Coop Design Poll

[Poppy Putentake]

Here is a survey I put together to get everyone's opinions about Coop design in one place. Of course, my ulterior motive is to get answers for my own coop design. (I am thinking in terms off a relatively small coop, one for maybe 6-12 hens.)

Questions:​

Coop overall

1. Floor area per hen?

2. How much headroom needed above floor?

3. Best dimensions for pop door (door for the chickens)?

4. Number, size, and placement of ventilation openings?

5. Feeders and waterers -- inside or outside?

Roosts

1. Roosting bars -- total length needed?

2. Size of roosting bar (cross section)?

3. How high above floor? How high above poop boards? How far from coop wall?

4.If all same height, ho much horizontal distance between?

5. If in an “inclined ladder” arrangement, how much horizontal distance between? How much vertical distance?

Nesting boxes

1. Ideal dimensions for nesting boxes? (width x depth x height if box-shaped)? What about alternative shapes (buckets on sides, etc.)?

2. Ideal height of nesting boxes above floor? What about a second tier of nesting boxes above that one?

3. How many nesting boxes per hen? (How many for 4 hens? How many for 10? for 20?)

4.Best nesting box opening? (Circular? Rectangular?)) How large?

5. Interior versus exterior nesting boxes -- pros and cons.

Ramps

1. How steep (at most)? How wide?

2. Size and spacing of cross-treads to prevent slipping?

“Brooding” boxes and mini coops.

(A small coop besides the main one can be useful for quarantining birds, for rearing chicks, and other purposes.)

1. Ideal dimensions for a “nesting box” for a hen brooding eggs or rearing chicks? (Larger than regular nesting box?)

2. Ideal size for a mini-co-op for a hen rearing chicks? Is this best inside or next to main coop, or completely separate.?

4. What other features should a mini-coop have?

Any other thoughts or suggestions.

 

[WI chickens]

You aren't looking for a post, you're looking for a book After using a Woods fresh air coop, I would be very hesitant to use any other design if you are starting from scratch.

 

[aart]

Take that list, put it in a word doc, and start researching.
Add your notes and links for reference as you go.
That's what I did in the 6 months I prepared before building my coop and run.

@Poppy Putentake you can look at my article list to get my take on most of your questions. I find it odd that you have been a member here for 7 years and have not yet gathered enough info.

 

[KyCoop]

You need to write those questions down and search the hundreds of posts and write down what works for you.

 

[Luke Potosky]

Coop Overall
1. In the coop, where my girls only go into to lay or when it drops below 10 degrees F, which is 2-3 times/ year, I have it set up for about 1.5 sq. ft./ bird, my coop is about 3x4 ft. with a height of 3.5 ft, not including the sloped A-frame I made for it.
2. For head room, I would suggest at least 2 ft., I did 3 so my girls ould have a higher roost and they seem to like it.
3. For my door, I believe it is 12-14 inches wide and about 14-16 inches tall. I made it a rough square for ease of hinges and manufacturing.
4. I have 4 windows, one on each side of the coop, They range in size but for the most part, they are all about 12x12 inches. I used 1/4" hardware cloth, galvanized as a very strong barrier between the inside and outside of the coop (we have stray cats, possums, racoons, and rats).
5. As for feeders and waterers, I don't have any inside the coop because for me, there isn't enough room and when they spill their feed or water it is a pain to clean up. I have them in an enclosed run, and that's where I give them their feed and water. Mine are on 18% layer feed, and as for water, I bought 100 chicken nipples off amazon for about $17 and installed 4 of them on the bottom of a Home Depot 5 gallon bucket and sealed them with roof caulk, but silicone will also work fine. I recommend Home Depot buckets over Lowes, Lowes are brittle and break after 2-3 years of use; I've had my home depot one for about 7 years, no signs of stressing yet.

Roosts

1. For my 7 birds, I have 2 roosting bars, each 3 feet in length, about 1.5 feet away from each other.
2. For the diameter of my roosting bars, if I remember correctly, I believe I used an inch or an 1.25 inch dowel, but in the run I've got an old Christmas tree that I've been using for years, and that probably has a cross section (diameter) of 4 inches, not to mention many nubs and stubs from where all the branches used to be.
3. I have my roosts approx. 2 feet above the floor, and about 1 foot away from any walls, except for where they tie into and connect to the studs inside the walls.
4. I recommend about 1.5 feet between each roosting bar.
5. I would go with 1.5-2 feet of horizontal spacing, and around 2 feet of vertical spacing.

