ok- thanks to all of your advice, i poked around my yard for scraps and found some materials (cedar boards... just thrown away into a swamp!) and have started building a chicken coop similar to the Garden Ark but with an additional detachable run for more space. i needed a more compact setup because want to be able to pick up the coop section to place it on my garden bed. In the future, I may upgrade to a shed/fenced in area, but the smaller style coop is what I have to do for now.
So similar to the picture, I am building a base and a “box” for the coop. the footprint of my mobile coop is roughly 5.75 ft by 2.75, with a little over 2 feet underneath the house. the hen house section will go on top and is a roughly 4 ft by 2.5 ft footprint (so, bigger than the coop in the picture)... and to be clear, I will have 3 chickens. i’m in Northern MN and will be using the deep litter method... I will not be heating the coop. this is what things look like so far, minus the center prop board:
So with all of that information, I have some questions about design.
1. indoor height: how tall should the interior of the coop be? right now, i’ve planned for roughly 3 feet tall with a slight 2 inch slope for the roof. this makes the structure about 5 ft tall in total.
2. vents: what side(s) should the window/vents be on? I will have a drop-down door for egg collection/cleaning on the west side.
3. entry/exit: see in the garden ark picture how they just have a roost bar to access the door? is that ok, or do i need a ladder?? or because there is room underneath, would it be better to have the opening from underneath the coop, or on the side (as shown)? how big of a door do they need?
4. nest boxes: i haven’t decided on placement yet, but i’m wondering if anyone mounts these up off the floor of the coop (maybe in the top foot) for extra floor space. i could mount them externally, but truthfully i’m a bit worried about the extra weight it will create (remember this needs to be mobile).
5. roost bars: parallel or perpendicular to the door? vents? does it matter? i’m assuming they would roost on the bar farthest away from the door opening, but maybe not. should they be above or below the nest box?
thank you all, you've been so helpful!
So similar to the picture, I am building a base and a “box” for the coop. the footprint of my mobile coop is roughly 5.75 ft by 2.75, with a little over 2 feet underneath the house. the hen house section will go on top and is a roughly 4 ft by 2.5 ft footprint (so, bigger than the coop in the picture)... and to be clear, I will have 3 chickens. i’m in Northern MN and will be using the deep litter method... I will not be heating the coop. this is what things look like so far, minus the center prop board:
So with all of that information, I have some questions about design.
1. indoor height: how tall should the interior of the coop be? right now, i’ve planned for roughly 3 feet tall with a slight 2 inch slope for the roof. this makes the structure about 5 ft tall in total.
2. vents: what side(s) should the window/vents be on? I will have a drop-down door for egg collection/cleaning on the west side.
3. entry/exit: see in the garden ark picture how they just have a roost bar to access the door? is that ok, or do i need a ladder?? or because there is room underneath, would it be better to have the opening from underneath the coop, or on the side (as shown)? how big of a door do they need?
4. nest boxes: i haven’t decided on placement yet, but i’m wondering if anyone mounts these up off the floor of the coop (maybe in the top foot) for extra floor space. i could mount them externally, but truthfully i’m a bit worried about the extra weight it will create (remember this needs to be mobile).
5. roost bars: parallel or perpendicular to the door? vents? does it matter? i’m assuming they would roost on the bar farthest away from the door opening, but maybe not. should they be above or below the nest box?
thank you all, you've been so helpful!
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