Coop Design Feedback for a Newbie

[lindseyawest]

Hi all, I'm going to be building my coop soon for my first backyard flock. I'm hoping to start with 3 girls (buff orpington, australorp, barred rock, etc. for size), but would like to build the coop to have room for up to 5 (just in case). I'd love to share my design ideas with you and get your feedback...I'm no artist and a novice-moderate builder, but I will try and upload my attempts at sketches for the plans.

I live in Northern California where the summers can get very hot and the winters aren't too bad (average low in the winter is 39 degrees, average high in summer is 95 degrees, though there are days in the low 100s). I plan on having a coop in an open run and leaving the coop open all day for the girls to go in and out from the run freely. I'm thinking of using 2 x 4's to frame the coop and using old fencing for the siding. I'm thinking of having the coop up off the ground about 2-2.5 feet so I can hang food and water under the coop and give the girls some definite shade. For the coop dimensions itself, I was thinking the dimensions would be 4' wide by 3' deep, but that probably only works if I keep it to 3 girls, right? If I want a coop big enough for 5, I'd need to open the dimensions to maybe 4' x 4' or 5' wide x 4' deep? Either way, I was thinking the coop would be 4' tall? So the top of the coop to the ground would be a total of 6-6.5'.

I'd love to do an external nester, but I think with the limited tools and time, I have, I'll probably do an internal nesting box (2-3 nests?). Not sure what dimensions they need to be. I'd have a door from the side of the coop that opens to access the nesting box. The other side of the coop would open up almost completely for cleaning access. The front would have a door and lock (maybe 14" wide opening?) and there'd be a ladder to get down from the coop.

From what I've read, I need to do a slanted roof, so maybe the front two posts of the coop frame would be 4.5' with the back posts of the coop at 4' so there's a 6" difference? I was thinking of using corrugated metal for the roof and screwing that onto cross posts (2x2s) that go laterally (perpendicular) to the 2x4s of the frame and I'd add an extra 2x4 in the middle of the roof frame to strengthen it. I'd cover the triangular gap at the top with hardware cloth for ventilation and probably put 1-2 more little holes covered with hardware cloth on both sides of the coop for added ventilation.

Am I on the right track? We don't have a very big backyard and I don't have a ton of time to spend on the coop (nor money), but I also don't want to go too minimalist for the girls.

Thanks in advance!












The coop and run will be in that left back corner. Sorry it's not a better picture - I can try later tonight for a better one.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

You will want full sized doors on each side for easy access and cleaning. My coop is 4 x 4 and I use covered kitty litter pans as nest boxes. I have two and put a piece of plywood on top with sand on it every day (sand in coop also and in nest boxes- wear N95 mask as sand is bad to breathe).

You don't want to not be able to reach all the way into the coop easily from both sides.

Also make sure to use 1/2 inch hardware cloth to keep predators out.

 

[redsix]

Maybe I missed it but what about natural light inside the coop? Might want some cross flow ventilation.

 

[donrae]

Having the coop 2 feet off the ground doesn't leave much space for you to maneuver under there to hang food or water.

Enough space for 5 birds would be a minimum of 20square feet in the coop.

Two nest boxes should be enough.

In your climate, you'll want a LOT more airflow. Heat will kill your birds way faster than cold. You could screen in some of those doors....wait, you're talking about leaving the coop open, right? Then never mind, you can just prop the doors open.

 

[lindseyawest]

Thank you! Awesome feedback so far.

ChickensAreSweet, I had been anticipating using pine shavings in the bottom of the coop because someone I was talking to mentioned that it would make spot cleaning easier and if I do some spot cleaning, it will reduce the number of times I need to throw the whole bottom stuff out and replace it. I had never heard of litter until reading something last night (I think). Totally inexperienced here, so I apologize for a silly question that is probably beating a dead horse, but you don't think that have full access on one side will be sufficient? I guess if I go up to 5' wide and 4' deep to hit that 20sf mark, there's no way I could reach everything from just one side...

Redsix, there will be some ventilation from the top of the coop because of the angle of the roof, but I was also planning on doing a couple windows on both sides of the coop for cross ventilation as well. When I started drawing the design above, though, and was trying to make it so that basically the whole one side would come out, I was struggling to figure out how the actual build would look so that I could also have a screened window there...I was over-thinking it though. See below for amended design.

Donrae, I'm only 5'3" (just under, actually) so I figured 2' wouldn't be too bad for me. How tall would you recommend lifting the coop? Okay, so if I really want to have enough room for up to 5 hens, I need to do a minimum of 5' wide by 4' deep, yeah? For the nest boxes, I figured 2 is definitely enough for 3 hens, do you think I'm pushing it or still good if I only have 2 for 5 hens? Also, how do you think my dimensions were on the nest boxes? I wasn't going to leave the coop open over night. To get a sense of the heat, right now, in spring, it's probably in the low-70's at 8pm. Check out the design update below - do you think that might provide enough air? I had wanted to keep the door minimal since it will be open the whole day and the run won't have over head predator protection (unless it becomes a problem). I don't think we have much in our neighborhood that will hurt the birds, but lots of Western Scrub Jays. Not sure if they'd go after chicken eggs, but I know they do go after eggs and I just saw one take out a sparrow the other day.

Last question (for now), if I stick with just 3 hens, do you think my 4' wide by 3' deep is sufficient? Or maybe 4' x 4' would give more room for better airflow?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Also if you get high winds don't forget to tie down your coop. I use t posts and metal wire - run across coop and down on each side. Helps quite a bit. I put coop up on concrete flat blocks to keep from rotting.

Yes my 4 x 4 coop- you cannot reach all the way through on one side. I go to both sides each day to scoop with kitty litter scoop - I remove all poo each day.