Nesting Boxes

1. I have 2 nesting boxes that both measure 12 in x 12 in x 12 in., however, they all insist on using the same one, often at the same time as other chickens. It could be because I added the second one about 4 years after I originally had the chickens, but that was probably about 5 years ago.
2. I have my nesting boxes about 3-4 inches above the floor of my coop, however, I had to install a little barrier board about 1.5-2 inches in height at the very bottom of the nesting box as my girls would commonly push the hay out from the box and then the eggs would roll out, leaving me a sticky, stinky mess to clean up.
3. I have 7 girls, and they all insist on using one box, however, I added the second one because I was planning to add more chickens, but never got around to doing it. I would have 1 nesting box for every 5-6 chickens, unless you're me, seeing as I've had up to 13 chickens on only 2 boxes, and even then, they all insisted on using the same one.
4. I have rectangular nesting boxes. They were the easiest to make, the most economically feasible (this means they were cheap), and you can even buy them pre made.

Ramps

1. I have my opening to the coop about 2 feet above the ground, and my ramp is about 4.5-5 feet long, however, it could be significantly steeper, seeing as chickens can and will fly if they need to get somewhere.
2. I didn't originally use cross treads, they're not really needed, but if you really want to use them, I used a 1x10x6 board, pine, and used that as the base f the ramp. As for the treads, I used 1x2's cut into 9 or 10 inch pieces, and I placed them up the ramp board every 10-12 inches.
3. Mini coops. sigh. These are good if you are building them at least 3 ft. x 3 ft. x s ft., otherwise, they are too much work for the end result (in my opinion). As for the question of being separate or in the same coop for broody hens, I left my broody hen inside the original coop and shut the door, and then creating another little lay box inside my run, which is fenced in with treated 2x4's and 1/2 inch metal hardware cloth, galvanized of course. Once the chicks were born, I left them in the coop for about an additional month, then I separated the chicks from the mama hen and sold them off.
4. The mini coop should have some rafter that run through the inside of the coop so that you can hang some waterers and feeders from them, as if you don't hang them, they will get knocked over.

Other Thoughts/ Suggestions

1. I would use pressure treated pine for everything that's going to be exposed to the weather, even inside of the coop. There are some people who will disagree, and that's fine, but if it's not treated in Houston, TX, it will rot away withing about 3-4 years. I would also go for metal mesh/ metal hardware cloth, as yes, it is a pain in the ass (literally, in usually in the hands as well) to use, but whatever kind of animal tries to get through there (with the exception of larger animal like domestic dogs and bears, however, our 50 lbs dog couldn't get through the mesh when he tried so...) will be in for a rough day. I would make this galvanized too, as it will rust extremely fast, faster than wood in humid places like Houston, faster than I ever would've thought.
2. If you are making your run outside as well like I did, then when you are framing your walls, I would place your 2x4 studs every 3 or 4 feet, to match the width of your 1/2 inch hardware cloth. At the bottom, where the mesh meets the dirt, I would flare it out at least 6 inches, I did 8, and I also dug out and then added a big old 4x6x8 below the "connecting" frame, which is what connected the coop to the main part of the run. On some parts, becaue there was a large drainage ditch beside us, I also dug out a trench about 12 inches deep and filled it with concrete. You can probably get away with 8 inches deep, but I was foreseeing erosion, and I was right. If you go the concrete method, make sure to dig your trench at least 3 inches in width, I think the bag says 4. This is to ensure that it has the strength to stay together and not crack apart under the stress. I would also pick up some 1/4 inch rebar in a couple different pieces, and if you don't have then, and length of metal about 12 in. or longer works just fine, and pour about 1/ of your concrete into the trench, then add the rebar/ makeshift rebar, then add the last bit of concrete. I decided to also bury another big ole' 4x6x8 above the concrete, pushing it slightly into the concrete, about 2 inches into it so it would look better from the top while also giving me something to attach the framing to and the hardware cloth. If you decide to flare out you bottom, you cn always cover them with little stepping stones or those stepping stone bricks, like I did. This helps to keep the cloth down and in place but it also adds a little more protection from predators, especially if the mesh ever rots out/ away.

