Coop and Run dimensions

[littlelizzy123]

Hello All!

I am getting into the planning stages of building my coop. I have got an idea of must haves in my coop for my suburban back yard. I have a large yard surrounded by 6ft privacy fence and a fenced garden. I will let them free range under supervision, but I want them to be comfortable if they don't get to free range every day. I don't want them to be over crowded. I am getting 8 hens, 2 Buff Orpintons, 2 Australorps, 2 Easter Eggers, and 2 Light Brahmas. Here is what I'm thinking. Please tell me if I'm crazy, I just need some validation to be sure I'm doing this right, I don't want to be sad about things later.

Following the 10ft/bird/run and 4ft/bird/coop x 8 birds = 80 sqft run and 32 sqft coop.

My coop have basic dimensions of 7ft tall x 6ft wide x 6ft deep, with a roof slope of 6ft in the back. The actual living space of 5ft tall, with a roof slope to 4ft in the back and 6ft wide and 6ft deep. Like the Wichita Coop, it will have an under run of 2ft. The 4 nesting boxes will be 18in deep x 12in tall x 18in wide, with a 6in sloped, opening roof to get the eggs from. UNDER the nesting boxes will be a 6ft wide x 3ft tall x 18in deep spot with a door to hold feed/bedding/etc. Also will have three glassed 15in x 30in windows that I have as scrap. There will be ventilation holes all along the top. All of these windows and ventilation holes will have hardware cloth covering them to deter predators. The whole front side of the coop (north) will be a swing-able door for easy cleaning.

The Run will be 15ft long by 6ft wide, and will be roofed like the coop with the same 7ft to 6ft pitch. It will have a 6ft tall x 3ft wide door to enter the run. Still debating using corrugated metal or cheap roofing shingles. Maybe I can get some cheap T-locks at the ReStore.




I'm sorry you will have to crane your necks until BYC gets a rotate function. But hopefully you get the idea....

The whole thing will be set on buried cinder blocks surrounded by metal flashing, thicker than the roofing kind. I will be sandwiching 1/2 hardware cloth.

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, it will look like this. What do you think? Have I thought of everything?

 

[littlelizzy123]

Also, should I half-bury cinderblocks for a base or can I use the trapezoidal retaining wall pavers as a base? Then I could pile them up a couple levels high, fill in the middle with soil so they don't move, and build the coop on top of those? The pavers would be prettier, not to mention I wouldn't have to dig so deep...

 

[Bean789]

I don't have any answers for you but will be watching this thread for responses. I am especially interested in the cinder block idea. I want to make double, triple sure predators can't bury into my new coop when it gets built. I had planned on stacking the cinder blocks 2 deep as well as adding the wire flooring between the layers leaving enough wiring to allow for soil settling.

 

[littlelizzy123]

So to update this, my husband and I took another look at the plans and decided to build a tad smaller. I didn't account for the run space under the coop, so I can make it 6ft shorter, which is good because the coop is a little too close to a young ash tree, which will only get bigger.

I started digging last night, only to have my husband come home and tell me I dug twice as deep as I needed to. :S My husband wanted to use the cinder blocks, holes facing to the sky, because he is going to pound some leftover rebar through the holes to be sure they don't move. We get crazy winds here at the drop of a hat.

We were also discussing what we would do with the hens that get old and stop laying, and he thinks for a minute and he looks at me just as serious as can be and says, "Well, we'll have to build a retirement coop." XD

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might want to follow the link in my signature for my thoughts on space requirements. It might cause you to rethink some things.

I don’t believe in magic numbers that work for everyone. Your winters are going to be different than someone is Miami. Your requirements might be different. That’s the problem I see with magic numbers. We are all unique and have different requirements.

The way you describe it, you should be OK. You might need to do something about blocking snow from blowing in from the sides of the run so that run space is actually available in the winter. Something to think about.

Personally I did not go to any extreme measures against digging predators. I used the apron method. Lay a piece of wire maybe 18” to 24” wide on the outside of the run/coop. Attach that firmly and without big holes to the bottom of the run/coop. Then bury it maybe 2”, basically remove the sod and replace it. You don’t even have to bury it at all, just lay something on top to hold it down until the grass grows through it to hold it down, but burying it makes it prettier and keeps it away from lawn mowers and weed eaters. The idea is that a digging predator goes up to the fence, starts digging, hits the wire, and does not know to back up. It’s pretty effective.

