Can I get some coop advice?

[Tulips08]

Thousands?! No, girl! I bought a circular saw/screwdriver set from Home Depot for $90. I bought a kid's playhouse on Craigslist for $50 and modified it with scrap wood I found on the side of the road. I made some upgrades and put in about an extra $200 including the automatic door, shutters, vents, screws, etc. But if you just collected free scrap wood of Craigslist, you'd just be in for the tools plus screws, etc. For the run I bought a roll of cheap fence and topped it with chickenwire. It's not really all that expensive to build yourself. And you'll learn useful skills.

While I could purchase the saw, I have to have a fort knox coop and run due to a huge variety of predators (including but not limited to bears, bobcat, foxes, raccoons, hawks, and dogs). So the hardware cloth for my run is already costing me $200- I've been hunting for scrap wood to no avail so far (I haven't given up yet!), but I can't go cheap on the hardware cloth or fencing. I actually looked for a used wooden play house to turn into a coop and they were also going for around $200 in my area (gotta love living near NYC- plastic was cheaper but I was concerned about wind blowing it over) so I went for my used coop. Most of the used coops are going for over $500 (new, pre-built are between $1,000-2,000) so I got lucky. I'm trying to keep my all-in cost under $500 for coop and run and it's going to be close without buying any tools.

I'm honestly glad to hear it *can* be done for cheaper though! I love reading a success story! I'm hoping I'll gain enough building experience making my run that I can build a bigger coop myself next year.

 

[Tulips08]

It's a pretty nice looking coop even though it's small, so not a bad pick up. I know most of these have already been answered but I'll just go down the line...

1. I'd put 3 standard hens in there, which isn't bad to start off with. Since you can only have 6 birds total staggering the ages of the flock is a better way to keep supplying yourself with eggs. If in the future you want to expand the flock and are ready to build a bigger coop, you could sell this or just keep it for an isolation unit.

2. Can those windows be punched out (I assume it's glass? Plexi?) They're cute but if they were open and securely covered with wire it would be better for ventilation, provided your wind direction won't push rain in. You can probably also put some openings in the human door, like cutting out the upper octagon shape between the wood trim or installing some louvered vents in the two octagons? Again it depends on how wind/rainstorms blow in your area.

3. I'm pretty lazy with run design so 10x10 dog kennels are always the option I think of first, since they're not too expensive and work as a fairly sturdy base and can be modified later if needed. They're not exactly pretty but you won't have any line of sight issues with kids playing in the yard. With a little coop and a little flock you can simply put the coop inside the run. You will need to make some additions based on what predators you might have in your area (i.e. lots of hawks = netting over the top, raccoons = hardware cloth around the bottom few feet).

4. I wouldn't have them inside, especially the waterer. Put them in the run, or if you remove one bank of nest boxes, a feeder could possibly fit in that area.

5. I'd rip out the dividers on one side of nest boxes and that'll give you a little more floor space. Maybe even put a feeder in that area if you want to keep it out of the elements.

6. Honestly I'd just scrape it out and hope for the best. Maybe contact the previous owner if you still have their info, and ask if they've had any sick birds (of course they could lie about it, but you already bought the coop, so just explain you're new to this and trying to figure out how to best clean it). Wood doesn't really clean well unfortunately... you can mix a little bleach with water and spraying it down and letting it air out, but that's about as much as you can do with wood.

Thank you for your detailed response! Super helpful!

Some answers to your questions. The windows are plexi. I could remove them on one side, but the other side would allow the rain to blow in. Our winds tend to come from the west and the back of my house faces west.

I'll look into the 10x10 dog kennel. I was concerned about predators using a regular chain link fence as we have basically everything here. My local chicken friends said I needed to use 1/2"-1/4" hardware cloth all the way around and either fully under the run or skirted or I'd definitely lose birds. And I may still lose everything since we have bears and they tear everything up.

Thanks again! I appreciate it!

 

[Tulips08]

Just a suggestion ~ but seeing as your coop is so close to the house could you enclose underneath the deck as part of your enclosed covered run. My girls love under my verandah in summer as it's lovely & cool & gives protection from the weather.

I was wondering about that. I was concerned about mud since that space can get pretty muddy after a rain. I saw a suggestion down the thread saying to fence it off 2' in and I think that may help with the mud as that space is usually drier. Could I do a DLM situation in there to combat mud?

 

[Tulips08]

I was thinking of suggesting that too especially since there's no tree cover for shade but I personally wouldn't want to be crawling under there, trying to install wire to keep them from going too far under. If the deck clearance was a little higher it probably would be an easier task.

I think I could do it under the upper part of the deck. It's about 3' off the ground and "clean" (I mean... dirty but not creepy-crawly dirty). Should I try to skirt hardware cloth under there or should I do it as kind of a run extension. I have about every predator out there visit my yard without chickens so whatever I do needs to be secure.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The windows are plexi. I could remove them on one side, but the other side would allow the rain to blow in. Our winds tend to come from the west and the back of my house faces west.

