't want to much draft. Bought a couple gallons of barn paint from hd,less than 20 apiece and laid it on heavy. The run is my favorite.its an old dog kennel that came with the house. I have just over an acre fenced in back yard the parcels here are long and even though I have almost two acres I have neighbors who's houses are less than two hundred feet from mine. We all like each other and I try to keep it that way. They do like the birds now but I was concerned with smell and waste disposal.i let them out every morning to cut down on poo build up. This is a concrete pad I put large gravel on the floor then put pea stone on top. I just go out with the hose every ten days or so and spray it down good all the poo water runs down into my garden area and seems to be a win win so far.

 

[neo71665]

Don't make smaller ventilation instead make adjustable vents with doors or flaps you can open and close.

The general rule is one square foot per bird minimum. I also like a my vent at least 12 inches over the top of the tallest bird. That way even in a bad wind storm the vents can be wide open and the birds are not affected.

 

[jctree2540]

Don't make smaller ventilation instead make adjustable vents with doors or flaps you can open and close.

The general rule is one square foot per bird minimum. I also like a my vent at least 12 inches over the top of the tallest bird. That way even in a bad wind storm the vents can be wide open and the birds are not affected.

Yes good point.I left the gables fully open and just coved the underside with chicken wire to prevent any potential egg snatching and hen murder. My roosts are lower as I have all big breeds. For now...