COMMUNITY PROJECT: Let's Design The Perfect Coop!!!

[Nifty-Chicken]

Quote:
Exactly!!! Once we get the specifics nailed down we will find someone that can design this with VERY easy to follow plans.

 

[arwmommy]

I have to say NiftyChick, that we built the Playhouse Coop, and it is really perfect for the small backyard chicken owner! It provides a safe, elevated house, and a secure run that is perfect for 5 standards or 10 bantams.


The changes we made were to
1. Modify the house to a 4'x4' (instead of 2'x4'), which makes a huge difference.
2. Since it was bigger we added two 2x2 roosts (we have bantams-- but it could easily accommodate 2x4 roosts)
3. Placed wire on the bottom and then covered it with 6-8 inches of hay, to make it completely predator proof.
4. A heavy duty magnetic closure on the bottom corner of the door to prevent predators from getting in.



Other changes we now wish it had/I would recommend for a future plan:
1. It could also be made MUCH SIMPLER and cheaper by doing an angled roof instead of pitched. (Although I love the look of the pitched roof!)
2. It desperately needs some kind of a clean out access door somewhere! As it is, I will have to get a rake and scrape out the shavings through the chicken door at the top of the ladder! Good thing we do deep litter and are planning on changes only a few times a year!
3. This coop was built for harsh winters relying on the small house and chicken body heat to keep it warm without additional insulation. I don't know how this changes that, since the house is now 4x4. There is also no ventilation, other than a 1/2" gap where the hinges are for the fold down door. This works perfectly for us where during the day it gets to mid 90's in the summer but at night drops to the 50's. I would assume that in climates where it was still very hot at night (or super cold in the winter so they are locked in the coop for months) that they would need substantially more ventilation. Since they are in the run during the day, but the coop at night, this has not been an issue for us.

That's it!!

I think that if these plans were modified as extensively as I have suggested, they would not at all infringe on the original designers work, as there would be a substantially different coop created.

Hope that helps!

 

[BeckyLa]

Yes, CM, that's the one! Talk about easy to modify. And so cute.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

arwmommy, great post, thanks! We will definitely honor any existing plans / designs that people are not posting publicly, but that being said, if we end up designing a raised coop with an attached run, it will probably begin to look like the playhouse coop along with many of the other designs.

BTW, can you go over more specifics on why the 4x4 were better than the 2x4?

 

[missusduray]

I think she meant as in space. it was a 2'x4' and they made it into a 4'x4'. Right?
Kristyne

 

[missusduray]

Lets see if I can add anything. Here are some of the things that we did with our coop.
We used OSB (chip board) for the walls and celing and ply wood for the floor. The OSB was 1/3 the price of the plywood.
We could have used 2x2's instead of 2x4's but we live in a climate that gets really cold winters (40 below 0) so we need the extra room to insulate. The 2x2's would work to save money if you lived in an area that didnt need insulation.
We did a slanted roof instead of a pitched roof to save money and time. We also shingled the roof to protect the osb.
That is all that really pertains to this project. We had to build big to accomodate the 18 chickens that we have. They all have to be in there this winter. Our coop is 8'x10'.
Kristyne

 

[homunculus]

I have 9 chics arriving tomorrow. I originally only wanted 3 or so, but got greedy. My problem was $ and sense. I needed something inexpensive, but easy enough that an amateur could build it. I also wanted my girls to be pastured so they would be happy and safe. After days of constant searching I found this plan:
http://projectsby.us/index.php/Cattle_Panel_Greenhouse
and
http://www.ericsprojects.com/cpg/displayimage.php?album=1&pos=0
It is actually for a greenhouse, but the person who built it also has one for chickens.
Here are the pros:
It is light enough to move. Chickens get to pasture without having to worry about hawks. Adding hardware cloth on the sides and electric fencing on the bottom will protect chickens from other predators. A shade cloth or tarp can also be added. As well as perches and nest boxes. I might just want mine to be a summer home but it can accomodate chickens year round in mild climates. The best thing is that it can be built in a weekend (possibly a long day with a couple of people) and it is fairly inexpensive to build. It also offers a reasonable amount of square footage per chicken, especially for bantams. And you can stand up in it!
I am still in the process of building mine. Here is what I have so far:

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Ooooh, that looks easy enough!

Saw this one to when I was wandering. Looks really solid and maybe not tooooooo complicated


Ooops! Fogot the link

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7152&p=1

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Quote:
DOH....

yes, that little ' vs " says it all, doesn't it!

 

[arwmommy]

Nifty,
The reason we doubled the hen house is that even though we were only getting 6 bantams, after being on this board for a while, I wanted to allow myself the additional room to continue the addiction and expand my flock!

Even though we are on a small subdivision lot, our zoning does not have a number limit of birds allowed, only that they be for "household use", meaning that they not be used to sell eggs or meat commercially, no roosters, and a certain # of feet from a neighbor's residence.

We decided since the basic structure of the building would already be there anyway, that it was a very minor (in materials and labor) change and could allow us to double our flock. It turned out that the builder wanted to do that anyway, as the wire came in 4' lengths, and it made it easier for him to install to have the 8' length split in half.