Building our own coop

[FBMcrazy8]

After looking around our area for a coop, we decided to build our own. Buying a kit was well over $1,000 and it wouldn’t have fit all our chickens. We just got 18. Even though some might be males, there is a possibility of adding more. And to find a coop that would hold even 15 chickens (which is what we had originally ordered), was impossible to find. But we have been able to make it the way we want and as big as we want. We are just about done with this. Roof is shingled already, even though you can’t see it. Putting the fence up for the run won’t take long. And though I would love for them to be free range with the 3.5 acres we have, I have a large fear of predators getting them. We recently had a bad experience with wild rabbits…long story. Anyway, this is what we had done so far…I couldn’t be happier with it!

 

[Aunt Angus]

After looking around our area for a coop, we decided to build our own. Buying a kit was well over $1,000 and it wouldn’t have fit all our chickens. We just got 18. Even though some might be males, there is a possibility of adding more. And to find a coop that would hold even 15 chickens (which is what we had originally ordered), was impossible to find. But we have been able to make it the way we want and as big as we want. We are just about done with this. Roof is shingled already, even though you can’t see it. Putting the fence up for the run won’t take long. And though I would love for them to be free range with the 3.5 acres we have, I have a large fear of predators getting them. We recently had a bad experience with wild rabbits…long story. Anyway, this is what we had done so far…I couldn’t be happier with it!

Looks good so far! Nest boxes look great! How big is it? Building is the best way to go, imo. The other thing I like to do is convert sheds, but that gets expensive, too.

Make sure you have lots if ventilation. Rule if thumb is 1sq ft per bird. I know that seems like overkill, but it helps!

 

[3KillerBs]

Once you get over a very small flock, it gets extremely hard to buy anything even remotely suitable.

A flock of 15 needs:

• 60 square feet in the coop. 8'x8' is easier to build than 6'x10'
• 15 feet of roost
• 150 square feet in the run. 10'x15', 12'x12' or 8'x20'
• 15 square feet of ventilation.
• 4 nest boxes.

And you just can't buy anything like that.

Where, in general, are you? Climate matters a lot when it comes to housing.

What are you planning for ventilation? Ideally, you want your 15 (or more), feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation at the top and bottom of your roof slope -- protected either by roof overhang or top-hinged covers.

And then you can add additional supplemental ventilation for hot weather.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Looks good so far! Nest boxes look great! How big is it? Building is the best way to go, imo. The other thing I like to do is convert sheds, but that gets expensive, too.

Make sure you have lots if ventilation. Rule if thumb is 1sq ft per bird. I know that seems like overkill, but it helps!

The coop is 8’x8’. And the front is 6’ and goes back from there. We have the small screened vents. One on each side and then for sure at least 1-2 In the front. The back will have latches for the nest to be able to get into(which we haven’t finished yet. We are trying to be mindful of the north wind. Which is why the door is on the east side of the building. We have NO wind breakers. We have a consistent breeze. I think only 2 or 3 days last year we didn’t have any wind. If there is a wind advisory out for our area at like 30 mph. We are looking at actually 40mph. Winter is brutal here in the open.

We have a small shed here that used to be an outside kitchen. But it would need a whole new face lift. There is so many cracks and crannies in the floor. The only reason we know it was an outdoor kitchen is because the property has been in the guys family for over 100 years, which is basically since it was built….

 

[3KillerBs]

the small screened vents.

"Small" is a dangerous word. You need to think of ventilation in terms of square FEET, not square inches.

Where, in general, are you?

Even in the coldest climates generous ventilation is necessary. Oddly, it actually prevents frostbite -- because it removes the moisture that dampens their feathers and robs them of their heat-retention qualities.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Once you get over a very small flock, it gets extremely hard to buy anything even remotely suitable.

A flock of 15 needs:

• 60 square feet in the coop. 8'x8' is easier to build than 6'x10'
• 15 feet of roost
• 150 square feet in the run. 10'x15', 12'x12' or 8'x20'
• 15 square feet of ventilation.
• 4 nest boxes.

And you just can't buy anything like that.

Where, in general, are you? Climate matters a lot when it comes to housing.

