Coop build. Comments/concerns welcome

[gmabry75]

Good morning BYC. We are new to chickens. Have 25 BR in brooder in garage 4 days old. Converting rear third of existing shed for my babies. They will have a 6 by 10 area in the coop and will have a 6 by 25 covered run ( don't want to feed the hawks around here.

I am going to start putting up the roost today and looking for feedback on area per bird, height, etc... Was thinking about 4 ft high and across the 6 foot span. Just not sure how much pole space per bird and space in between poles.

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[gmabry75]

View of outside.

Will be building shutters for the side window for "winter" use(not that we really have one).

 

[Wisher1000]

Hi and welcome to BYC!

Those nest boxes look great! I wish (there I go again) you would build me some like that!

On the roosts, they can be pretty close to the wall, except there will be more poo spatter if it is close. I've seen pics of birds that sleep with their heads tucked under the wing and their chest touching the wall. I would leave at least 18" between roosts, 24" would be better so that they can't reach each other to peck.

In Mississippi's mild climate, they will likely want to roost in the covered run. Make sure to build it secure enough (predator proof) that they can roost there overnight. Sixty square feet inside is not quite enough space for 25 large fowl. They will have plenty of room to roost if you put roosts in the run and make it secure for night sleeping. It is recommended that you provide 10 sq ft of run (outside space) per bird but that is if you don't let them free range. If you aren't going to be free ranging them part of the day, I would suggest you add more run space, even if it is uncovered and only meant to keep the birds confined (not protected.)

Good Luck and make sure to post pics of your progress!

 

[Wisher1000]

Wow! That's beautiful! Don't worry too much about those shutters, you'll rarely use them. I have hardware cloth covered window openings on all four walls of the interior portion of my coop and they stay open year round. Only one time have I felt they needed more protection from the wind and I tacked some clear plastic over two windows for the two weeks that it was really cold. That was one time in the last two years.

As for the roosts, 4' is a good height, but remember it will put them in your way when you are in there. Try to place then out of your way when you are carrying water or feed, cleaning, or chasing birds. I used metal joist hangers for the ends so that I can lift them up and take them down easily when I need to. My birds use the 4' roosts to access the rafters of my covered run. It is rough on them to jump (yes, jump, most of my hens fly like rocks) down from up there, but they love to be that high at night.

 

[gmabry75]

Wow!  That's beautiful!  Dont worry too much about those shutters, you'll rarely use them.  I have hardware cloth covered window openings on all four walls of the interior portion of my coop and they stay open year round.  Only one time have I felt they needed more protection from the wind and I tacked some clear plastic over two windows for the two weeks that it was really cold.  That was one time in the last two years.

That's what I tried to tell my wife.

 

[gmabry75]

As far as the number of birds in the coop goes, I'm waiting to see if we got a roo in our 25 chicks. Since they only guarantee 90% sexing I'm sure we probably have one. If so, I'm considering an additional small coop/run for the too and a few hens. Try hatching maybe. Haven't let the wife in on that little tidbit yet.

 

[Overoberyl]

As far as the number of birds in the coop goes, I'm waiting to see if we got a roo in our 25 chicks. Since they only guarantee 90% sexing I'm sure we probably have one. If so, I'm considering an additional small coop/run for the too and a few hens. Try hatching maybe. Haven't let the wife in on that little tidbit yet.

Why separate the roo? Better to have him in with more hens than only in with a few...

 

[Wisher1000]

Why separate the roo? Better to have him in with more hens than only in with a few...

Exactly my thought......

I bought 24 "pullets" from Ideal and got two roos.

 

[gmabry75]

My concern, and tell me if I'm wrong, is that friends and family that will be buying our eggs may not be comfortable with the thought of fertilized eggs. Make any sense?

 

[Overoberyl]

My concern, and tell me if I'm wrong, is that friends and family that will be buying our eggs may not be comfortable with the thought of fertilized eggs. Make any sense?

Most people can't tell the difference unless you explain how to identify the blastodisc. I bet it wouldn't be an issue unless you make a point of telling them the eggs are fertilized, then they might wonder why it matters...it doesn't, they taste the same

For me personally, I would structure my flock around what was best for them, I wouldn't be concerned about potential egg customers, but I also don't plan to try making money selling eating eggs. Around here you can't get much for them and for me, it's almost not worth the time it takes to advertise, coordinate with customers, etc. Again, this is just me personally and your situation might be vastly different so take it for what it's worth. I usually give away eating eggs as gifts to friends/family, and I figure, if they don't like the idea of a fertilized egg, they are welcome to eat store bought.