chicken coop

[steveo4464]

hi everyone justed joined,
ive thought for a long time about getting chickens,and now is the time.Ive got an old rabbit hutch witch i want to convert with ur help.Its 3feet wide 3foot4inc tall and 4foot long.Could you please help by telling me were i can but roosting nests,And how many,And were to put pirches.I am going to insulate it and put a vent at the top on both sides.Plus they will have a 14ft by 4ft run.witch iam going to gage off.thanks steve,Im thinking about getting rhode island bantams.

 

[HEChicken]

Wow, what an awesome start - I wish I had something like that just lying around awaiting conversion!

Okay, let's see - 3x4=12sq feet. Allowing for 4sq ft of coop space per bird, this will be big enough for 3 adult hens. 3' tall gives you some options. You won't need a ton of roost space - about 12" horizontally per bird. If you run the roost from one side to the other, that should be plenty. I use 2x4 or 2x6 with the flat side for them to sleep on - that allows them to cover their feet to keep them warm in winter. You want to mount the roost a minimum of 12" from the top of the coop so they've got room to sit there without banging their heads. And you want the roost to be higher than the nest boxes because they want to roost in the highest place they can reach (and you don't want that to be the nest boxes!)

So - I would build a nest boxe (that's all you'll need for 3 hens) on the floor of the coop, with a lip to keep shavings/hay in the box, and mount a 2x4 going the full length of the coop about 20" off the floor.

Were you planning to remove that shelf that is already in there about halfway up? You might be able to use it as the start of your nest box - just enclose it on the other side. Its great that you already have hardware cloth on the front at the bottom, and I assume you plan to continue that up the top. I would suggest removing one of the doors and replacing it with a door that opens to allow you full access to the whole hutch/coop for cleaning out.

Hopefully others will weigh in with other thoughts as well - you can never have too many ideas, right?

 

[steveo4464]

Right fist thanks for getting back and answering my questions. i can see what you mean i think, Put one large nesting box on the side were the shelf is, with a slanted roof. I could then put a sliding door on were the chicken wire is and have acess to the nest box. Then put the roosting pirches. One just above top of the nest and at the bottom of the slopping roof if you get me then one 12inc from the top,So the nesting box going width ways and the pirches going length ways,And i was thing of the big gap at the top as a solid door acess to clean pirches, and blocking the left door of with plywood and the middle, And the right hand door blocking that with ply but still using for chickens to go in and out. And the top left putting a perscect window on for light. HOPE I GOT IT RIGHT.

 

[HEChicken]

Sounds good - keep us posted!

 

[steveo4464]

Put a chicken roosting nest I on the side will post picsn But I will have all of the space in ther for roostingn Could you tell me how many white star leghorns I will get in. Thanks steve.

 

[HEChicken]

With the sq foot size of this coop, the ideal number of birds would be 3. Leghorns are a smallish bird so you might be able to push it and do four. Much will depend on how much outside space they have. If they are confined to a small run during the day, you might not want to put more than 3 in there. But if they have access to a large area and/or get some free-range time in each day, you can probably get away with four.

Looking forward to seeing the updated pics!

 

[steveo4464]

Right still geting on with coop this weekend,insulation pouring out when dry will trim and cover.And a shot of the nesting box on side..

 

[steveo4464]

Do the perches look ok top one is 12inc from roof and 13inc from the back lower one is 22inc from roof and 10inc from the top one

 

[RachelCheyenne]

Coop and perches look great, you could easily fit 4 chickens in there especially with the size run you're planning

 

[HEChicken]

Looking great so far!