What are you planning for ventilation? Ideally, you want your 15 (or more), feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation at the top and bottom of your roof slope -- protected either by roof overhang or top-hinged covers.

View attachment 3139505

And then you can add additional supplemental ventilation for hot weather.

We have the coop at 8’x8’ and the run will be close to 12x30. We are in Illinois. In the belly of Illinois. But out here we’re we are we don’t have any wind breakers. So everything is hit with north wind hard. We actually had to replace the foundation to the kitchen because the wind alone broke pipes (granted it was a red brick foundation and who knows how old it was really) but it has been sinking for a while due to it. But we added wind breaking trees this spring but it will be a year or so before they are big enough to make a difference. We are putting the door on the east side(where the opening still is) to keep some of the north wind out. But we are going to leave a slight opening on the front and back and the south side of the walls by the roof and then we have the vent piece on the one side I have a pic of on the other side as well and will more than likely add 2 of them to the front. The back will have hatches to the nest boxes as well. So there will be some slight ventilation there as well. We just really want to protect the girls from the North wind as much as possible. (Which is the side of the house you see in the first pic). I’m attaching the other side to this as well.

 

[3KillerBs]

You can protect from the north wind with a solid wall there, but without air FLOW your chickens can't be healthy because moisture and ammonia will build up inside.

As long as the air movement is above the chickens' heads when they're sitting on the roost they're fine -- though some people put furnace filter in the vents to baffle the airflow or add a draft-baffle below the vent -- just a board to direct the air upward along the roof and keep wind from blowing directly on the chickens.

You don't want this:

But you don't want this either:

Here's an article on cold-climate chicken-keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[FBMcrazy8]

You can protect from the north wind with a solid wall there, but without air FLOW your chickens can't be healthy because moisture and ammonia will build up inside.

As long as the air movement is above the chickens' heads when they're sitting on the roost they're fine -- though some people put furnace filter in the vents to baffle the airflow or add a draft-baffle below the vent -- just a board to direct the air upward along the roof and keep wind from blowing directly on the chickens.

You don't want this:

But you don't want this either:

Here's an article on cold-climate chicken-keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

Oh yeah no. We put the vents above where the roosts will be and above the nest boxes. The north side does have a vent window. I’m really not sure what else to call it. It is the same thing you would put on the outside of your home for attics. Just not as big as the octagon ones. We also bought a boot to put a vent in the roof. We just aren’t sure if we will need that or not yet. We also have a window that we had for a house we were in before we purchased this place that never got put in. We have contemplated on putting that in the front but have it laying horizontal. The only problem with that is we have a light pole that comes on automatically at night and it would let light in their coop all night long. We haven’t come up with a way to keep the light out without interfering with the vent. Which is why we would probably put 2 or 3 of the vents we already have in the front.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Could you do transom-type vents along the top of the walls and screen those in with hardware cloth? And maybe put a wall vent down on one of the walls to create some flow?

I hear ya about the wind. I live in the Foothills, so it's not an issue for me, but my sis used to live in the Texas Panhandle region. CONSTANT high winds. And then there were the tornados... She has an open front coop with the open wall on the opposite side of the coop away from the prevailing winds.

That coop her hubs built was awesome...

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Could you do transom-type vents along the top of the walls and screen those in with hardware cloth? And maybe put a wall vent down on one of the walls to create some flow?

I hear ya about the wind. I live in the Foothills, so it's not an issue for me, but my sis used to live in the Texas Panhandle region. CONSTANT high winds. And then there were the tornados... She has an open front coop with the open wall on the opposite side of the coop away from the prevailing winds.

That coop her hubs built was awesome...

That is type of vents we have. That way it is consistent. We put the one of the north wall and south wall directly in front of each other so weather we have north wind or southern wind, it will always be pushing through. Even with the front open still you can still feel the pull.

I would love to leave my front open but there is no way. We had mowed what would be our pasture area and my husband found a bunny nest. We left them alone but put a shovel in the ground close to it so we knew where it was. And the poor things we attached by the coyote pack we have out here. They just left 3 little bodies torn and thrown everywhere. The other 4 we are assuming the consumed. I would have to go coyote hunting if they hurt the chickens. Which of course we are taking every measure to make sure they CANT get to the girls. Day or night.