Coop and run on a slope!

[Jenna0822]

Hello,

I’ve read through old posts and got some good ideas but I wanted to still take the time to post and see if I’m on the right track. We’re new to chickens and I’ve been stressed about getting the coop and run “right”.

We purchased these plans (picture attached) and my husband is planning on constructing in the next few weeks.

The slope (also attached) doesn’t look like much but it is about 12” in the back side to make it level. I’d also like a very small step up in the front to avoid run off going into the coop. I was originally thinking I would have him to a timbered retaining wall but we’re new at this and I want to make sure we account for settling, drainage, and PREDATORS! capitals because we live in a wooded town in MAssachusetts and have lots and lots of predators. Coyotes (super large), occasional black bears, lots of foxes and fisher cats seen daily, raccoons, skunks, and tons of hawks.

So I’m wondering mostly about how to keep this coop incredibly safe and beautiful of course. I want to make sure we pack the retaining Timbers with the right material so the shed spot is supported (was thinking crushed stone under the shed part?) and then I’m not sure what to keep under the run. I was hoping for a more natural material for the chicks under the run. Maybe just dirt? But how to i account for any setting the run will do?

Thanks so much I’d really love and appreciate your help.

Best,
Jenna

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. If you put your general location into your profile people will be able to give better targeted advice. Climate matters.

Here's some general information for you:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

And an article on cold-weather chickenkeeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

The covered run is a very good idea in a snowy climate because chickens don't like to go out into the snow. How many chickens are you planning on?

The one thing I can see right on in re: those plans is that it seems to lack ventilation -- which is just as critical in the winter as the summer because you have to remove moisture from the coop in order to prevent frostbite.

This is what you should be aiming at for airFLOW:

Soffit and ridge/soffit and gable venting is probably the best option in your climate. @aart has good photos of what that looks like.

Alternately you could add a monitor or functional cupolas to the roof -- which wouldn't be blocked by snow as easily as standard ridge vent. This coop includes photos of the framing for a monitor: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

As for the slope, with that design for the coop and run you'll definitely need to create some form of level foundation, either digging in or building up with concrete blocks/treated timbers (or both). My own coop is build on a significant slope with a dirt floor and a post and beam design, but I'm in a much different climate.

Tip: If possible, raise that door up a 8-12 inches or so. Otherwise your coop bedding will spill out every time you open it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/ Some people put a removable board across the bottom of the door to keep the bedding in, but if you raise the door you'll have to shovel less snow to get into it in the winter.

 

[mowin]

For that coop and run, the easiest would be to frame out that lower end and sides with 6x6 and fill with gravel to level off the area.

Personally, I'd rent a mini to cut the high side down and use the material on the lower side to level it out.

 

[3KillerBs]

fill with gravel to level off the area.

Only under the coop and supports, right?

Gravel in the run tending to foster odor problems.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So....
I would put the coop section ant the top of the hill, then orient the run "downwards". That way any rain or snowmelt is diverted around the coop and run as gravity does its thing.

I'm not familiar with your climate enough to know your frost line, or how long treated landscape timbers (I'm thinking railroad ties here) might last in those soils, but I'd be more likely to trench a footer, lay in some rebar, and pour concrete. Which has the added benefit of being a built in digging predator skirt.

Technically, you could build the run parallel with the slope, though it requires some skilled cutting, and working to location, not plan. Aesthetically, that isn't pleasing to many in an otherwise blocky structure, and can make for a challenging roofline, I wouldn't go that way.

Option two would be to frame out a pony wall bringing the whole base to level during your concrete pour (leaving room for the doorway into the run, of course), and setting your structure on top of that.

Third option is trench, stone, then mortar in CMUs or local stone to accomplish the same as the concrete wall.

Honestly, you have lots of options. But I would try to avoid setting the coop and run perpendicular to the slope, or to place the "house" portion at the bottom of the slope.

/edit and I'm a big fan of deep litter. You have the free resources in all those leaves at tthe top of the hill. That would be my solution for the run. Bare ground and leaves from those trees.

 

[mowin]

Only under the coop and supports, right?

Gravel in the run tending to foster odor problems.

Correct. I'd use longer posts on the downhill side run to compensate for the slope.

That's why I'd rent a mini ex and level the entire footprint by cutting back to high side and using that material to level everything out. Little crusher run under the coop to keep the skids off the dirt would be great.

 

[perkolator]

My property is sloped. I built my Coop using cinder block as a foundation, because I could tier/step things easier with them and did three levels along the 24ft length of the structure. The roofline steps down in the same spots, coop is on the high side and run on the lower side.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Following! Getting ready to build a coop and run on a very hilly part of my property!

 

[3KillerBs]

I'd use longer posts on the downhill side run to compensate for the slope.

Neuchickenstein is a totally different design (and totally inappropriate for New England), but the longer posts are what we did.

 

[Acre4Me]

The style of your coop is attractive!!

Only thing I’ll add is that with rain, snow and assuming quite cold temps, you will really, really appreciate a cover of sone kind over your people entrance. Water won’t freeze your door closed, for one thing.