Choosing a coop design for 4 chickens

[Carolmortensen]

My husband and I are trying to choose a coop design for 4 hens. Is it important to be able to walk into the coop?

 

[MGG]

I don't think so. It helps with cleaning, but if you only have 4 hens you shouldn't have to clean too often. It depends on what you want in your coop

 

[rosemarythyme]

I personally would say yes, you want a walk in if at all possible. I have a bad back and bad knees and spent close to 2 years having to bend down and over to clean up a small coop, which is miserable. Even if your back and knees are fine, it's just not a comfortable position to be in.

If a walk in doesn't fit your space or budget, at least make sure to give yourself as much access as possible, not only for cleaning, but so you can get to birds that are sick or injured, or just to help with behavioral issues like birds not using roosts.

 

[Alaskan]

The larger chicken tractor I have has a raised coop part. That was comfortable for me to clean,because I built it at the perfect height for me so there was no bending or stooping.

I did have to stretch a bit to reach the far edge, but it wasn't uncomfortable. However, if you pick a small reach in only coop, I would strongly suggest that you try a mock up of what height works for you, and how far you can comfortably reach.

The tractor of which I speak has a run that I can't walk into.

Bad idea that. If I didn't have young children to crawl in there for me, it would have been a nightmare.

You do need to be able to easily reach all areas of both the coop and the run.

 

[DobieLover]

I've had both a raised coop and a walk-in coop. I would never suggest anything other than walk-in style. There is more to it than just the cleaning. You need to be able to handle the birds at night for routine health checks and maintenance. If you don't have a walk-in style coop, where are you going to do that? How difficult will it be to reach in and get the specific bird you want off the roost?
And unless you are limited to just 4 hens, you will likely want to expand your flock. I would suggest you convert a small shed into a coop or build something similar along those lines. You will not regret it.
And lets say in the highly unlikely event you do not want to raise chickens any longer, having a shed style coop makes it pretty easy to convert it back into a shed.

 

[2hotchicks]

I personally would say yes, you want a walk in if at all possible. I have a bad back and bad knees and spent close to 2 years having to bend down and over to clean up a small coop, which is miserable. Even if your back and knees are fine, it's just not a comfortable position to be in.

If a walk in doesn't fit your space or budget, at least make sure to give yourself as much access as possible, not only for cleaning, but so you can get to birds that are sick or injured, or just to help with behavioral issues like birds not using roosts.

I agree. As a 56-year-old first-time chicken mom I strongly recommend a walk-in coop if at all possible. Crawling around in a short run is no fun.

 

[aart]

Good points made above about easy access to all portions of the coop and run....
...and birds(you need two handed access).

Climate is another aspect, if you live in a harsh winter climate like I do, think about access during raging snowstorms.

And, so....Welcome to posting on BYC! @Carolmortensen
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[jreardon1918]

We have a raised coop. Cleaning it is the easy part. Open the back doors, drag out the pine shavings. We do have poop boats. And the area under is a nice protected area. Those are the pluses. But getting into thr coop is a pain. So my two cents is that walkin is the easy to go. YMMV

 

[jreardon1918]

We have a raised coop. Cleaning it is the easy part. Open the back doors, drag out the pine shavings. We do have poop boats. And the area under is a nice protected area. Those are the pluses. But getting into thr coop is a pain. So my two cents is that walkin is the easy to go. YMMV

Poop boats? Poop boards.

 

[Alaskan]

I wonder if it is a design thing? Or size of the raised coop?

But when you open the back of my raised coop, you are looking right at the perched birds, so it was easy to treat them for pests, or grab one or more.

The crawl in run though, PAIN!!!