 

[Raptor Chicken]

The basic "chicken math" will tell you everything you need to know.

4sf per bird in the coop, 10sf per bird in the run, 1sf of roost per bird and 1sf of ventilation per bird. These are minimums.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here's some general info to help you refine your questions.

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.

6 hens

• 24 square feet in the coop. 4'x6' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber. If you can't walk into it, put the access door in the middle of the long side to make sure you can reach all areas of the coop because a stubborn chicken WILL press itself into/lay an egg in the back corner where you can't reach.
• 6 feet of roost
• 60 square feet in the run. 6'x10' or 8'x8'.
• 6 square feet of ventilation.
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

8 hens

• 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
• 8 feet of roost
• 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
• 8 square feet of ventilation.
• 2-3 nest boxes.

12 hens

• 48 square feet in the coop. 6'x8' is more practical than 4'x12' since a long, skinny coop like that would be difficult to work inside.
• 12 feet of roost
• 120 square feet in the run. 10'x12' or 8'x15' -- 8'x16' means fewer odd cuts than either of those. 6'x20' is possible, especially if your run is an open-topped, fenced area instead of fully-enclosed with a solid and/or wire roof but risks social problems because subordinate hens need to be able to pass the dominant hens at a respectful distance.
• 12 square feet of ventilation.
• 3 nest boxes.

And this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

Coop ventilation, which is just as critical in cold winters as hot summers: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Speaking of cold winters: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

Some medium and large coops to inspire you:

Medium Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-barn-red-and-white-coop-complete-build-photos.75458/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop.74322/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-song-music-factory.74019/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/perkolators-modern-chicken-estate-2019.75345/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-our-charming-and-eleggant-family-coop.77803/

Large Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/alaskan-woods-coop.75752/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop.76267/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/post-and-beam-styled-coop-run.76181/reviews
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/le-palais-de-poulet-the-chicken-palace.67196/
https://countryliving.blog/2021/06/15/my-coop/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-kd-knock-down-10-by-16-coop-pictorial.75421/

 

[Krugerrand]

While the Yakisugi is too small for your 12 hens, there are lots of good design considerations in this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/


Another thing to consider is flock management.

Are you harvesting your chickens or will the older chickens remain as pets?
... if you intend to let the older ones remain, you may want to stagger how many you get at a time. So, if you intend to have up to 12, perhaps you want to build for 12 but start with 4. Then, in a couple years when their production should start to drop, add 4 more. Then, add another four a few years after that.

Will you have a rooster? / Will you let some hens brood chicks?
... some coop designs / layouts are more conducive to having chicks integrate with a flock.
... if you are adding chicks/young chickens without a broody hen, you'll need other integration space.
... your answer may impact how you want to design/place your nest boxes

 

[Ted Brown]

... After using a Woods fresh air coop, I would be very hesitant to use any other design if you are starting from scratch.

A Woods coop is best deployed in colder climates but it's design predicate of "fresh air" is applicable in even the hottest locations, one just needs a lot more fresh air.

The basic Woods KD design is scalable from 6' by 10' to 8' by 12' to 10' by 16' so suitable from 6 to 40 birds assuming appropriate run sizes. My 3+ years of experience (minimal I know) in the country side suggests a very secure covered run and no free ranging is easiest on the psyche; the emergence of avian flu IMHO reinforces this.

Best of luck.

 

[WI chickens]

A Woods coop is best deployed in colder climates but it's design predicate of "fresh air" is applicable in even the hottest locations, one just need a lot more fresh air.

The basic Woods KD design is scalable from 6' by 10' to 8' by 12' to 10' by 16' so suitable from 6 to 40 birds assuming appropriate run sizes. My 3+ years of experience (minimal I know) in the country side suggests a very secure covered run and no free ranging is easiest on the psyche; the emergence of avian flu IMHO reinforces this.

Best of luck.

I actually changed my size to 8'x16' simply to make better use of materials. So far, I haven't seen anything I would consider a drawback to this size.

I like the coop enough that I'm planning to build two more this next summer.

I do free range my birds currently. My predator attacks come at night and by then the birds are locked in the coop.