I'll look into the 10x10 dog kennel. I was concerned about predators using a regular chain link fence as we have basically everything here. My local chicken friends said I needed to use 1/2"-1/4" hardware cloth all the way around and either fully under the run or skirted or I'd definitely lose birds. And I may still lose everything since we have bears and they tear everything up.

Ok so opening up those windows probably isn't a good idea (and I don't like the idea of removing them and louvering them, as light is also a good thing for a coop), so I'd see about adding the ventilation in the human door.

The dog kennel suggestion is just as a base unit. I had a fencing company install a dog run, then I skirted it with hardware cloth plus ran a couple feet of HWC up the sides (for coons). Netting over the top for hawks. Unfortunately if you have problematic bears, electric is really the only option - while I do have a local bear we didn't do electric.

 

[Tulips08]

True... though I admit I misread "free ranging won't be a normal thing" as "free ranging won't be a thing."

Yeah, free ranging would be a highly supervised event that would be rare. The hawks alone around here pick up small dogs on leashes next to their owners so I have some reservations about just letting them wander even supervised.

 

[Tulips08]

If you can smell amonia, or see condensation/frost on the wall, you don't have enough ventilation.

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First I think you need to figure out the REASON (or explain it to us) you want chickens?

I'm usually the oddball when it comes to space ... the "standard byc" answer is 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, plus 10 sq ft per bird in the run ... I think much bigger is, much better! I like to see 6-10 sq ft per bird in the coop, PLUS 100+ sq ft in the run for EACH bird! and still you will have mostly bare dirt in six months!

However ... there are always exceptions! Some birds get along with other better ... some birds scratch more than others, then of course is the weather ... and actual yard location.

Another factor in the size equation ... is what size of birds are you talking about? Giant 13-15 pound birds? Or One pounders? ... ???

When faced with a limit of birds by law ... there are ways to cheat the size "rules" ... by getting smaller chickens, if you already have a tiny coop, just get tiny birds!

Most "Large Fowl" (LF) (regular sized chickens) will range from 4-9 pounds ... "Bantam's" are just tiny size versions of the LF, usually 1/4- 1/3rd size of the LF counterparts. While there are some breeds that are only available in bantam size.

So ... without knowing what the purpose of you getting chickens ... I'd say 2, maybe 3 at most LF hens could work in that coop, I would definitely remove the dividers on one bank of the nesting boxes, and open that up to the "floor space".

While under the deck run area is tempting ... what you have to decide is ... do you want to have to crawl under there to retrieve a chicken, or eggs?

I would suggest putting in a ground to bottom of deck fence to restrict chickens going any farther under than say 2'.

For the run I'd suggest you get a 100' long roll of 5' tall 1"X3" 14 gauge "welded wire" fencing ... "T-posts" will hold it up, set it up in a 25' square around the coop, using part of it under the deck ...

For ventilation I'd try to see how the windows were installed, and try to remove them in one piece, then put hinges at the top of them, and install 1/2" hardware cloth on the inside of the coop, to keep critters out while windows are open ... also looks like your barn coop would benefit from a cupola for added ventilation.

Excellent first question! Primary reason- eggs... so bantams aren't a consideration there. My family eats 3 doz eggs a week and I'd love to have some of those come from our backyard. Secondary reason- for fun! I just think chickens are really cool animals and my kids do too. We'll be happy to start with a max of 3 of them.

Thank you so much for the info about space and the run idea. I cannot provide 100' per bird (I wanted acreage... next house, right? ) but I do want the run as big as I can get it within my space. For the fencing and the T-posts... would that do a good job keeping predators out? I've got a lot of them... like basically everything except mink (including my own 100 lb dog who technically should not be able to reach the chickens and will hopefully learn through training to ignore the chickens, but since my dog can open doors, she sometimes goes outside without my knowledge).

Thank you for the ventilation ideas!

 

[Ribh]

I was wondering about that. I was concerned about mud since that space can get pretty muddy after a rain. I saw a suggestion down the thread saying to fence it off 2' in and I think that may help with the mud as that space is usually drier. Could I do a DLM situation in there to combat mud?

The short answer is: Yes. DLM can be done just about anywhere. You basically just need to ensure you have enough organic matter in there that the chickens can do the composting for you.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

There are dozens of low-cost coop ideas on here, and it sounds like you’ll recognize the safe from the unlikely-to-be-safe. Look in the “Articles” area for hundreds of coop ideas. Check construction sites, companies that receive shipments in large wooden shipping crates, and big outfits for pallets for wood. You can learn which pallets are safe for your birds online - pallets treated without bad chemicals have a code on them denoting they are heat-treated.

Tools can be rented at Taylor Rental or similar. Don’t lose heart! Build your Fort Knox!

 

[123RedBeard]

Unless you have lots of money to invest in LOTS of 1/2" hardware cloth, and a tiny run ... electric is about the only thing that will keep all the wild predators out, including bears, even hardware cloth won't keep out a hungry bear!

Of course two legged thieves can figure out the electric fence, and get past it ...

100 sq ft is not really that much space ... a 10' X 10' area, equals 100 square feet.