Clueless newbie needs help with coop- please!

[marshmallowpeeps]

Hi!
We are expecting the arrival of around 10 adult chickens in several days. We have never owned chickens before. Sooo...
We need to build them a coop, asap. We don't need it to move to different locations, as we will be fencing in an area of yard for them, and we are in the very north of the US, so we want something that will be warm in the winter. Probably some sort of barn style coop. Aside from that, we know NOTHING of what we will need to do.

Could anyone with experience in this please offer specific dimensions, plans, requirements, pics, etc? We need to get to work but don't know where to start and we don't want to do it wrong.

Thanks!!!!!!
Jen & peeps

 

[Ridgerunner]

Check out the coops section in the Learning Center at the top of the page at this site. There is a gold mine of information up there about coops and a lot of other topics.

Then, read this thread. I think it is what you are looking for. Just remember, you do not need to do all of this, just the parts that apply to your situation.

Coop lessons learned
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=140561

Then check out this link. The lady that wrote this lives in Ontario, so she should know something of your climate

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

I notice you have only a few posts so are probably new to this site. Welcome. You are about to meet some good friendly people. And you mentioned you are in the northern part of the country, which helps, but could I recommend you modify your profile to show more specifically which part of the country you are from. It helps in answering some questions. For example, a coop question might have a different answer if you are in Seattle, Bismarck, Houston or Inverness, Scotland. It took me a while to catch on to this, so I'm not criticizing, just suggesting.

 

[patandchickens]

It might be worth just browsing, both the coop design page section of this site, and also the threads in the forum. Just whatever catches your interest. Excellent way of getting ideas and seeing what people are doing and becoming aware of potential advantages/pitfalls of different plans (as discussed in threads).

Have fun, and welcome to BYC,

Pat