Coop Design and Questions for a Beginner?

[dbg99]

Hi all, first post on here - we live in New Zealand and our city law allows chickens in a residential area. I am looking at getting a chicken coop in a A frame style that is approximately 2m long and 1m wide. Would this be big enough to house 3 chickens in it? Other question which I can't figure out is when the chickens are in there, do I have to move the coop periodically? I am keen to get/design/build a coop that allows permanent housing for the chickens and I don't have to let them out all too often (or at all as backyard has lots of escape routes for them? Do many people simply leave their chickens in the coop and never let them out? For 3 chickens, what size of coop do I want? Thanks for any help, much appreciated.
DAvid

 

[elmo]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

The usual rule of thumb for the amount of housing space converted to meters would be about .4 square meters of coop plus about 1 square meter of run per chicken. I would consider these as minimums, and more space is certainly better.

What's your climate like? This will dicate what's the best kind of coop design. For example, if you get much cold in the winter, those A frame coops don't work terribly well because there's no good place to put the ventilation without letting a cold draft blow in on the roosting birds. Personally, I'm not a fan of the A frame anyway since the inside peak is such cramped space that it's hard to really use. And I really like to be able to give our flock a roost at a proper level for a bird of their kind. I think they are less stressed that way. Unless a chicken is one of those breeds that can't really roost high (like a Silkie or one of the very heavy breeds), I think they really do want to be able to roost well up off the ground. Those A frame designs, especially the tractors, tend to be quite low.

We let our flock out into our fenced backyard when we are able to watch them. They could easily fly over the fence, but they don't. The reason we don't let them out without supervision is because of predator danger. We have to watch out for hawks, and our bantams are so small that even neighborhood cats would be a threat.

We have a day tractor (a moveable pen) that we use when we can't be out to supervise the flock. This gives them the benefit of being able to scratch in and eat grass without being vulnerable. You can keep chickens in a stationary coop and run without access to grass, but it's important to make sure they have enough space and things to keep them busy. In the fall I collect bags of fallen leaves, and in the winter when nothing is growing out in the yard anyway I'll toss a bag of leaves in the run. It will take several days for the flock to investigate what might be under each and every leaf.

 

[dbg99]

Hi Elmo, thanks for your reply, I live in the north island of NZ, summer is nice and sunny with temps around 25C, winter is bit more rain and down to about 3-5C occasionally and perhaps a frost only once or twice per year. What chicken coop design do you think would be best - something similar to this? - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-f...orestry/Poultry/Housing/auction-372193863.htm but perhaps with a bigger run for the chickens. Appreciate your help on this. Also, do chickens climb stairs easily and want to jump fences easily. We have a contained back yard that I could let them out supervised but would have to keep an eye on them so they don't run away - mostly keen on something the chickens can live in 24/7 so keeps my work to a minimum.
Cheers

 

[ARose4Heaven]

Chickens, like all animals (including humans), need sunshine and room to just be themselves. Your coop needs to be big enough for the birds to move around and not be bored silly. They also need a fenced run to be out in the sun. You can put all of this in a mobile unit to move around the yard. Check out the Coop Design link at the top of this page. There is a section just for small coops. I am sure you will find lots of really great ideas.

 

[chuckzoo]

Hi and welcome. I am orginally from South Africa and I believe our climates are similar. Since I believe you chickens will only sleep in the coop at night I would concentrate on the run and making that as big as you can.

For the coop provide a lot of ventilation so they can get a cross breeze at night when it is hot. Yes, chickens are agile depending on what breed you get. The heavier dual-purpose breeds are less agile and less inclined to want to get over things.