Anchoring the coop down is an extremely good idea.

Just a few points. You need to be able to reach every place inside the coop, not just for cleaning but in case one decides to lay in a strange place or you need to retrieve an injured chicken that doesn’t want to be retrieved. Do that without a chicken escaping. 6’x6’ is getting a bit big for that but you can do it. Would you actually be better off not elevating it but building it on the ground using those cinder blocks as a base? That way you could walk in. In coop and run, make sure you don’t bang your head when walking inside. Your cross braces will determine that, not the top of the coop/run.

Most building materials come in 4’ and 8’ dimensions. I know things have to fit space available, but you can often build a coop based on those dimensions for not very much more money plus you don’t have all the cutting and waste. A 6’x8’ could easily be easier to build than a 6’x6’ for the cost of one sheet of siding. You need to look at foundation and roofing costs too, but often you have that left over any way.

If you are using recycled stuff for the roof, beware of nail or screw holes. They can leak.

In general, I find the more crowded I make it, the more behavioral problems I have to deal with, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have to deal with things that happen. These are all things that make my life easier. Instead of thinking along the lines of how many can I crowd in here, think more about how many you will have down the road and how can I give them enough space to make my life less stressful.

Good luck with it. I like the way you are planning and recycling.

 

[littlelizzy123]

Thank you so much for the ideas! I had not thought about an apron, and I think it's a great idea. I don't have many predators, but I do have a digger of a dog. I would be heartbroken if she dug under and harmed a chicken. We can only have a total of 10 hens in my city, so I would like to keep the option open to get a couple more. The Wichita coop had a lovely idea with plastic-lined trellis material to block the wind in the winter. These are removable as well when the weather gets nice. I think I might only cut it down by a couple feet instead of 6. I have the room, so why not go for it? My chickies will be happier with more room anyway. I will take a look at making it 5ft wide instead of 6. I hadn't thought about the reaching thing, and I'm only 5' tall.

I was thinking the under coop run might be nice for good shade and a dustbathing spot, but I also hadn't thought about trying to get a sick chicken out from under there too. It might be nice to be able to just walk in instead of reaching. Would such a large coop space have issues staying warm in Colorado winters? We don't have a ton of snow, but we have a few days that get to -20. Usually sun-shiney though, figure that. I'm definitely not into heating the coop, it's just too dangerous in my mind.

I'm glad I haven't dug too much, because I have a lot to think about...

 

[vehve]

About reaching inside the coop, one idea is to have more than one service doors. I made my coop so that you can easily reach any spot inside it from outside, without even having to go into the run. Of course, our coop and run are a bit smaller as the plan is to let them free range in the garden once they're grown up.

Here's a pic of how the doors are placed in our coop, you can find actual pictures on my coop page (link under my avatar).

 

[Ridgerunner]

In my opinion, the ground will act as a thermal mass on those really cold days. it's going to be warmer than the air so it should help warm the space a bit. To be honest though, you probably won't notice that much, but at least the coop won't be losing heat through the floor if it is on the ground. I think it would be warmer than an elevated coop.

Another advantage in having it on the ground, you don't need a wooden floor that can rot out. Just put your bedding on the ground.

In any case it needs to not be in a low spot. You want water to flow away from it, not toward it. I added a few inches of clay dirt to mine before I put bedding in so it was higher than the ground outside, plus built a swale above it to direct rainwater runoff away from it.

 

[littlelizzy123]

I've got a lot to think about. Definitely doing the apron, Isabel can't be trusted. I think I am still going to go with the raised coop floor, and I will be making the plastic covered trellis to keep the wind out in the winter. The Baldessari clan made theirs like this...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/wichita-cabin-coop

Thank you vehve for the ideas about having more than one door. It probably seems like a no brainer, but I never would have thought of that. It solves my "can't reach" problem! Also, you are in Finland, which seems to be about the same as Colorado. I am considering putting solid insulation on the floor and sides of the coop itself, keeping ventilation holes all along the top to allow air flow, but keep out drafts.

Still have a lot to think about, but this Winter Storm Zephyr has put any construction on hold. I just got back in from running around like a crazy person putting blankets on all my plants...