Confused about coop interior setup! Help Please??

[serenityNH]

Hello!

I am trying to figure out how to setup the interior of the coop to keep myself and my soon to be 10 chickens happy. I could use some advice as I'm about ready to pull out my hair trying to figure out how to arrange everything.

For starts my coop is a 8 x 12 shed with a 4 1/2 foot double door opening in the front which is the 12ft wall.

My questions:

1. Is it all right if the roosts are above the wall with the chicken door? I read once that the roost should be on the opposite side of the chicken door so they won't hurt themselves when they fly down and to run out the door. Would this really be a problem? They will have at least 5 ft to fly down and if I don't put up a storage room they will have 9 ft. Which leads me to my next question.....

2. Is a storage room a must have? I'm debating on adding a 'storage room' my husband is not thrilled at the idea of any more building so I'm having trouble trying to decide if it's necessary? I was thinking of partitioning off the left hand side to do a 4ft x 8ft storage room but if I don't have to I guess that would be better. I was thinking about just putting my nesting boxes up high enough where i could fit my storage bins under them and have enough of a overhang so the storage wouldn't get pooped on. Any thoughts??

3. I would like to someday have a broody hen raise some chicks ( I would get fertilized eggs, no rooster). Should this be a concern on how high I put the nesting boxes? Is it possible to pick up and move a broody hen to put her on the ground if the nesting boxes are a few feet high?

Thank you so much for any advice, I so appreciate it!!

 

[teach1rusl]

Your roosts can be anywhere that is convenient for you, that your chickens can get to, and that are out of the way of drafts.

You certainly don't need a storage room. Metal trash cans, plastic/rubber trash cans w/a good sealing lid, or plastic tubs work well to store feed and other supplies, and these can go along a wall. I store most of my supplies in my garage (in bins). But I do keep my feed in a plastic garbage can inside my coop.

Elevate your nesting boxes - it saves on floor space! Yes, a broody hen can be moved to a carrier or other similar arrangement. Many folks relocate thier broodies.

 

[PapaChaz]

i put my roosts over my pop door, but i made sure they were plenty high enough they weren't gonna bop their heads when they went under them to go out! i probably hit my head more building the thing than they will using it. but then DW was almost on first name basis with a lot of the ER docs for a few years...

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I use bins in one corner for feed storage and keep a bale of shavings next to them. That's always worked well for me.

I like to have roosts in an area of the coop that isn't getting air flow in the winter, to avoid drafts. I'd be concerned about air rising up from the pop hole door and traveling through the roosting area, on it's way to a higher exit point. Most pop hole doors aren't sealed all that well and in bad weather, my chickens will sometimes roost part of the day when inside, also. You'd also be setting them up to do most of their pooping right in your highest traffic area, which would dirty their feet more as they went in and out. Muddy or poopy feet have a tendency to dirty the eggs.

If you're planning on putting in a shelf under the roosts, then I think it would work fine. That would catch the morning poop, keep the area in front of the pop hole clean and if you sealed it along the wall, it would block any drafts while they roost. Otherwise, I'd choose a different configuration, if it was my coop.